Text 12

Read the following opinions of American professors on advertising, translate them into Russian in writing and give your arguments for and against advertising in English (see also Text 5);

A) Advertising Is a Positive Social Force

There is no realistic justification for the restriction of advertising: it is a form of protected speech and is crucial to the financial survival of media industries. While some advertising is generally reprehensible, the vast majority is not, and there is virtually no advertising that promotes causes or values which truly do damage to American society. Instead, by providing consumer information to the public, advertising plays a positive social role. The public knows that advertisements are advocating specific views and accepts them with skepticism. Advertising also is a positive force for economic stimulation. Targeted advertising is valuable to increase the diversity and range of media organizations like specialized magazines in the marketplace. Political advertising, even when misleading, reflects the nature of the candidates and rarely goes unchallenged by the opposition or a critical news media.

B) Advertising Is a Negative Social Force

Advertising clutters our media, overpowers serious news and discussion, encourages unnecessary buying, worsens class envy, and leads to wasteful consumption. Advertisements may largely finance American media, but that would be the only way it could be called a “positive force”. Advertising exaggerates, misleads, appeals to sex and frivolity, gives irrational testimonials, creates exorbitant expectations, and generally promotes a materialistic society. At best, advertising in America is a necessary evil. It could hardly be called a positive social force.

c)

Advertising - a positive social force? I think not. Advertising causes people to buy what they don’t need, causes people to discard perfectly good merchandise, causes poor people to want things they can’t afford, causes the spread of vulgar culture, and creates exorbitant and unfillable expectations, thus promoting a “materialistic” society.

From “Media Debates”

Preparing the Text

A. Points for comments and discussion

Write a two page essay on the social role of advertising, making use of the previous texts and the vocabulary you have learnt.

Text 13

Nine Differences between Advertising and Public Relations

If you’re searching for a career or trying to promote your company, you may have questions about advertising vs. public relations. These two industries are very different even though they’re commonly confused as being one and the same. The following nine properties just scratch the surface of the many differences between advertising and public relations.

1. Paid Space or Free Coverage

Advertising (AD): The company pays for ad space. You know exactly when that ad will air or be published.

Public Relations (PR): Your job is to get free publicity for the company. From news conferences to press releases, you’re focused on getting free media exposure for the company and its products/ services.

2. Creative Control vs. Control

AD: Since you’re paying for the space, you have creative control on what goes into that ad.

PR: You have no control over how the media presents your information, if they decide to use your info at all. They’re not obligated to cover your event or to publish your press release just because you sent something to them.

3. Shelf Life

AD: Since you pay for the space, you can run your ads over and over for as long as your budget allows. An ad generally has a longer shelf life than a press release.

PR: You only submit a press release about a new product once. You only submit a press release about a news conference once. The PR exposure you receive is only circulated once. An editor won’t publish your same press release three of four times in their magazine.

4. Wise Consumers

AD: Consumers know when they are reading an advertisement they are trying to be sold a product or service. “The consumer understands that we have paid to present our selling message to him or her, and unfortunately, the consumer often views our selling message very guardedly”, Paul Flowers said. – “After all, they know we are trying to sell them”.

PR: When someone reads a third-party article written about your product or views coverage of your event on TV, they’re seeing something you didn’t pay for with ad dollars and view it differently than they do paid advertising. “Where we can generate some sort of third-party “endorsement” by independent media sources, we can create great credibility for our clients’ products or services”, Flowers said.