The problem of speech culture deterioration in advertising discourse

The paper discusses the problem of increasing vulgar and abusive language in advertising slogans of the service companies by a case study of Burger King. The research reviews cultural linguistics and the theory of Overton Window as the methods for analyzing changes in the moral and ethical content of advertisement and the impact of linguistic content of the cultural medium on the personal growth and development of the younger generation. The study provides examples of the advertisement messages using the shock content which is ethically unacceptable in order to attract public attention and make it more memorable. The authors propose an idea that cynical and immoral business practices also influence the internal corporate culture that can lead to the deterioration of psychological climate in the workplace. This idea is confirmed by feedbacks received from the Burger King’s former employees.