ADVERTISEMENTS (after G. Mikes) I am ready to bet that in your naivety you believe that advertising is the art of convincing people of the advantages of your product and of persuading them to prefer your product to any other make. This is a misconception. Advertising is the art of convincing people that they want certain things they don 't want at all. Advertisements in America are everywhere. They fill the newspapers and cover the walls, they are on menu cards and in your daily post, on pamphlets and on match boxes... They tell you that if you wash with a certain soap you'll become rich, if you use a certain orange squeezer, you will remain young, if you eat only a special kind of tomato ketchup you will learn foreign languages more easily. Of course, people are much too intelligent to believe such silly statements. But after all there may be something in it - why not try? The word “scientific” has a magic effect in America. You may put up a notice “Scalp Massage” - this is quite ineffective. But if you say “Scientific Scalp Massage” - that is a different matter. After all, the least you can expect is that your scalp should be massaged by a scientist. 10. Answer the questions.
1. What do most people think of the art of advertising?
2. What do advertisements convince people of?
3. Do you believe that if you cat a special kind of tomato ketchup you'll learn English more easily?
4. Which word has a magic effect in America? Why?
5. Do you know any “magic” words in Russian advertisements?
