ballyhoo
noun

- extravagant publicity or fuss

- a noisy attention-getting demonstration or talk

- loud, exaggerated, or sensational advertising or propaganda

- flamboyant, exaggerated, or sensational promotion or publicity

Oxford Languages, Cambridge Dictionary, Merriam-Webster

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WORD ORIGIN

The word "ballyhoo" originated in the early 20th century United States, around 1900-1910. Its origins are somewhat obscure, but there are several theories, including a short-lived circus publication called "Ballyhoo," the schooner "ballahoo," carnival barkers’ calls, and the Irish place name "Ballyhooly."

The word initially referred specifically to the exaggerated promotional language used by circus barkers and carnival pitchmen to drum up interest in their attractions. By the 1920s, it had expanded to refer to any kind of sensationalized publicity or exaggerated promotion, particularly in advertising and public relations.

Today, "ballyhoo" is used to describe any kind of extravagant publicity or noisy promotion intended to attract attention, often with an implication that the promotion is somewhat overblown compared to what's actually being offered.

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BALLYHOO SLOGAN QUIZ
Try to guess the product or service being promoted by each of these marketing slogans:

-  "Prepare to Be Astonished or Your Money Back!

-  "Colossal! Gigantic! Revolutionary! Beyond Human Imagination!"

-  "The Eighth Wonder of the World - You Won't Believe Your Eyes!"

-  "The Secret They Don't Want You To Discover!"

-  "The Ultimate Driving Machine"

-  “The world’s favourite airline”

-  “I’m lovin' it.”

-  "The Book They Tried To Ban From Bookstores!"

-  "The Flavor Explosion Scientists Said Was Impossible!"

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-  "Prepare to Be Astonished or Your Money Back!"
     Houdini's Final Tour
     Theatrical Syndicate Promotions (1925)

-  "Colossal! Gigantic! Revolutionary! Beyond Human Imagination!"
     The Zeppelin Airship Public Tours
     Atlantic Advertising Consortium (1929)

-  "The Eighth Wonder of the World - You Won't Believe Your Eyes!"
     King Kong Exhibition at Roxy Theater
     Barnum & Bailey Publicity Bureau (1933)

-  "The Secret They Don't Want You To Discover!"
     Charles Atlas Bodybuilding Program
     Newman-Schmidt Associates (1942)

-  "The Ultimate Driving Machine"
     BMW
     Ammirati & Puris (1973)

-  “The world’s favourite airline”
     British Airways    
     Saatchi & Saatchi (1983)

-  “I’m lovin' it.”
     McDonald's
     Heye & Partner/DDB Worldwide (2003)

-  "The Book They Tried To Ban From Bookstores!"
     ‘The Da Vinci Code’ by Dan Brown
     Agency: Doubleday Publishing In-House (2003)

-  "The Flavor Explosion Scientists Said Was Impossible!"
     Monster Energy's "Quantum Surge" Drink
     Radical Media Group (2024)

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SYNONYMS

ado, BALLYHOO, baloney, bangarang, beating the drum, big talk, bigmouth, blather, blurb, bluster, boasting, bombastic language, bull, bunkum, carnival barking, deceptive advertising, drumming up business, exaggerated promotion, extravagant nonsense, flimflam, hard sell, hawking, hokum, huff and puff, humbug, hype, hyperbole, inflated claims, much ado about nothing, outrageous claim, overstatement, plugging, publicity stunt, razzmatazz, rodomontade, sales pitch, sensationalism, touting, trumpeting, windbaggery

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation today, say something like:

“There’s so much BALLYHOO around these days, people have become very distrustful of advertising claims.”

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