Describe an advertisement that you remembered very well You should say:
What type of advertisement it is What product it advertises Where you first saw it
And explain why it was interesting.
Sample answer:
There are several advertisements that we see on the TV daily and some of them are very boring and others are average while some are very interesting and creative. One such advertisement that I really liked was regarding the unmatched contributions of mothers for their kids which I saw a few months back. The advertisement was broadcasted for the ‘Mother’s Day’ and it was not for any product. The ministry of child & mother care of health department was the sponsor of this ad and I saw it 3-4 days before the last ‘Mother’s Day’.
This ad was a very creative one and it was not like the most other ads that publicize or advertise their products. Rather it was an advertisement dedicated to the mothers and it reminded us that the toughest job in the world is the job done by mothers. They take care of their kids with the utmost care and dedication. They sacrifice their own wished and will to properly bring up the kids. I saw this ad in the (…say a channel name…) UR TV channel.
This was a creative ad that effectively delivered the message it intended to. It has shown some successful person in the history at the end and before that it showed how mothers are taking care and inspiring their kids to do good things and in the end, it shows the tribute to the mothers of the world for their valuable and second to none contribution.
Follow-up questions:
- In general, what are the pros and cons of advertising?
Option 1: In my opinion, advertisements are an important part of our daily life. Whether you like them or not, they are there all around you: in the streets, in the newspapers, on TV and the Internet, actually everywhere. Advertisements keep the consumers informed as to what are there to choose from while they help the manufacturers to publicize their products. In addition, when the producers run their advertisements in the media, we don’t need to pay so much money to enjoy the papers and TV or radio programmes. However, some advertisements may not be objective. On the contrary, they try to sound more encouraging and persuasive than the goods can guarantee. Sometimes, they create a need that otherwise wouldn’t exist. But on the whole, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Option 2: Well, looking at the advantages, I’d say that the main one is that it can help increase the awareness of a product or service, and in a lot of cases, you can reach a very wide target market through advertising, for example with TV and Internet ads. And as for the drawbacks, well I suppose the most obvious one is the cost, because as I’m sure you know, advertising isn’t cheap, and you have to pay for it up front, before you can start enjoying the benefits. So in other words, there’s quite a big element of risk to it, because you know, you could end up losing quite a lot of money if your advertising campaign isn’t successful. - How important are clothes and fashion to you? [Why/Why not?]?
Yes, definitely. If there were no advertising and you went to a shop, then you would just buy what you wanted based on maybe what others have told you, what the product looks like, or, depending on the product, what it says on the label. Advertising builds up a brand and people then trust a certain thing because they have seen it on television or elsewhere. Also, there is so much advertising around it must influence us. You can’t escape it as it is fed to us constantly in our daily lives – not only in magazines, radio and television, but on billboards, on TVs installed on trains and platforms, even in schools and universities. So yes, advertising influences what we buy. - Describe the attitudes of the Vietnamese people towards advertisements.
I think we take a positive attitude towards advertisements. Nowadays, you just can’t imagine how imaginative those advertising people are. All the color schemes, imagination and creation attract so much attention. But when choosing any goods, we really don’t only look at the advertisements; instead, we look at the quality, service, price and even the social record of this company. But of course I have to admit some creative and colorful advertisements have really attracted some young consumers. Whenever they look at an item, they have an obvious association with the advertisement. - Do you think there’s too much advertising in our daily lives?
It could be seen to be necessary in terms of the fact that, as I mentioned before, there is so much choice that we need someone to guide us in what to buy or to give us some extra information about products. Without this, it would be difficult to know where to start.
However, that said, I’m not sure that I would regard it as ‘necessary’ as overall I think it may do more harm than good. As we just discussed, advertising encourages people to buy things they possibly do not need. We live in a consumer society and many people are in debt because we are encouraged to buy and buy, and I’m sure advertising plays a major role in this. Without advertising we could just do our own research and decide what we really need. So no, I would not say that advertising in necessary in modern society. - Do you think there are too many advertisements?
I’m not sure if you can measure how much is too much – because there is no limit, is there? I guess if companies advertise, then they must be moving their products, and they wouldn’t advertise something if it wasn’t going to be successful for them, because that would just be bad business, so I suppose they must assess the level of advertising they do and are happy with it.
Maybe some people might think there are too many ads everywhere, but then it’s not like anyone is forcing you to look at them or respond to them. - Do you think advertisements are a good or bad influence on children?
Looking at todays children, I would have to say advertisements have predominately had a negative influence on their lives and character. Ads create a discontentment with what children have and a desire to own more and to be like everyone else. Advertisements usually tend to be unrealistic and give a false impression of how the children should he or what will happen when they buy the product. - Do you think there should be some controls or restrictions placed on the advertising industry?
Yes, I do. Some things should not be advertised, such as cigarettes, which arc harmful to people’s health. Most people are aware of their existence, so they don’t need to be promoted more. Children especially should not be shown advertisements that make harmful things look cool or interesting. Advertisements that have age-inappropriate content should also be banned - What’s the most frequently used method of advertising?
Well nowadays I’d say it’s probably online advertising, because people are spending so much time on the Internet. And companies have basically latched on to this fact, because almost every website you go on now has advertising of some sort on it. - Which do you think is the most effective means of advertising?
Well I’m no expert, but I suppose it kind of depends on the product you’re trying to sell.So for example, if it’s a mass-market product like shampoo, then I guess TV advertising would be the most effective, as it reaches the widest audience, and also uses moving images and sounds, unlike newspaper ads, which just use still images. But if, on the other hand, it’s a niche product which only has a very small target customer group, then I’d say you’re better off using a more focused means of advertising, for example putting ads on websites which are related to that particular product or service. Because that way, the ad will only be viewed by people who might actually be interested in it, and it will also be a lot more cost-effective than using other ways to advertise. - What do you think is the purpose of advertisements (or advertising)?
As the name suggests, advertisement is a public promotion of some products or services. Advertisements are mostly used by manufacturers and companies to make their products or the services they offer known to people, which is an effective means of publicity. - What kinds of products do you think are most suitable to be advertised?
That’s a difficult question, and I’ve never really thought about it before, but I guess it would be those which are new on the market. Because if you think about it, those are the products which people don’t really know about, and if they don’t know about them, then chances are they’re not gonna buy them. So yeah I think it’s logical that these are the products which are most in need of advertising. - Do you think the number of advertisements will increase in the future?
Yes, I imagine it’s very likely that it will, because I mean, it’s already increased considerably from 20 years ago. You know, it seems that everywhere you look now, you can see advertising, for example, in lifts, on the street, and so I can’t see any reason why it won’t go on increasing, especially seeing as commercialism in society seems to be getting more and more prevalent, which, I think you would agree, goes hand in hand with advertising!