Transcript GOING GLOBAL Are we at the mercy of the global advertisers?

GOING GLOBAL
Are we at the mercy of the global
advertisers? This article explores some
of the issues facing each one of us
every day wherever we live.
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World Brands
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Perhaps the biggest challenge now facing the
international advertising industry is that of
establishing ‘world brands’ by appealing to the
global consumer in all of us. For whilst there will
always be national and niche markets which
require specific marketing strategies, global
operations call for global campaigns. Professor
Theodore Levitt of Harvard Business School first
put forward the theory of ‘the globalization of
markets’. But the idea that there are more
similarities between cultures than differences
goes back to the popular image of the ‘global
village’.
The best in the business
It was Coca-Cola who told us in the 70s that
‘they’d like to buy the world a Coke’ and
British Airways who announced in the 80s
that they were ‘the world’s favourite airline.
 Their universally recognized TV and cinema
advertisements invented the global
advertising genre and the agencies who
created their award-winning commercials
are today widely regarded as the best in the
business.
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Simple messages
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The very first global commercial Saatchi & Saatchi
ran for BA featured Manhattan Island being flown
across the Atlantic. As their in-flight magazine put
it, “the effect was breathtaking; words were hardly
needed; the pictures said it all”. The commercial
was screened in 29 countries and caused a
sensation in the industry. Since then, ‘the world’s
favourite airline’ has become a part of the
language, recognized the world over. The secret,
according to BA, is that the message is
straightforward, easily understood and vividly
expressed.
The biggest brands
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In fact, only a handful of worldwide agency
networks have the capacity to take on the
world’s biggest brands. McCann-Erikson,
who has handled amongst others CocaCola, Esso and Kodak, came up with ‘the
Martini moment’. Leo Burnett gave us the
Seven-Up slogan ‘it’s cool to be clear’ and,
perhaps most famously of all, the
Marlboro cowboy – a theme which has
been running for over forty years.
Minimalist approach
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So what is it that makes global advertising so
compelling and memorable? The answer to that
lies partly in reducing the message to an absolute
minimum. A lot of adverts pack in too much and
end up obscuring their message. The global
commercial gets its message across succinctly,
with great impact and an emotional intensity
which belongs to the universal languages of
pictures and music. The commercials reinforce the
brand-image independently of any real
consideration of the product. And image outsells
product every time.
Costs the earth
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The beauty of a good global ad is that it can be
used to great effect over a period of many years
and still seem fresh. Global image-making,
however, is a lengthy and costly business. Bringing
together the best creative talent in the advertising
industry usually ends up costing the earth. And
critics of global ads point out that for the
majority of brands global advertising is seldom
the answer. Though the world is getting smaller by
the day, few companies, even multinationals, have
true global status and since most ‘mass-marketed’
products actually sell to fewer than five per cent
of the masses, it doesn’t always pay to think big.
Are the following statements true or false according to
the text?
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Global advertising is just a current trend.
Global ads are generally believed to be superior to other
commercials.
If global advertising became more widespread, only the top
three or four agencies would be left in business.
Showing the same commercial in several countries cuts
down production costs and saves time.
A global advertising policy usually leads to extremely bland
commercials
Good global ads often rely on their non-verbal impact.
Global commercials have more mileage.
Mass marketing is actually a contradiction in terms.
These eight verbs are commonly used in advertising. Choose
the right one to complete each sentence.
attract
 boost
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spend
launch
promote
persuade
appeal
project
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The copywriter created a slogan which would ___________ to a wide
cross-section of consumers.
The agency wants to __________ a campaign targeting the under-16
market.
The consumers we want to _________ are professionals who purchase
up-market products.
All advertising must ___________ the right product image.
Giving away free badges helped to ________ ice-cream sales to children.
The number of TV commercials in a campaign depends on how much the
client wants to _________ and who he wants to reach.
The function of advertising is primarily to inform and to _________ .
Our plan is to _________ the new product across a wide range of media.
Listen to five people describing
their favourite advertisements
Listen and make notes. Use the following
two headings:
 Product
Reasons for liking the
advertisement
 What is your favourite advertisement?
Why do you like it?
 What kind of advertisement do you like?
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Words
Chaotic, colourful, boring, Levi Strauss,
marvellous, tune, Renault Clio, appeal to,
Dairy Box, immediate response, French
connection, the Tube, cheeky, mischievous.
 Frank Cooper’s marmalade, Classic FM,
sponsorship tie-up, tremendous, retail
outlets, cost effective, targeting, Kraft
Cream Cheese Spread, nutrition benefits,
generate sales.
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Do you think that the
advertising practices described
Are there any types of advertisement that
you find offensive?
 Using children in advertisements
 Using nudity in advertisements
 Promoting alcohol on TV
 Comparing your products to your
competitors’ products
 An image flashed onto a screen very quickly
so that people are affected without noticing
it (subliminal advertising)
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What makes a good advertisement? Use
some of the words below.
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Clever interesting funny inspiring
eye-catching powerful humorous
shocking informative sexy
Which of the following
statements do you agree with?
People remember advertisements not
products
 Advertising raises prices
 Advertising has a bad influence on
children
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MODERN LIFE
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My life is very different from that of my grandparents’
_______
generation. Some of things are better today and other
____ of ___
things are too worse. I am glad that we have TV today,
_________
because I think that life might be a bit boring without
_________
having it. I also like cars, computers, and video games.
_________
I think young people are have more fun today than
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young people of my grandparents’ generation.
________
However, there they are also a lot of bad things about
_________
life today. For our example, my grandparents did not
_________
have to live out with pollution when they were
_________
the younger. They could breathe clean air when _________
they walked in the streets. Also, there was less
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crime made in those days. My grandparents did not
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have to worry about them being burgled or mugged
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in the same way as we worry today. Nevertheless,
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I am glad that I am young today, because I think so
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that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
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Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use
only one word in each space.
STUCK IN A LIFT
To be stuck in a lift (0) for any length of time is a nightmare …(1)… true
for many people. So pity poor Graham Coates …(2)… was trapped inside
one for three whole days! One Saturday morning in 1986, he decided to go
to work at his office, which was …(3)… the second floor of a large office
block.
 Somewhere …(4)… the first and second floor, the lift stopped. He pushed
the alarm bell but, as …(5)… was the weekend, the office block was
empty. The noise …(6)… not be heard from outside the building.
 He tried shouting, but no one was able to hear that …(7)… . Eventually, he
decided …(8)… he would just have to wait. Nobody reported him missing
because he was living with …(9)… parents at the time and he often spent
weekends away …(10)… home. He began to get thirsty, and then hungry.
By Sunday he was dreaming of long cool drinks, and the lovely meal that
people …(11)… be enjoying in the pub …(12)… he worked at weekends.
 Monday was a national holiday, so it was not …(13)… Tuesday morning
that he was rescued by his boss. By that time he was very weak and ill. He
had to have several days …(14)… work, and still gets headaches even
today. Now he refuses to enter any lift which does not …(15)… a
telephone installed!
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EXPAND ON A STATEMENT
If I were a millionaire…
 Russian women make the best wives.
 If I were the president of a large company.
 Two heads are better than one.
 Every country has its own customs.
 I remember seeing a very interesting
film…
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Situation
Your company is expecting a visit of a
representative form one of your major
suppliers.You are asked to give the guest
a guided tour of the companies’ offices.
 How would you go about organizing such
a tour?
 What offices would you show to your
guest during the tour?
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