This paper explores certain pragmatic features of advertising discourse. It focuses on and
expands upon a binary distinction between types of advertising discourse which was
proposed initially by Bernstein (1974) and which has been touched upon more recently by
other commentators such as Cook (1992). This is the distinction between reason
advertisements (those which suggest a motive or reason for purchase) and tickle
advertisements (those which appeal to humour, emotion and mood). It will be argued that …