[00:00.00] UNIT 8

[00:29.00]TV Commercials

[00:33.44]Integrated Skills Development

[00:38.71]Passage

[00:43.26]An Advertising Gimmick Shown on TV

[00:49.92]Advertisement—most commonly known as "commercial" among the Americans,

[00:58.70]is a commonplace in a country where commodity economy controls.

[01:06.85]A visitor to the United States

[01:11.81]will soon find advertisements of all kinds everywhere,

[01:17.84]for example,

[01:21.01]glittering neon signs on top of high buildings and along main streets,

[01:27.95]colorful pictures painted on buses,

[01:32.92]pamphlets sent to every house,

[01:37.49]ads jammed between TV programs,

[01:42.64]various ads glutting newspapers and radio broadcast, etc.

[01:49.19]Businessmen spend lots of money advertising their products and services

[01:56.27]to promote sales.

[01:59.93]As trade war becomes increasingly intense,

[02:06.17]advertising has developed into a thriving industry.

[02:12.23]For each of its subjects,

[02:16.70]experts are now racking their brains

[02:21.56]and have invented new ideas.

[02:25.92]One of their main subjects

[02:30.28]is how to attract people's attention to their commodities,

[02:35.74]prices and services,

[02:39.69]and how to make ads appear natural

[02:44.41]so that people are impressed unconsciously

[02:49.69]with all they see and hear.

[02:53.84]Here is one example I saw on TV.

[02:59.80]The advertising gimmick called "The Price Is Right"

[03:07.17]is like a riddle game.

[03:11.61]Dozens of audience are sitting before a stage.

[03:16.78]There a variety of commodities are neatly placed

[03:23.83]and colorfully decorated with beautiful patterns and shining lights.

[03:30.78]Then come two or three pretty girls dressed in miniskirts.

[03:37.34]They stand beside the exhibits, smiling to the audience.

[03:43.69]A man speaks, through his mike,

[03:48.44]to the audience to invite four volunteers to join the game.

[03:54.92]When they step onto the stage,

[03:59.60]the man speaks in an agitating voice:

[04:04.64]"If you can tell exactly the right prices of these four items,

[04:10.88]you can win prize worth a hundred thousand dollars!"

[04:16.84]As he says this, he points to a new, smart and nice car,

[04:24.20]placed on a slowly turning platform. The audience,

[04:28.77]The audience, seeing this wonderful prize, exclaim excitedly.

[04:35.85]The volunteers take turns to make their guesses.

[04:42.10]Some guess correctly the price of two or three items,

[04:48.34]but seldom can they get all four items correct.

[04:54.30]However,in this trial,

[04:58.45]a housewife happens to tell the right prices of all four items.

[05:05.61]She is now the winner of the marvelous car!

[05:10.86]She is so excited that she seems

[05:15.69]blind and deaf when the man hands her a card and says to her:

[05:22.14]"Madame, congratulations! Now this car belongs to you!"

[05:28.80]"To me? My God!"

[05:32.67]she exclaims after she recovers from her abstraction.

[05:39.02]Not only are the audience sitting in the hall

[05:45.26]absorbed in the appealing game but also the TV-viewers of families.

[05:52.71]No wonder, they are interested in the exciting game,

[05:58.56]the beautiful exhibits,

[06:02.19]the tempting award and perhaps the charming girls,

[06:08.12]and at the same time,

[06:12.09]the commodities and their prices find their way into the audience.

[06:19.14]What do you think?

[06:23.27]Is it a successful advertising gimmick or only a trick?