Vocabulary

outrageous very shocking

to sue to claim money because you have been harmed

penance suffering to show you are sorry

adland the advertising industry; the imaginary and usually idealized world portrayed in advertisements

to take smth. at a face value to accept smth. without thinking

ain't (colloquial) contracted form of are not, used also for am or is not; also for have not and has not

to garner to collect

a creative a creative worker (artist, writer, poet, etc.)

a counterpart a similar person in a different place

to be ahead of one’s time having ideas, etc too advanced or progressive to be acceptable at the time

acumen the ability to make good judgements

to be in touch with to understand

Exercise 1. Read the text in more detail and choose the best answer.

1. Which of the following is least likely to be one of the reasons why Volkswagen ran a deliberately provocative campaign?

a) to generate media coverage of the campaign.

b) to shock some members of society.

c) to show their lack of respect for the Catholic Church.

2. Using taboo images in advertising has become popular with advertising executives mainly because

a) they only want to target young people.

b) consumers have stopped paying attention to conventional advertising.

c) products are becoming more international and sophisticated.

3 According to the text, shocking advertising is

a) always damaging for the advertiser.

b) always damaging for the ad agency.

c) the simplest way to get media coverage.

4. According to Leon Jaume, the young generation of consumers like ads

a) with an international flavour.

b) that offend them.

c) that offend their parents.

5. The author of the text suggests that

a) perhaps Volkswagen isn't broad-minded enough.

b) admen are not doing enough market research before running campaigns.

c) Volkswagen wanted to break taboos in France.

Exercise 2. Find words or expressions in the text which correspond to the following definitions.

1. a public space reserved for advertisers to put their ads on (§ 1)

billboard

2. large pictures or notices put up in a public place to advertise something (§ 1)

p_____

3. human interest subjects (§ 5)

s_____ i_____

4. people or companies who pay for a professional service (§ 6)

C_____

5. try to win a business deal (§ 6)

to p_____ f__ b_____

6. time and space given by the media to a particular news item (§ 7)

c_____

7. the person in charge of developing ideas for advertising campaigns (§8)

C_____ D_____

8. a social custom which means a particular activity or subject must be avoided (§ 8)

t_____

Exercise 3. Complete the following passage about the mineral water company Perrier using the words from the box.

market purity inspection name fault concern image statement

In February 1990, Perrier, one of the most famous mineral water companies, faced a serious 1_____ problem when small quantities of benzene were found in some bottles. The company decided to take 160 million bottles, worth $70m, off the 2_____. The spokesperson from the communications department made a 3_____ to the press saying that this did not present a health problem but he did admit that for the product known for 4_____, it was definitely a mistake.

An independent environmental consultant carried out an 5_____ at the Perrier plant and identified and corrected the 6_____. The same consultant said that a person spilling one drop of lead-free petrol on their hand would absorb more benzene than if they drank a bottle of Perrier every day for a year. In this instance Perrier's policy of honesty and its 7_____ for consumers saved its image and good 8_____.

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