JANUARY 2009

K
PRINT & TEACH LESSON MAY 2009

ADVERTISING
Language Function: Vocabulary/Topic:
ISSUE NO: 245

discussing issues; understanding a written text advertising; brain research; human mind; persuasion

advanced upper-intermediate intermediate pre-intermediate

focus on talking
Activity 1. Ask and answer these questions in pairs.
What is your attitude towards advertising? Does advertising make our life better or worse? Would the world without advertising be a better place or not? What is the main goal of advertising? What would you call a successful advertising campaign? Does an effective advertising campaign need to be persuasive?

VOCABULARY BOX
advertisement - an announcement in a public
medium promoting a product, service, or event

Does advertising affect your choice of products and services? What kind of advertising do you nd most effective? Whats the best TV commercial you have seen recently? Why did you like it? Do you think it was persuasive?

commercial - a TV or radio advertisement infomercial - a TV commercial shown in a format of a

television programme

What kind of TV commercials do you nd annoying? Why?

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focus on reading
Activity 2. Scan read the article to find out:

1. What is the salience model of advertising? 2. What are its implications for advertisers?

NO NEED TO BE

PERSUASIVE
memorable is good enough
Suppose you were asked whether advertising has ever persuaded you to choose a certain brand of cereal, washing powder or car. My gut feeling is that, just like me, you would be quite reluctant to admit that your decisions are inuenced by what you can see and hear in the commercials we are all bombarded with every single day. We tend to think that our decisions are based on a logical analysis of pros and cons of each product or service. Yet, billions of dollars are spent each year by companies trying to persuade us to buy. Is all that money wasted, or are we, consumers, completely wrong about our decision-making? The new research carried out by neuroscientists and psychologists provides some evidence that we might, after all, be right. Recent years have seen a rapid progress in the understanding of how our brains work. This knowledge casts a new light on how our behaviour and attitudes are shaped, very often contradicting the views that are prevalent among advertisers. One of the most widespread opinions is that advertising should be persuasive. It should change consumers thoughts and feelings about the brand in such a way that they will hurry to the shop to buy the product. Apparently, there is little evidence to support this view. We are very reluctant to change our attitudes, and it does not matter if it is an attitude towards a particular brand of chocolate bar or a political party. Ask yourself how likely you are to vote for a party which you did not vote for

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in the last election. Why should we be more eager to switch to a new brand of cornakes? After all, the outcome of the latter decision, unlike exercising of the voting right, would really inuence our daily lives. And even if we assumed that it is true that advertising can change our attitudes, how can we be sure that the shift in peoples attitudes inuences their buying behaviour? In fact, there is little evidence to support this claim, too. Consumers often make purchase decisions in seconds and do not want to spend too much time and effort evaluating the pros and cons of all the brands on the shelf. So far, it seems that our belief that we are immune to advertising is justied. Well, not really. The fact that advertising is not persuasive does not mean it is not effective. Quite opposite - it is very effective if its goal is not to persuade us but instead, to build brand salience. Brand salience is the likelihood that the brand will be recalled at the right time, which is in the buying situation. According to neuroscientists, successful adver tising builds and reinforces consumers memories about a brand and hence brand salience. What we should expect from advertising is not that it is persuasive but that it is noticeable and memorable. In a typical buying situation we never consider all available brands, instead, we consider two or three. Which brands come to our minds? Not those which tried to persuade us about their value but simply the ones we remember. Also, we tend to choose what we nd more familiar; the more information we retrieve about a brand, the more likely we are to select it. So, according to the salience model, the main aim of advertising should be to make the brand as prominent as possible in consumers minds. Advertising does not need to persuade to be effective. Instead, it should build and consolidate memories about brands and thus increase the probability of being chosen by consumers.
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focus on comprehension
Activity 3. Read the article again and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
1. Most people are unwilling to admit that they are influenced by advertising. 2. The new research carried out by neuroscientists and psychologies has confirmed advertisers understanding of consumers behaviour and attitudes. 3. A lot of people believe that advertising should be persuasive in order to be effective. 4. According to the author, we are not affected by advertising. 5. According to neuroscientists, adverts need to be memorable in order to be effective. 6. Consumers prefer new brands to the ones they know well.

focus on talking
Activity 4. Discuss these questions in pairs.
Do you nd the salience model of advertising credible? Do you agree that advertising does not need to be persuasive to be effective. How do you behave in a typical buying situation? Do you tend to choose products that you nd more familiar? How many brands do you usually consider before making a decision? According to neuroscientists, advertising needs to be memorable and noticeable. How to make adverts more memorable and noticeable? Can you give any examples of such advetising campaigns? What made them memorable and noticeable?

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focus on vocabulary
Activity 5. Explain the following words and phrases.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. I have a gut feeling that ... reluctant pros and cons of something to cast a new light contradict prevalent to exercise ones voting right to be immune to something hence to retrieve ................................................................................................. ................................................................................................. ................................................................................................. ................................................................................................. ................................................................................................. ................................................................................................. ................................................................................................. ................................................................................................. ................................................................................................. .................................................................................................

focus on vocabulary - persuasion

Activity 4. Match these words and expressions with their definitions
1. to brainwash 2. to coax 3. to lobby 4. to coerce 5. to dissuade 6. to badger A. to persuade someone forcefully to do something which they are unwilling to do B. to persuade someone by telling them repeatedly to do something C. to make someone believe something by continually telling them that it is true and preventing any other information from reaching them D. to persuade someone to do something they might not want to do, by pleasant talk and promises E. to persuade someone not to do something F. to persuade a politician, the government or an official group that a particular thing should or should not happen, or that a law should be changed

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