The Consumer Society

II – Reading Test

Name No. Class Date

You are going to read a text about ads.

Do consumers trust ads?

The results from a recent study that Kent Grayson, a marketing professor, did on consumer
skepticism left him feeling a little, well, skeptical. So, he ran the trials a few more times. Each time,
when participants were asked what they thought of modern advertising techniques, they answered
with words like “credible”, “fair” and “good”. The study surveyed 400 participants regarding 20
5 common tactics used in television and digital ads. Thirteen of the tactics elicited favorable responses,
which surprised even marketers.
It is no secret that advertisers have faced difficulty getting through to savvier audiences that are
far less trusting of brands and institutions than previous generations. Indeed, that notion formed the
basis of what Mr. Grayson intended to examine when he began his research last year.
10 Certain tactics, such as offering to match a competitor’s low prices, reporting a high rating on a
site like Amazon or Yelp or mentioning a recent ranking by a third-party source like U.S. News &
World Report, received the most positive reactions from participants. Those using paid actors instead
of real people, or even hiring celebrity endorsers to express their affinity for a product, came off as
“deceptive” or “manipulative”, according to those surveyed.
15 Jake Sorofman, who analyzes marketing trends, said “Consumers are certainly becoming more
knowledgeable, more skeptical, more discriminating. Consumers are willing to play along, as long as
brands play fair. Brands need to better use their platforms to bridge gaps, communicate and inspire.”
Today’s audience is more sophisticated than ever before. They know how the machine works.
They know why Facebook ads retarget them based on previous searches. They know why brands buy
20 space on certain programming. The mystique is gone.
Marketers have already understood the importance of “proving” over “selling” brand values
and this study reaffirmed that people were looking foremost for authenticity from companies.
Authenticity is not a metric. It’s the feeling you always get when you see a brand.
There’s a lot of bias about marketers thinking they’re in a difficult position and consumers
25 thinking we’re out to get them. That may not be the case, at all. Marketers might actually be starting
from a greater position of strength than they think.

www.nytimes.com
(abridged and adapted; accessed in October 2019)

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 1. Match the words in column A with the words they refer to in column B. Two of the options are
not needed.

Column A Column B

1. searchers
a. those (line 12) 2. participants
b. those (line 14) 3. marketers
c. they (line 19) 4. tactics
5. reactions
d. they (line 25)
6. audience

2. Find synonyms in the text for the following words.

a. selective (par. 4) ___________________
b. motivate (par. 4) ___________________
c. knowledgeable (par. 5) ___________________
d. chiefly (par. 6) ___________________

3. Choose the correct option (a, b, c or d) to complete the sentences according to the text.

3.1 Paragraph 1 implies that

a. the core principle of the study was inaccurate.
b. more than half of the modern marketing techniques are effective.
c. the preconceived ideas of the study were validated.
d. most modern marketing techniques are unsuccessful.

3.2 Participants gave favourable feedback to tactics that relied on

a. good references on social networking sites or from other customers.
b. professional artists or top star sponsorships representing a brand.
c. undercutting brand rivals’ online prices.
d. comments from celebrities on social networking sites.

3.3 The expression “willing to play along” in paragraph 4 suggests that consumers are
a. enthusiastic about using brands.
b. disposed to embrace the brands.
c. informed about brands’ techniques.
d. reluctant to continue purchasing brands.

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3.4 According to paragraph 7, the author believes
a. consumers are in a strategic position.
b. marketers are in a challenging position.
c. consumers are in a demanding position.
d. marketers are in an advantageous position.

4. Read the following text. Three sentences have been removed from it. From sentences 1
to 5, choose the ones that fill the gaps a, b and c. There are two sentences you do not
need to use.

1. Every day, each of us is bombarded with thousands of commercial messages on TV.

2. The ability to exercise willpower and to resist temptation is undermined, leading to
more shopping and self-indulgence.
3. We find ourselves constantly dependent on advertising, especially when we
consider the devices we rely on.
4. Although we may have stopped noticing just how much we are being bombarded
by advertising, it is still affecting our life decisions, our worldviews and our lives.
5. Brightly coloured pictures packed full of meaning allow us to convey many ideas
with surprising detail and subtlety.

Advertising

Advertising is nothing new, but technological developments have made it easier for
firms to market products within the sphere of our personal lives. The world has now
transitioned from prominent billboards to push notifications. a.____. Apart from that, the
rise of memes and emojis shows that humans have an innate attraction to images as a
means of communication. b.____. This rising tide of technology, advertising, and
stimulation awakens many concerns. c.____. Consumerism is therefore a major driver of
economic crisis, encouraging people to buy beyond their means, and accumulate debt.

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 www.fordhampress.com
(abridged and adapted; accessed in October 2019)

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