The article contains an analysis of the word formation of proper names which are used in the texts of advertisements. The analyzed examples are drawn from the texts of advertisements found on television, radio, press, the Internet etc. which were produced at the end of 20th century and the beginning of 21st century. The article analyses two categories of these proper names: word formations which are used in contemporary Polish language (f.e. Robuś, Marysia, Stefcia, Kasia, Jasio, Krzyś, Rozalka, Basia, Bartuś, Sabinka, Julka, Karinka, Tomek, Adaś, Goździkowa) and neologisms f.e. Zapobiegalska, Zarażalski, Kichalska, Krzywonogi, Przyklapiusz, Musztarderowie, TurboDymoMan, SuperEs, Zozolka, Łazienkowo). The analysis conducted in the article proves that both types of proper names, which are word formation derivatives, appear relatively often in the texts of advertisements. This is the case since they are easy to form (advertisements take the majority of them from usage) and can perform many functions, which advertisements willingly use for their own needs. Proper names that are word formation derivatives and just proper names serve mainly as an assessment as they connote the values appreciated both culturally and socially and the values attributed to proper names are carried on the advertised products. Proper names which are derivatives create a desired picture of advertised products more expressively than other proper names, thanks to their clear word formation structure. Moreover, they expose their commercial assets so they fully use and at the same time cocreate the system of values of consumption culture.

The objective of this project was to evaluate and measure the viewability of various kinds of ads in the daily press. A total of 63 ads was assessed, including 17 in Metrocafe, 28 in Gazeta Wyborcza, and 18 in the Super Express. The analysis of the data made it possible to assess the effectiveness of various formats of press advertising.

The paper considers a particular case of onomastic motivation, providing examples of the use of the adjective tani ‘cheap’ in the creation of pharmacy names in Poland (e.g. Tanie Leki ‘cheap medicines’, Tania Apteka ‘cheap pharmacy’). This Polish word is frequently used in marketing, both as an element of company names and marketing slogans. In many instances tani constitutes part of a complex pharmacy name, e.g.: Całotygodniowa Apteka Familijna — Tylko Tanie Leki, Super Tania Apteka im. Zawiszy Czarnego, Centrum Tanich Leków — Apteka św. Barbary. On the basis of judgments from Polish administrative courts, the article discusses the question of the distinction or lack of one between advertisements and proper names. The significant fact is that the Pharmaceutical Law has prohibited the advertising of the operations of pharmacies since 2012 and, as a result, the use of names with the component tani was found to be in violation of the provision. In response to this, the owners of stores have argued that the proper name refers to the object alone, having no literal meaning. The controversial phrases were used to create legal names which are placed on signboards and in announcements. The paper focuses on a more general problem: chrematonyms and appellative lexis can hardly be distinguished due to their persuasive and marketing value.

Our aim was to test existing sex and age stereotypes related to emotional expressivity, gender and age. This was a complex analysis of facial expressions of all basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise) to everyday life stimuli observing a large sample (2,969 unique participants creating 39,694 recordings) using an Emotion Artificial Intelligence. Our data partially support emotion-specific stereotype that women express more affiliate emotions and men express more dominant emotions except for sadness. There were found correlations of emotion expression with age, however intensity and frequency of emotion expression did not follow the same pattern. Not eliminating the differences between men and women in the baseline facial appearance resulted in men expressing dominant emotions (anger and disgust) more intensively, and women expressing more affiliative emotions (happiness, fear, and surprise). To sum up, facial appearance can be one of the origins of the existing gender stereotypic socialisation stereotype.

The essence of advertising lies very often in unusual and surprising juxtapositions of apparently incongruous elements, which nevertheless successfully combine in producing a coherent and understandable message. A vital role is performed by a skillfully engineered context, which allows for simultaneous activation of certain otherwise inconspicuous senses and the construction of novel and attractive connections. Such theoretical proposals as Lemke’s traversals (2001; 2005), Fauconnier and Turner’s Conceptual Blending Theory (1998; 2002) and Kecskes’s Dynamic Model of Meaning (2008) seem to describe many vital aspects of the phenomenon in question. It is in advertising that we often come across the linking of elements by transgressing naturally existing borders between domains which are unrelated, and we are invited to map onto one another different mental spaces on the basis of their salient analogy or identity, and indulge in creative riddle-like exploration of contextual elements in order to reconstruct the intended message. These techniques’ true power lies in their ability to blur the distinction between ‘the real’ and ‘the imagined’ to such an extent that certain irrational but attractive connections, implanted in the minds of the audience, contribute to subsequent decisions in the real world. The present study attempts to uncover the ways in which certain unrelated elements are skillfully brought together in a context which allows for such a juxtaposition in selected Polish TV advertisements for various medicine and health-related products. The method employed is an in-depth content analysis of the material, followed by an attempt to integrate the identified mechanisms with the models of meaning-making mentioned above. The results will hopefully help in better understanding of the ways in which particular components of the context may interact with the message expressed verbally or pictorially in the construction of multilevel meanings in advertising communication.

English in India evokes connotations of worldliness, education, class, and power. Although many less socially fortunate groups lack in the English language competence, its presence in the Indian street is increasing, and not only in the context of tourism and marketing. The investigation of the linguistic landscapes of a number of localities in northern India will focus on public service advertisements written in English which convey guidelines for the creation of a healthier Indian society. The study, informed by the rhetoric of social intervention approach, investigates the choice and the frequency of the persuasive rhetorical devices used in the texts. It also discusses which of the three modes of persuasion typically underlie the analysed advertisements, thereby highlighting the preferred approach to tackling local issues and, indirectly, contributing to strengthening the role of English through the positive perception of the messages conveyed.

A handful of studies have used Facebook’s advertisement platform – Facebook Ads Manager – to recruit migrants to online surveys. The main challenge facing migration scholars in designing effective advertisements has been to identify and accurately target migrants on Facebook. Researchers have used proxies, such as users’ previous residence abroad, language(s) or interests, to infer their migration status. Despite some progress, there remains a need to better document and reflect critically on the accuracy of targeting migrants using such proxies. Contrary to studies which relied on users’ previous residence abroad, this study used migrants’ language (Polish) to target and recruit survey participants from among Polish migrants in Norway, Sweden and the UK. Focusing on a single migrant group across three countries, the goal of this article is to assess the accuracy of a targeting strategy which relied primarily on users’ command of a language as an indicator of their migration background. Comparing the results against official migration statistics and the results reported in similar studies, the article provides a compelling case for researchers to prioritise users’ language, rather than previous residence abroad, as the proxy for migration background for migrants whose language, such as Polish, is confined to the borders of a single nation state.

This article attempts to show the importance of newspaper advertisements as a factual source which offers valuable insights into past events. The study of advertisements helps the researcher to complement and verify what has been gleaned from the usual documents, and sometimes can even provide a corrective to conclusions reached by other means. In particular, the advertisements in Lwowskie Tygodniowe Wiadomości [Lwów Weekly News], published 1786–1788 show how much information about property from the monasteries of Galicia, dissolved by Emperor Joseph II in 1782–1788, can be found in the local press. It is a source which not only contains important clues about the history and the scale of the dissolution but also a wealth of minor details that it would be hard find anywhere else.

This article examines the contents of a series of Single- Issue Magazines produced in 1910 for the visitors of Ciechocinek, the most popular spa in the Congress Kingdom of Poland. They were, in the order of their publication, Głos Ciechociński, Kinematograf Ciechociński, Jednodniówka Ciechocińska, Nowy Kinematograf Ciechociński, Zwierciadełko Ciechociński, Nowa Jednodniówka Ciechocińska, Bicz Ciechociński, Goniec Ciechociński, Kurier Ciechociński, and Ciechociński List Otwarty. Each of them not only reported on various initiatives aimed at enhancing Ciechocinek's attractiveness but also turned the spotlight on some common problems faced by both the residents and the guests of the spa. All of the Ciechocinek Single-Issue Magazines were published by Kazimierz Pollack, a Warsaw-based journalistd.