VOCABULARY ON TOPIC FOR TOEFL IBT 6: ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING

1.Advert, advertisement or ad?

All these forms of the words are correct but ad is mostly used in spoken English only. You should also be aware of a common pronunciation problem:

  • advert
  • advertise
  • advertisement

This means that you make an “iss” sound when say advertisement. This is a very common mistake and one way to avoid it is to say and write advert.

2.Different forms of advertising

Television commercial: The BBC is perhaps unique for not carrying any commercials.

Radio spot: Radio stations make most of their revenue by selling airtime in the form of radio spots.

Billboard: Most major highways now have billboards by the roadside advertising everything from soap to gas.

Flyer: It can be very effective to hand out flyers.

Small ads/ personal ads: Not all advertising is commercial, many newspapers carry small ads for personal services.

Trailer: The trailer, as often as not, is actually better than the film itself.

Product placement: We are not always aware that we are being “sold” a product; for instance, when products are placed in films.

Promotion: The two for the price of one promotion can often be very misleading.

Endorsement: Many sports stars earn the majority of their income from endorsing various products.

Sponsorship: It is unarguable that tobacco firms should not be allowed to sponsor sports events.

3.Adjectives to describe advertising

Witty/ humorous: The idea is that if you can make someone laugh with a witty advert, then they will be more likely to buy the product.

Memorable: Almost all the best adverts are memorable in some way.

Persuasive: Some ads are extremely persuasive and we find we buy products we do not really need.

Misleading: Although there are regulations against this, many adverts are still misleading.

word-of-mouth: It is frequently said that the most effective form of advertising is word-of-mouth advertising.

4.Other related words

Regulation: Most people would accept that the advertising industry needs some form of regulation.

Advertising agency: Advertising agencies frequently do extensive market research to discover what attracts consumers.

Target: The difficulty comes when adverts target young children who are too easily influenced by them.

Consumers: It can also be argued that consumers are able to decide for themselves what to buy.

Brand awareness: Advertising is essential for companies that need to build their brand awareness.