FCUK, the provocative slogan from French Connection, the high street fashion retailer, caused a stir on its launch in 1997 and, in some quarters, for years after; the American Family Association still boycotts its products.

In marketing terms, though, it was nothing new. Advertisers have long tried to use words to shock or lure consumers into buying their products through making an emotional connection: fear, envy, confidence, desire. Overwhelmingly, the language used by marketers to communicate these emotions is English. The number of English-language advertisements in Europe is increasing. In the Netherlands, where most people speak English as a second language, 40 per cent of advertising slogans contain English words.

It is not illogical to market in a foreign language. Many countries have bilingual populations who can understand English slogans just as easily as those in their native language. It lends consistency to global campaigns and saves on translation costs.

But do they respond to them as much? No, according to a study from RSM Erasmus University in Rotterdam. People who speak more than one language respond more acutely to marketing messages delivered in their native tongue, the authors of the study found.

One experiment was carried out in Belgium, with Flemish-French bilinguals. Half the participants had Flemish as a native language, the others French. “Emotional” advertising slogans were presented, including one marketing flowers (“See the face you love light up in a brilliant smile”) and one for a hotel (“When you are here you are family. We will leave the light on for you”).

The participants were asked to rate how emotional the slogans made them feel. Those delivered in a participant's native tongue were perceived to be far more emotional than those in a second language.

It does not seem to be a question of understanding - all those who took part were bilingual. Rather, it is thought to be linked to the way in which people link words with memories. Theory suggests that we associate certain words with our experiences. Reading or hearing a word subconsciously reminds us of these memories, generating an emotional response. It stands to reason that consumers will have had more personal experiences linked to words in their native language compared with one learnt later in life. So messages delivered in a first language are more emotional than those in a second language.

“There are valid reasons to advertise in a foreign language,” Stefano Puntoni, one of the authors of the study, said. “To keep costs down for a global campaign, for example, or to build an international image. But the emotional intensity will be blunted.”

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