Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 1188, Advertising to Children.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 1188.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
Visit ESLPOD.com on the internet, of course, and become a member of ESL Podcasts.
When you do, you can download the learning guide for this episode that contains a complete transcript of everything we say.
This episode is a dialogue between James and Vicki about television ads for children.
Let's get started.
Look at that.
It's commercial after commercial.
It's terrible how advertisers are going after kids.
They're just doing their job, marketing to a lucrative demographic.
But just look at what our kids are bombarded with.
Toy commercials and junk food ads.
Children's television is no different from any other type of programming.
Commercials are a fact of life.
But don't you think it's wrong to manipulate young viewers with these commercials?
Aren't they more susceptible to false advertising?
Shh!
That's our company's product commercial.
It really gets your attention, doesn't it?
Yeah.
It's grand.
Just grand.
James begins our dialogue by saying to Vicki, Look at that.
It's commercial after commercial.
A commercial, C-O-M-M-E-R-C-I-A-L, is a commercial advertisement.
The word commercial refers to making money, in this case, or businesses.
However, we use the word commercial nowadays to mean the same as an advertisement, which is some sort of announcement on television, radio or nowadays, YouTube that tries to get you to do something or to buy something usually to buy something.
James is talking about all of the commercials that on television.
He says it's commercial after commercial, meaning first there's one commercial, then there's another one.
He's complaining about how many commercials there are.
He says it's terrible how advertisers are going after kids.
Advertisers are the people who pay for the commercials, the ads or advertisements.
It could be a company, it usually is, but it could also be an organization.
Advertisers, according to James, are going after kids.
To go after is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to try to influence a particular group of people, or to try to get your message to a particular group of people.
In this case, the group of people are kids, K-I-D-S.
Kids are children.
Vicki says, they're just doing their job.
She's referring to these advertisers.
These advertisers are just doing their job.
In other words, they're not trying to do anything bad.
They're just doing what they're supposed to do.
And what exactly is their job?
According to Vicki, it's marketing to a lucrative demographic.
Marketing comes from the verb to market M-A-R-K-E-T, which means to get people to know about your product or service, usually so that they will buy more of whatever it is you're selling.
To market isn't exactly the same as to advertise.
Marketing refers to anything you do to get people to become aware of, or to know about your product or service.
Advertising is one way that you can market your product or service.
Advertising refers usually to paying a television station or a website to put some sort of announcement, an ad, about your product or service.
So advertising is one way of marketing your product to get people aware of your product.
Vicki is talking about these companies marketing to a lucrative demographic.
Lucrative, L-U-C-R-A-T-I-V-E, means very profitable. something you can make a lot of money from.
You might describe playing professional sports like professional baseball or professional soccer as being lucrative.
You can get a lot of money doing that.
A demographic D-E-M-O-G-R-A-P-H-I-C as a noun refers to a section or group of people who have similar characteristics.
It could be a group of women.
It could be a group of children.
It could be a group of people who are all learning English.
Those are all examples of demographics, groups within a larger population.
Children are a lucrative demographic, according to Vicki, meaning that companies can make a lot of money from them.
Of course, they're really making the money from their parents.
James says, but just look at what our kids are bombarded with. toy commercials, and junk food ads.
To bombard B-O-M-B-A-R-D can mean to drop bombs, explosive devices, on a certain area, but it's used more commonly nowadays to refer to The act of sending lots of different messages or images to a certain group of people over and over again.
So many that this group can't pay attention or think about anything else.
You might say, for example, that advertisers bombard you with emails to get you to buy things from them.
Or that...
You are bombarded with requests from people at your company to help them with their projects.
Notice we use the preposition with.
You are bombarded with something.
Well, in this case, we're talking about children who are bombarded with requests.
Ads, advertisements.
Advertisements for toys and junk food.
Toys are objects designed to entertain and amuse children.
Junk J-U-N-K food refers to food that doesn't have a lot of nutritional value, that tastes good but usually isn't very good for your body.
Things like McDonald hamburgers, for example.
Vicki responds, Children's television is no different from any other type of programming.
Commercials are a fact of life, she says.
Children's television refers, of course, to television programs or shows that are made for children.
Programming here refers to the kinds of TV shows or movies that are shown on a particular channel or a particular station on television.
A fact of life is something that you have to accept, something that is very common and you can't change.
Usually we use this expression a fact of life when we are referring to something that isn't very pleasant, isn't very nice, but that you can't avoid.
If you live in Los Angeles, traffic, lots of cars on the road, is a fact of life.
If you want to live here, you just have to understand that and put up with it.
You have to tolerate it.
James says, but don't you think it's wrong to manipulate young viewers with these commercials?
To manipulate M-A-N-I-P-U-L-A-T-E means to change or influence someone, but usually in a negative way, by using some sort of secret or hidden approach or tactic.
If someone manipulates you, that person is trying to get you to do something, say something or think something by, in a way, tricking you or not telling you that he's trying to get you to change your mind or to think in a certain way.
We don't like to be manipulated by other people.
We don't like other people to try to get us to say something or do something by a way that isn't honest, that isn't open.
James thinks that these advertisers are manipulating young viewers, V-I-E-W-E-R-S.
A viewer is a person that views or watches, in this case, television programs.
If you are listening to the radio or to a podcast, you are a listener.
For a television program, you would be a viewer, even though, of course, you're also listening to the television program as well as watching it or viewing it.
James asks, aren't they, meaning children, more susceptible to false advertising?
To be susceptible S-U-S-C-E-P-T-I-B-L-E means to be easily influenced or affected by someone or something.
Influenced in such a way that something negative will happen, something bad will happen to you.
James is worried that children are susceptible to false advertising.
False advertising would be advertising that tells lies, which some people think refers to almost all advertising.
But that's not true, of course.
Vicki says, shh.
She's telling James to be quiet.
That's our company's product commercial.
It really gets your attention, doesn't it?
Now we understand at the end of this dialogue that vicky works for a company that has advertisements for children on television.
She says that's our company's product, P-R-O-D-U-C-T, commercial.
The word product usually refers to a physical object that you sell.
Some companies sell products.
Some companies sell services.
They don't give you anything physical, but they do something for you.
James says at the end, yeah, it's grand, just grand.
The word grand, G-R-A-N-D, usually means wonderful or great.
But here, James is being sarcastic.
He's using the word in one way to mean something the opposite.
He's trying to make a joke by saying, oh yeah, it's grand.
But the way he says it indicates that he's making a joke.
He doesn't like the idea, I guess, that Vicky's company advertises to children.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Look at that.
It's commercial after commercial.
It's terrible how advertisers are going after kids.
They're just doing their job, marketing to a lucrative demographic.
But just look at what our kids are bombarded with.
Toy commercials and junk food ads.
Children's television is no different from any other type of programming.
Commercials are a fact of life.
But don't you think it's wrong to manipulate young viewers with these commercials?
Aren't they more susceptible to false advertising?
That's our company's product commercial.
It really gets your attention, doesn't it?
Yeah, it's grand.
Just grand.
Our dialogues on ESL Podcast are just grand.
And I say that not to be sarcastic, but to say that they really are wonderful, thanks to our wonderful scriptwriter, Dr Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2016 by the Center for Educational Development.
Thank you.
