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Here is what two business experts have to say about poetry in business:

The Poetry of Business

Entrepreneurs, like poets, invent new ways to connect people, ideas, and organizations. Entrepreneurs and poets take the same intuitive leap, creating meaning where it didn't exist before - then communicate it to their audience. The common denominator is coming up with an idea and making it real. Simply put, starting a business is the equivalent of writing a poem.

Poems are commonly found in mottoes, slogans, and even mission statements for businesses today. And a whole, new profession of business poets has emerged. These poets provide inspirational verses, poetry-driven motivational programs and professional development using poetry.

This brings us to the most common type of poetry found in business -- advertising. Advertising is how a business attempts to get its message out to the public -- and some of the most effective advertising is poetry.

So, maybe poetry is a more integral part of business than one would guess.

Judith Kautz

 

Poetry is about as purely emotional a type of writing as you can get. And advertising is largely about emotion. Of course there is a place for logic too, but there's the old saying that "People buy with emotion and justify it with logic".

Dien Rice

1. Judith Kautz lists up three uses of poetry. Explain them in your own words.

2. Dean Rice emphasizes the emotional aspect of poetry and advertising;
Analyse one of theses three adverts. In all three cases the advertisers don’t put the product itself in the centre; what emotional aspect do they exploit, and how do they connect this with their product?                     

FIRST CLASS Fresh eggs and toast. Beluga caviar, from Russia with love. You can savor this delicacy once reserved for royalty in our international First Class cabins. And, as you’d expect, you’ll find it accompanied by vodka and vintage Dom Perignon champagne. United’s international First Class. For those accustomed to excellence in every detail. Come fly the airline that’s uniting the world. Come fly the friendly skies. UNITED AIRLINES	AS LONG AS A NOBLE HEART CAN BE RECOGNIZED NO MATTER WHAT THE DISGUISE ... There will always be a CHIVAL REGAL. Annotation: Chivas Regal is a brand of Whisky	ROLEX CELLINI. TIME CANNOT GO BACK, BUT THE MIND CAN. THE ROLEX CELLINI COLLECTION, CREATED IN HOMAGE TO BENVENUTO CELLINI, THE MASTER GOLDSMITH OF THE Italian Renaissance. EACH SOFTLY CURVED TIMEPIECE EXQUISITELY FASHIONED, EACH BRACELET INTRICATELY CRAFTED AND METICULOUSLY FINISHED BY HAND. ROLEX CELLINI, IN 18CT GOLD PRECISELY RECAPTURING THE SPIRIT OF Renaissance.

3. Imagine you want to create an advertisement for a fantasy product of your choice:
in the spirit of the above adverts, write the text and describe the layout of this advertisement. (You may also draw it),
then explain the ideas behind your advert.

 

Vocabulary :

entrepreneur – a businessman/woman who starts something new

intuitive leap – here: a new idea

common denominator -  G : gemeinsamer Nenner

mottoes - pl. of motto

mission – here : a campaign, a task

to provide – here : to give, present

inspirational verses – verses which give others new ideas

motivational – something that motivates others

integral – very important for the functioning of the whole

to savor (to savour) – to enjoy

vintage – the year in which the wine was made; here: particularly good

accustomed to – used to

homage to – showing respect to

exquisitely fashioned – made very beautifully

bracelet -  piece of jewellery worn round the arm

intricately crafted – made with many different parts which all fit together perfectly

meticulously – with great care

to recapture – to have something again that existed in the past and was lost