GRE作文范文 Issue-6

"The purpose of many advertisements is to make consumers want to buy a product so that they will 'be like' the person in the ad. This practice is effective because it not only sells products but also helps people feel better about themselves."

嘉文博譯Sample Essay

Many advertisements do indeed use attractive models or celebrities to entice consumers into buying the products that are being promoted. Who would not like to look like the beautiful models that are depicted enjoying the product? Who would not like to be like a Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods? To a certain extent, buying products to emulate the persons shown in the advertisements can make a person feel better about him or herself. But this type of advertisement can be a double-edged sword - when the product does not make the person "be like" the person in the advertisement, there can be disappointment and disillusionment with the product.

Marketing departments have long known that using attractive models and celebrity endorsers can help to persuade consumers to buy a product. Some customers may actually believe that buying and using the product will make them "be like" the people featured in the ad. For other consumers, there is probably at least some subconscious reaction that causes them to believe that they will in fact assume some of the characteristics of the person depicted in the advertisement. Consumers with a lower sense of self-esteem are more likely to buy a product based on the motivation that they will become like someone else.

Proof of this marketing axiom can be found by simply looking at advertisements from around the world. People featured in advertisements are almost always good-looking, healthy and physically fit. Marketers are savvy enough, and enough market research has proven that, consumers are motivated to buy by advertisements featuring attractive models. Even advertisements that are aimed at the older people of a population will feature attractive older people. Although there has been some criticism about the effect of showing only "beautiful people" on the general population, particularly on young women, advertisers know that beauty sells. But whether this practice makes people feel better about themselves depends on the individual and is certainly open to debate.

Some individuals with a low sense of self-esteem, especially younger people, may purchase products in an attempt to make themselves be like the person featured in the advertisement. Young women in particular may buy cosmetics or clothing advertised by beautiful models in an attempt to look the same as them. Young men may buy athletic shoes or apparel in an attempt to perform athletically in the same way that the person featured in the advertisement plays. These people may then become further discouraged when they use or wear the product and find out that they are the same person that they were before. Buying the product hasn't changed anything.

There are others that may derive a certain sense of satisfaction over the fact that they wear the same underwear as some beautiful models or that they drink the same soft drink as Britney Spears. These people in general already have a good sense of who they are and don't expect a particular product to perform miracles for them. For these people, the purchase of the product is not so much as an image enhancer; it is more of a form of self-expression. Perhaps drinking a Pepsi-Cola makes them feel younger or wearing Nike shoes makes them feel more athletic, no matter how old or inactive they may be in reality. In this manner, it is possible that advertising can make people feel better about themselves.

Marketing and advertising absolutely must appeal to people in one way or another to be successful. Research has shown that using celebrities and attractive people can motivate consumers to purchase a product. In whatever manner, advertisers hope that they actually can make people feel better about themselves, because that can help foster repeat purchases of a product. Ultimately, whether an advertisement makes a person feel better about him or herself depends on the individual and how they perceive themselves as compared to the particular advertisement in question.

(692 words)

參考譯文

許多廣告的目的在于，通過使顧客購買某種商品，從而讓他們覺得他們將會和廣告中的那個人'相差無幾'。這一做法甚為有效，因?yàn)樗粌H能售出產(chǎn)品，而且也幫助人們有更好的自我感覺

許多廣告確實(shí)使用迷人的模特或名人來誘使顧客購買所推銷的產(chǎn)品。試想，誰不想看上去像廣告所描繪的那個正在享受該產(chǎn)品的漂亮模特呢?誰不喜歡成為麥克爾·喬丹或泰格·伍茲呢?在某種程度上，通過購買產(chǎn)品從而去模仿廣告中所表現(xiàn)的人物可以使人產(chǎn)生較好的自我感覺。但這類廣告卻是一把雙刃劍----當(dāng)產(chǎn)品不能使購買者與廣告人物"相差無幾"時，人們就會對產(chǎn)品產(chǎn)生失落感和幻滅感。

營銷部門早就深知，使用迷人的模特和名流有助于說服顧客顧買某一產(chǎn)品。某些顧客可能實(shí)際上相信購買和使用該產(chǎn)品會使自己與廣告中描繪的人物"相仿"。對某一些顧客來說，至少有可能存在某種潛意識的反應(yīng)，使他們相信他們在實(shí)際上可以獲取廣告中所表現(xiàn)的人物的某些特征。自尊感較低的顧客更有可能購買某一產(chǎn)品，其動機(jī)便是他們將能變得類似于另一個人。

要證明這一營銷公理，我們僅須審視一下世界各地的廣告。廣告所刻劃的人物幾乎總是漂亮，健康，精力充沛。營銷人員個個老謀深算，有足夠的市場研究已證明，有迷人模特的廣告可激發(fā)起顧客的購買欲望。即使是面向老年人的廣告也會展示迷人的老年人形象。盡管只展示"漂亮臉蛋"對普通民眾，尤其是對年輕婦女姓，所產(chǎn)生的影響已遭到某些批評，但廣告商深知，美能帶來商業(yè)效益。但該做法是否真能使人有更好的自我感覺，這因人而異，且值得商榷。

某些自尊感低的個人，尤其是年輕人，他們購買產(chǎn)品有可能是試圖讓自己類似于廣告中所表現(xiàn)的人物。特別是年輕女性，她們購買那些漂亮模特作廣告宣傳的化妝品或服飾，可能是為了能和廣告人物顯得一模一樣。年輕男性購買運(yùn)動鞋或服裝，試圖能在運(yùn)動方面與廣告中的人物相媲美。然而，當(dāng)這些人使用或穿上廣告中的產(chǎn)品，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)他們還是他們以前的那個樣子時，他們會倍受打擊。購買廣告產(chǎn)品并沒有改變什么。

另外有一些人可能會從這樣的事實(shí)中獲得某種滿足感，即他們穿著和漂亮模特一樣的內(nèi)衣或喝著與Britney Spears一樣的飲料。這些人普遍而言早已清楚自己是什么樣的人，并不希望某一特定產(chǎn)品為他們創(chuàng)造奇跡。對這些人來說，購買產(chǎn)品與其說是在提升自己的形象，還不如說是一種自我表現(xiàn)?；蛟S，喝百事可樂使他們覺得年輕，或穿上耐克鞋使他們覺得更象一個運(yùn)動員，不管他們實(shí)際上年齡有多大或多么的不愛運(yùn)動。廣告有可能以這樣的方式使人們有更好的自我感覺。

市場營銷和廣告絕對應(yīng)該以一種方式或另一種方式來打動人們，以便取得成功。研究表明，應(yīng)用名人或迷人的人物可以促使消費(fèi)者購買某一產(chǎn)品。無論用何種手法，廣告商們希望，他們能夠使人們實(shí)際上形成更好的自我感覺，因?yàn)檫@樣有助于培養(yǎng)人們反復(fù)購買某一產(chǎn)品的習(xí)慣。最終來說，廣告是否能使人們有更好的自我感覺取決于個人，取決于他們將自己與某一特定廣告聯(lián)系起來時是如何看待他們自己的。