Exercise 6 Read the dialogue and choose the correct answer

A: OK, let’s brainstorm how we’re going to promote / endorse this product.

B: Well, we could get a famous celebrity like David Beckham to endorse it.

A: I think that would be much too expensive. Commercial / Sponsorship of a TV programme would also cost a lot. And a TV logo / commercial is out for the same reason. I’ve seen some great TV shots which are visually beautiful and really eye-catching / shocking, often set in romantic or dull / exotic locations. But I don’t think they’ve been very effective / witty as people can’t remember the product they’re advertising.

B: I agree, but we don’t want something catchy / dull and boring. How about advertising on the radio – would the budget run to that?

A: Yes, we could stretch to that.

B: And would you like something witty and eye-catching / catchy?

A: Maybe. I want something new and dull / original. But most importantly, it must be persuasive / misleading. It must get people to buy the product.

Exercise 7 Read the interview with a marketing expert speaking about the different types of advertising.

Companies advertise their products for three main reasons.

The first reason is simply to inform the public that a particular product or service exists. This type of advertisement gives factual information about the product, provides price details and information about any special offers. This is called informative advertising and it concentrates on just giving the essential details. It’s often used to give information about household products that people buy regularly.

The second type is persuasive advertising and its function is to convince people to buy a product or service. The advertisement tries to achieve this by telling people that the product or service will bring beneficial changes to their lives. This often happens with cosmetic products where a person is persuaded that a certain face cream will rid them of wrinkles and make their skin look fresh and young. Services like cosmetic surgery work on the same principle.

The third type of advertising is known as competitive advertising because the purpose here is to convince people that a particular company’s products or services are better than any other produced by its competitors. In some countries, companies are allowed to mention their competitors by name in their advertising. In other countries, this is not permitted.