The soap opera
(an article from a magazine)
The soap opera marks its half century on the air today. The anniversary is also a milestone for Procter & Gamble, which has part-produced and funded As The World Turns since 1956.
The genre got its name from the adverts for Ivory soap that P&G would run in the breaks in the programme. In the heyday of the P&G soap, the company was producing as many as 13 shows, including the only other surviving soap The Guiding Light, which is 70 next year.
In the early days, P&G’s aim in producing soaps was to target women at home during the day. The soaps were seen as risky, because they were the first TV entertainment of their kind to appear outside prime evening hours.
But they were a roaring success, helping sell P&G’s soap, detergent and shampoo products and building brand awareness that was passed on to further generations as mothers watched with their young children. They also helped launch careers of some well-known actors.
Yet, TV ratings have fallen in recent years. Marketers are increasingly questioning the value of broadcast TV advertising. P&G is trying to reverse the decline by applying some experimental marketing practices to the old soap opera TV medium as it attempts to bridge the gap between old and new media.
Last month, P&G launched an internet-based, lottery-style promotion called Daytime Dollars, giving away a $500 prize to viewers whose ‘unique number’ appeared on the programme. ...
Exercise 21. Read the text and mark the following statements as true (T) or false (F):
The first soap opera appeared on the air a century ago.
The first soap operas advertised soap produced by numerous American companies.
P&G advertised their soap during the breaks in films and shows.
The soaps first appeared in the prime evening hours.
The soaps helped the company to sell a few products, but not only soap.
Some actors became very popular thanks to the soaps.
In recent years the popularity of the soaps has gone down.
Exercise 22. Mark the meaning (with a tick) in which these words are used in the text:
marketers — producing companies
shops
purchasers
to reverse — to change
to annul
to go the other way round
to bridge — to join by means of a bridge
to cover a period of time
to overcome
gap — opening in a wall
interval
wide separation
to launch — to start
to set afloat
to aim
to give away — to sacrifice
to distribute
to reveal
programme — list of singers in an opera
performance
plan
Write English
Advertising
Exercise 23a. Write extensive answers to the following questions:
Is advertising an essential source of finance for most television and radio companies in the world?
Are ways of advertising on the radio, on television, in newspapers, in magazines, on billboards similar?
What is the most effective way of advertising?
b Write an essay on one of the following topics:
Advertisements often contain lies.
Many viewers hate commercials in television and radio programmes.
Advertising is an art.
с Write an advertisement of a certain product of your choice.
Make a presentation