The semiotic complexity of television advertisements determines the variety of translation modes used for this kind of texts and hence this is a typical example of the connection between translation modes and particular textual genres. Indeed, the choice of such a mode highly depends on the audience that the advertising campaign is aimed at. Traditionally, dubbing has been the audiovisual translation modality par excellence for television spots. However, in recent times other forms such as non-translation, half-dubbing and subtitling have been introduced to reinforce, for example, the origin of the product, the ideological associations of the brand or product or to promote a self-recognition technique among the audience.
This study looks into the effects on the audience of the different semiotic combinations that dubbing, half-dubbing, subtitling and non-translation entail when television spots are translated, taking into account marketing and corporate communication strategies, cultural aspects and language policies and norms. To do so, I will report on the results of a survey designed as a questionnaire and intended for respondents of different age and social groups. Both open-ended and closed-ended questions are used to analyse the effects and influence on the audience and/or users of different issues: the effect of language and translation choice on the memorability of the advertisement, some pragmatic implications and the use of subtitling, the use of one language or another to reinforce stereotyped ideas of origin or consumption of product or the preference of different audiences over languages and translation modes.
To sum up, the presentation will prove that audience design and reception studies should not be disregarded when making the decisions about the quality of translation and marketing communication processes, with particular reference to television.