Abstract:The existence and development of advertising has aroused much attention from scholars at home and abroad, many of who have made a good number of research studies on advertising language. Pun, as a traditional figure of speech, is particularly favored by advertisers and widely applied in advertising to enhance the attraction of advertisement. In this paper, the author proposed a wealth of examples to clarify the five functions of advertising puns in advertisements: 1) conveying information, 2) absorb audience’s attention, 3) making ads humor, 4) making ads brief but ambiguous, 5) avoiding social taboos. The study on puns in advertising will not only benefit advertisers, but also help people understand puns in advertising more deeply.

Key Words: Advertisement, Puns, Pragmatic Function

CONTENTS

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction1 

2. Literature Review.1

2.1 Definitions of advertising puns

2.2 Previous studies on advertising puns

3. Pragmatic functions of advertising puns3

3.1 Conveying information

3.2 Attracting audience’s attention

3.3 Making advertisements humorous

3.4 Making advertisements brief but ambiguous

3.5 Avoiding Social Taboos

4. Implication.10

5. Conclusion10

Bibliography.12

Acknowledgements13