Curso de Inglés Comercial y de Negocios

“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need.” *Will Rogers (American entertainer, 1879 - 1935)*

Look at an advertisement for H&M swimwear with German supermodel Heidi Klum and think about the following questions.

1. Is it possible for an advertising campaign to be too popular?
2. What problems do you think H&M had with this campaign?
3. Why do you think the ad would make feminists angry?

Now read the text.

Heidi Klum fans in Germany are being promised free posters of the supermodel in an attempt to stop the theft and vandalism of advertisements.

Fashion chain H&M have come up with a new swimwear poster campaign starring the German supermodel which has proved one of the most successful in German history.

But more than half of the posters have been stolen by fans and workers are having to be paid overtime to keep up with replacing them.

Fans are also damaging the hoardings to get at the posters which are hidden beneath plastic covers, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
And some posters that have not been stolen also need to be replaced, as they have been damaged by feminists angry at what they see as sexist advertising.

Police in Cologne alone say they have 200 reports of smashed ad hoardings where glass or plastic has been removed to get at the posters of Klum, 29.
Hans-Peter Bischoff, 45, boss of the ad firm JC Decaux, said: "Every day more are broken open, and to try and stop the thefts we have promised to give away free posters.

"We put up 750 small posters that were all gone or vandalised within a few hours. It's madness."
Posters are already changing hands for up to £20 a time on the internet auction site Ebay.

Read the text again and choose the correct definition for the following words which are highlighted in the text.

1. hoarding
a) A very big poster which costs a lot of money to buy.
b) A German vandal.
c) A large board used for displaying advertising posters.

2. auction
a) The German word for poster.
b) Public sale of goods or property.
c) Advertising space on the internet.

3. overtime
a) Work done in addition to normal working hours.
b) Money you get when your work is dangerous.
c) When you arrive late.

4. firm
a) A high position in a company.
b) Another word for company.
c) An advertising company which specialises in law.

5. fans
a) The people whose job it is to put advertising posters in the streets.
b) Supermodels who feature in advertising campaigns.
c) Admirers of a pop star, football team, film actor etc.

Listen and repeat.

The following phrasal verbs are in bold in the text. Can you guess the meaning from the context?

• to come up with
• to keep up with
• to get at
• to give away
• to put up

Complete the sentences with a phrasal verb from the following list in the correct form.

1. I tried to race a Mercedes in my Ford Fiesta last week. I was first away from the traffic lights, but then I couldn’t him.
2. My old grey jacket was too small for me so I .
3. When I asked the assistant in the supermarket if she could the meat on the top shelf she said ‘no, the steaks are too high’.
4. The only good idea I could at the last management meeting was to invest more money in advertising in order to develop brand awareness.

5. Your office looks really empty and cold. Why don’t you a few pictures or paintings?

¿Cómo puedo desactivar el bloqueo de anuncios en La Mansión del Inglés?