In 2018, the Professional Advertising Regulatory Authority pointed out in its observatory, the lack of translation in the use of English words.
At the origin of this study, there is the Toubon law, intended to respect the use of the French language in advertisements (messages and mentions) in particular.
Four years later, almost nothing has changed.
Pierre Berville, renowned publicist and author of
J'enlève le haut.
The underside of advertising in the golden age
(Aquilon), does not see the point of such use when it borders on the ridiculous.
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LE FIGARO.
- When did the use of English appear in the field of advertising?
Pierre BERVILLE.
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When I started, in the 1970s, English was already very present.
There is probably a historical reason for this.
For a long time, what used to be called "advertising" was the work of Franco-French operators, Havas and Publicis in particular, responsible for promoting local brands.
At the end of the 1960s, the development of large-scale distribution created a sort of call for air for all kinds of American products, such as "chips" or "kleenex" (whose name is derived from the English “clean”).
This commercial phenomenon accompanied the arrival of American advertisers, their working methods and their jargon: we said a “copywriter”, for example, which we tried to translate into French as “designer-editor”.
Then words that were mistakenly thought to be English were born.
In France, the Franglais “roughman” is still systematically used, instead of “draftsman” or “draughtsman”, the real English terms.
French advertisers thus perhaps have the impression of being part of the great tradition of Anglo-Saxon and American advertising, reputed to be the best in the world.
What effect was this supposed to have on the consumer?
It was supposed to show that he too would be "in on it".
As with the debate over French, American and English music, some have always thought that the words swing more in the language of Shakespeare than in that of Molière.
In advertising, English is paradoxically supposed to induce a notion of exclusivity, of excellence.
However, the biggest luxury brands in the world being French, it seems more elegant to use our language.
But no one is a prophet in his country.
And paradoxically it's the opposite in England or the United States, where French is often perceived as more chic!
There is also an element of snobbery in this area.
All professions like to have their jargon.
This offers the idea of an imaginary superiority in front of the poor client.
Using English, does it always sell?
I tend to think that what sells is what is relevant, what corresponds to reality.
If the big "fast food" brands, which sell a part of American culture, use English, that seems less out of place to me than when a company like Renault (note the "French touch" campaign, launched in 2013) do.
What a brand sells is above all a fair thing, promoted with talent and invention.
Sometimes English is more appropriate.
But we must always bear in mind that the consumer is not stupid and, therefore, knows how to spot what rings false.
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What diverts the consumer from a message is above all the fact that it does not concern him, that he finds it stupid or offensive.
English is now accepted and understood by many, especially the very basic one, recovered by the communication of brands.
However, when an English word has its French equivalent, one wonders why not use one's own language.
Bordering on the ridiculous through the use of English, I'm not sure that always benefits those who send these messages.