Advertising Tricks *
In a TV commercial the advertiser is trying to persuade you to go out and buy something. He wants to 1 make you feel that you really must have it. There are a number of different ways of doing this:
1. The snob effect. You are told that the product is the most exclusive and of course rather expensive. Only the very best people use it.
2. The "scientific" effect. A serious-looking man with glasses and a white coat, possibly a doctor or a professor, tells you about the advantages of the product.
The words-and-music effect. The name of the product is repeated over and over again, put into a rhyme and sung several times, in the hope that you won't forget it. The sung rhyme is called a "jingle."
The ha-ha effect. The advertiser tries to make you laugh by showing people or cartoon figures in funny situations.
5. The VIP (Very Important Person) effect. Well-known people, like actors or football-players, are shown using the product.
The supermodern effect. The advertiser tries to persuade you that his product is a sensation or something really new.
The go-go effect. This is suitable for the teenage market. It shows young people having a party, singing laughing, having a wonderful time, and, of course, using the product.
Exercises
Ex.1. Give examples of different advertisements illustrating the effects shown in the text above
Are You Influenced by Advertising? ***
It goes without saying that all of us are influenced by adverts, commercials, brochures, bright pictures, sample sales and free gifts that are used to advertise goods, service and I'd say a certain way of life. In fact advertising has become part and parcel of our every day life. Advertisements are all around us, not just on TV, radio and in the press, but also at sports grounds, in shop windows, and on posters, carrier bags, badges, T-shirts, trams and buses and even hot air balloons. Whether we like it or not, advertising is a powerful force, and all countries have different ways of persuading people to buy something. Nevertheless, they have much in common.
If you don't mind, I'm going to dwell upon some of the gags they use and tell you how they influence personally me.
To begin with, I'd like to say that advertising often uses the language and pictures to make us believe that we should be ashamed of ourselves for not buying a certain product for our families or ourselves. They play on our feelings, emotions, and especially our wish to be up-to date and knowledgeable.
Frankly speaking I can only tell one shampoo from the other by the effect it produces on my hair. It sometimes leaves it silky, manageable, shiny or heavy, greasy or dull. But I'm flattered to hear that I'm buying the one that is "scientifically developed" or "has been scientifically approved by experts".
The numerous ads exploit our wish to be as good as others. They challenge us to "keep up to date", "keep up with the neighbours", or even "keep one jump ahead". The message is to buy the product if you don't want to be left behind. I must tell you that it's very tempting to buy a TV set of the new millennium or a coffee maker that every other family in all European countries uses. But here an average Russian consumer inevitably faces two problems: what's to be done with a previous one that is in perfect working order and, secondly, how to earn as much money as every other European family. I find those ads humiliating and try to ignore the information about weekends on Hawaii's cottages, Italian kitchens and posh cars.
The third trick they use is to say: be attractive. Pictures of sexy women and young fellows are often used to draw attention to a product, and the suggestion is that we will be desirable and socially successful if we use it. That's ridiculous! An untidy woman is repulsive and vulgar no matter whether she uses a brand famous new French perfume or not. In my opinion a man smoking "Camel" on a high mountain cliff doesn't look romantic and brave. It's totally absurd to climb that high so that to inhale nicotine instead of fresh mountain air. Besides, he pollutes the global atmosphere and risks cancer.
However, there are some ads, which I find very instructive. The ads which I really like and approve of are those that tell us to be responsible or act responsibly. These are adverts for healthy food, environmentally friendly products, and even charities. They really appeal to the caring side of human nature. They aim to make us feel guilty if we ignore the appeal. I do want my children and grandchildren to live on a healthy green planet without polluted forests or harmful wastes from nuclear plants and reactors.
To finish with, I'd like to say that I'm not entirely influenced by adverts like "millions of satisfied users." I don't believe that it is possible to become special by using a spray the pop-stars use, or become a VIP by driving a posh Rolls Roy's car. I remember Robert Burns' epigram about a flea that still remained a flea after spending a day with a king. I'm not going to seek "unique experience", tasting new Fanta or Cola. LIFE itself is a unique experience and it doesn't need any advertising.
Ex.3. Complete the sentences below with the given words
to advertise, powerful, to persuade, average, to have much in common, to be up-to-date, to ignore
1) I don’t’ want to support McDonald’s industry and you won’t _______________ me to have lunch there.
2) They are best friends and ____________________________.
3) Is the company going ____________________ their new product?
4) An _____________________ American spends about 2 hours a day watching TV.
5) What is the most __________________ country in the world?
6) If we ____________________ this conflict now, we’ll soon face very serious problems with our business partners.
7) Mass media help us all __________________________________.
Ex.4. Answer the following questions
1) What are all people influenced by?
2) What are the basic tricks advertising uses?
3) Do you share the opinion that some ads can be instructive and informative?
4) Do you sometimes feel as a victim of advertising?
5) Is advertising irritating for you?
Ex.5. Read and translate the statements below. Comment
1) Newspapers… help you forget the previous day (Elias Canetti).
2) Headlines twice the size of events (John Galsworthy).
3) A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself (Arthur Miller).
4) All television is educational television. The only question is, what is it teaching? (Nicholas Johnson)
5) I hate television. I hate it as much as peanuts. But I can’t stop eating peanuts