雅思联系笔记之写作1：advertising

Consumers are faced with increasing numbers of advertisements from competing companies. To what extent do you think are consumers influenced by advertisements? What measures can be taken to protect them?

Nowadays we live in a consumer culture and people are exposed to various advertisements from competing companies in daily life. Increasing numbers of advertisements filling in the world with different forms of advertisements have been producing a significant impact on people from all walks of life. Respectively, we consumers are influenced in different ways.

We could not deny that advertising does have a positive effect in many fields. The first point to make is that companies tell customers about their products to build their brand awareness and we could have more choices with advertisements. A good illustration of this is that different moisturizers are endorsed by movie stars, carried on the trailer or television commercials and the like. These convince us that there are several kinds of moisturizer with good quality. On the other hand, advertising is a key part of modern business which creates many employments. Without advertising, there would be higher unemployment. If, for example, there are so many ad agencies across the street and big companies with the advertising department. Once the advertising industry collapse, related people may lose their jobs, which leads to a series of issues in consequence.

However, there is also a consideration that advertisements may pose a threat to us, especially our children. It is a common sight of the attractive image on most of the adverts. This is particularly evident in the case of junk food and kids' toys targeting o children and juveniles, who can hardly resist the temptation of mouthwatering hamburgers and fried chips on display and then put pressure on parents to buy them these things.

There is little doubt that there should be some regulation of advertising. Although advertising is necessary for free-market economies, governments should do restrictions on inappropriate information and the process of advertising. For instance, advertising aimed at children should be controlled or even banned and unhealthy food should not be marketed in a way that attracts children. Moreover, products that can be risks to health should display warnings as well as cigarette packets. 

The advertisement has become a part of our life. Facing with ads, we are supposed to keep a clear mind and avoid being manipulated so that advertising will be a powerful tool in our hands to create a positive impact on life.

Model essay:

In today’s material world, we are inundated with various forms of advertising. In my view, this can be dangerous as it encourages us to spend without thinking and young people, in particular, need some protection from it.

The first point to make is that advertising does make us spend money we do not need to. There are nowadays so many different ways companies promote their products and services, ranging from television commercials to simple flyers that we cannot escape it. If, for example, you watch a football match on television, you will see the logos of the tournament sponsors. Likewise, if you watch the latest blockbuster movie, very probably you will see a product placed in the film by some advertising agency. The  volume of this advertising means that we, as consumers, tend to be profoundly influenced by it and buy without thinking.

It is not easy to decide how to regulate advertising. Clearly, governments ought to restrict advertisements for harmful products such as alcohol and tobacco. They do not have the power, however, to control other forms of advertising. This means we need to use our common sense when we go to the shops, and ask ourselves whether we really need to make that purchase. Parents should, however, ensure that young people are protected from too much exposure to advertising. This can mean simply explaining that it is not in fact necessary to buy the newest Xbox, or simply turning the television off.

My conclusion is that while we cannot escape advertising or its effects in the modern world, children should be encouraged not to pay too much attention to it.