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From the material collected, the author finds that the studies of parody concerning its rhetorical effect are relatively insufficient in China. The parody studied here is restricted to the domain of English advertising discourse. The purpose of this study is to investigate how parody runs simulation to catch the audience’ attention and the meaning-making process operates within the audiences’ mind in the course of the interpretation of parody in English advertising. By the study of parody in English advertisements and analysis of specific sentences, the functions and role of parody in advertisements can be made clear. As a result, it can help us to better understand the mechanism of parody in advertising discourse. The significance is what the findings can help the advertisers realize the effects of parody in advertisements and further understand how to achieve the aim of promoting sales. The author tries to point out how parody can add the impressive and persuasive effects to advertisements. In this way, more successful and acknowledged advertisements can be expected, which can satisfy and serve the needs of the audience.
The paper attempts to conduct a study on the application of parody in English advertisements with specific examples. It is pided into five parts. Part one introduces the significance of this study and the framework of the paper. Part two gives an introduction to the definition and classification of parody. Part three elaborates the purpose, functions and linguistic features of English advertisements. Part four analyzes the application of parody on English advertisements through concrete examples. Part five makes a reasonable conclusion of the whole thesis.
II. Definition and Classification of Parody
Before studying the application of parody in advertisements, it is necessary to make an extensive introduction of parody of so that the nature of parody is explored in which a clear definition and classification of parody are discussed．
2.1 The Definition of Parody
Parody originates from the Greek word parodia，which first appeared in Aristotle’s Poetics．According to Aristotle，Hegemon Thasos was the inventor of a kind of parody; by slightly altering the wording in well-known poems．In ancient Greek literature, a parodia was a narrative poem imitating the style and prosody of epics“but treating light，satirical or mock-heroic subjects”(Denith 10)．Indeed，the apparent Greek roots of the word are para- (which can mean beside，counter，or against )and –ody(song，as in an ode).Thus，the original Greek word parodia has sometimes been taken to mean counter-song，an imitation that is set against the original．Rose claims that “parodia (parody) was already widely used by the time of the fourth century BC to describe the comic imitation and transformation of an epic verse work.”
Parody has been so pervasive to western society that it has become the concern of the twentieth century literary theorists．Many theorists view parody as an art form and a genre. They identify important features of parody by confining their investigations to literary texts. Parody was extended to forms of comic quotation or imitation in literature. That is to say, a writer creates a parody to ridicule the work of another by exaggerating that author’s style or idea. Parodists usually choose distinguished writers who have his own style so that the reader can easily recognize who is the subject of the parody.
Despite of the dispute and uncertainty prevailing in descriptions of the ancient uses and meanings of words for parody, the original meaning of parody is a kind of imitation for comic purposes, first in epic poetry, later spreading a wider practice including literature and ordinary speech. It is a pity that parody is reduced into a comic, critical omega-fictional device. With the widespread application of parody outside the area of literature，such as in advertising, magazines and newspaper headlines, parody receives a more neutral definition