The Art of Homophone Puns: A Deep Dive into Creative Wordplay by Top Coffee Brands!

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How Deeply Do People Love Puns?

One netizen once made a bold statement: "To all the pun bots online, listen up! I'll put my words here: I'll follow every one I see!"

Puns, once despised, have now become the secret weapon for traffic in brand advertising copy! It can be said that puns dominate the sense of humor across all age groups, as long as everyone speaks the same language.

Recently, HEYTEA quietly changed "Duck Shit Fragrance" to "Duck Joy Fragrance," which was discovered by sharp-eyed netizens! This sparked discussions among Guangdong netizens on various social platforms... What made Guangdong netizens so enthusiastic?

Because when pronounced in Cantonese, "Duck (aap2) Shit (si2) Fragrance (hoeng1)," the pronunciation of si2 is close to the Mandarin pronunciation of "joy" (though there's still a slight difference in tone). Thus, Guangdong netizens joked one after another: "This is definitely Guangdong Mandarin!!"

Although it's just a slight difference in tone between Mandarin and Cantonese for one character, it can maximally deepen consumers' memory and understanding of the HEYTEA brand. On one hand, "joy" serves as a brand symbol, strengthening its utilization and extension, achieving a double entendre effect; on the other hand, it uses puns through the interesting and approachable effect of Guangdong Mandarin to tell everyone where HEYTEA comes from, also reflecting the "down-to-earth" characteristic of Guangdong people.

It's something that allows everyone not to feel alienated from the product because of the "shit" character when ordering. Duck Shit Fragrance, as a famous variety of Phoenix Dancong, also known as Silver Flower Fragrance, has a unique fresh aroma that doesn't match its name. (Honestly, it's really easy to mispronounce Duck Shit Fragrance in Cantonese!) As for why the name is so incompatible with the tea itself, there are many different theories, but the name indeed can cause misunderstandings for those hearing it for the first time. Therefore, changing it to Duck Joy Fragrance not only deepens consumers' impression of the brand but also eliminates misunderstandings caused by the name.

The Spread of Puns in Brand Marketing

The fun of puns not only makes many boring things interesting, but as netizens imitate each other, brands also gain deep exposure. Just a while ago, Starbucks' surname puns even hit the hot searches on various platforms. After seeing them, netizens couldn't help but exclaim: "My mind is now full of various puns! They won't go away!"

"World-class Ms. Liu," "Refreshing Mr. Liang," "Mrs. He with Dry-fried Beef," "Yes I Mrs. Du," "Mr. Hu who brings up what shouldn't be mentioned"... As soon as these puns appeared, almost every netizen buying Starbucks didn't take a sip first, but immediately took a photo and posted it on their social media! Because of this, it also successfully triggered the curiosity of netizens. Even those who usually hesitate when drinking Starbucks became decisive because of the puns. Besides Chinese, English has also been cleverly used by Starbucks. "We've bean waiting for you" - if you glance at it quickly, you would directly understand it as "We've been waiting for you." But if you look carefully, you'll find that "been" in the copy uses the homophone "bean." Translated into Chinese, it's also a pun: "We bean (all) here waiting for you," seamlessly connecting coffee with brand culture.

Why People Love Puns

Today, people love "puns" so much. One reason is the rise of talk shows in recent years, which has allowed puns to resonate with people's daily life and culture from a completely new perspective. Another reason is that in Chinese, many characters with the same pronunciation have very different meanings. For example, posting the character "Fu" (blessing) upside down implies that blessings have arrived. Another example is in Wang Wei's "Seeing Off Yuan Er to Anxi": "The morning rain in Weicheng lightens the dust, the willows at the guest house are fresh and green." Here, "willow" (柳) is a homophone for "stay" (留), subtly expressing the reluctance to part.

The Effectiveness and Limitations of Puns

The funnier the pun, the higher the brand's discussion rate, click-through rate, and better traffic. Although the cost of creating puns is low, it really depends on the copywriter!

Puns inherently possess infinite charm and can inject endless vitality into people's dull daily lives. They draw material from our daily trivia, often making people feel a sense of familiarity. An ordinary word or sentence, after being packaged with homophonic replacements, more easily becomes humor that the public loves to hear and see, and can achieve widespread dissemination.

This is a pun from a netizen

This is Vans brand's response to the pun

However, not all puns can win people's favor. Some believe that vulgar puns are disgusting, while others think puns sometimes become a tool for "showing off cleverness" while avoiding problem-solving. Some people also feel that puns are mocking or have "hidden meanings."

Therefore, puns should be used in moderation! Whether the impression a brand leaves on people is good or bad can truly be just the distance of one tone.

Image source: Internet

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