Talking About Advertising in English

A gorilla playing the drums to a Phil Collins song, the McDonald's M standing in the middle of a desert, and a mermaid on a coffee cup. That's where this episode starts: real people trying to remember which adverts actually stuck. Then it moves on to flyers, jingles, Marlboro sponsorship and a rumour about toothpaste and rabbits. Along the way you'll pick up fifteen words and phrases for describing advertising in English, and the pronunciation to go with them.

What you'll hear in this episode

We recorded two sets of questions with two different speakers, so you hear the same vocabulary used twice, in two very different styles.

In the first half, Tom and Katie ask Hannah about original and unique adverts, memorable logos, celebrity endorsements and slogans. Hannah picks the Cadbury's gorilla advert, and explains why it worked even though the gorilla "had nothing really to do with chocolate". On logos she reaches for the golden arches, the Starbucks mermaid and "the Nike tick". Her slogans come out in a rush — "Just Do It", "Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat", "Pick up a Penguin" — before she gives up: "I should remember more than this, but I'm becoming very forgetful."

In the second half, Katie asks the questions and one of the hosts answers. He talks about how you'd launch a product now — "building a buzz", press releases, pay-per-click, social engagement — and then about the years he spent promoting nightclubs with flyers in London. He's blunt about celebrity magazines: "It drives me crazy. I cannot stand those magazines..." Asked how many advertising campaigns he disliked, the answer is "About ninety-nine percent of them." There's also an honest, slightly uncomfortable story about wanting to smoke Marlboro at twelve because of Grand Prix sponsorship, and one about avoiding a toothpaste brand for years on the strength of a single thing a friend said.

Quick facts

Episode	3.29 – Advertising
Pack	Vocabulary and Pronunciation 3
Level	3
Duration	18 minutes 09 seconds
Speakers you'll hear	Katie, Tom and Hannah
Words and phrases taught	15
Workbook	Included in the all-in-one pack (€39)

What you'll learn

The teaching sections give you the meaning and then drill the sound, with a beep for you to repeat after. Most of the work here is on weak endings and stress, which is where these words usually go wrong.

You'll practise the /əʊ/ in logo and promote, and hear how it disappears in the second syllable of original, where the -al ending is just /əl/. Sponsor and flyer both end in a weak /ə/ in British English, and target ends in /It/, not a long vowel. Endorse takes the stress on the second syllable; commercials has three syllables with the stress in the middle. Small things, but they're what makes the words sound learned rather than read.

The listening halves are where you hear the vocabulary loose in real speech. Notice how Hannah keeps rebuilding her sentences mid-flow — "a Phil Collins…um…Phil Collins tr…song" — and how she softens her opinions with I'd say and quite. Notice too the collocations that come out naturally around the target words: target their marketing, target market, word of mouth, bad publicity, switched the volume off. That's the level-3 skill: not just knowing publicity or campaign, but hearing what native speakers put next to them.

Vocabulary in this episode

unique /juːniːk/ — the only one like this, different from all the others. Used when Hannah says she's never seen another advert quite like the gorilla one.
original /ərIdʒənəl/ — not like other things, new and different.
a logo /ləʊɡəʊ/ — a symbol that represents a company; the golden arches, the tick.
a slogan /sləʊɡən/ — a saying that represents a company or its ideals and beliefs.
to endorse /Indɔːs/ — to publicly say that you think something is good, particularly a famous person for a product.
to target /tɑːɡIt/ — to aim for a particular thing, to focus on getting them.
to sponsor /spɒnsə/ — to give money to an event or person for them to advertise a product.
a flyer /flaIə/ — an advert on a small piece of paper that is given to people.
publicity /pʌblIsəti/ — appearing in the media.
commercials /kəmɜːʃəlz/ — the American English word for advertisements.

The workbook glossary has all fifteen, with phonetics and part of speech.

In the workbook

The workbook prints both question sets so you can answer them yourself before you hear anyone else's opinions, then follow the meaning-and-pronunciation tasks in writing.

After the glossary there are three practice sections. Practice 1 is a matching task: six sentence beginnings (Their logo…, A big company is…) to be joined to six endings (shows a little coffee bean, going to sponsor the event). Practice 2 is a five-item gap-fill using the unit's words — including I can't get that __ out of my head and The __ market is people in the top economic group, aged 30-50. Practice 3 is a pronunciation task: five pairs of words where you decide whether the underlined sound is the same. Is the vowel in slogan the same as the one in original? Is publicity the same as a flyer? Full answers are given, with the phonetic symbols, so you can check exactly which sound you were listening for.

The workbook for this episode is part of the Zapp! English all-in-one pack, €39 for every episode's materials.

Get the complete courseAll workbooks and audio — €39

Common questions

Is the audio scripted?

The conversations are unscripted — Hannah and the hosts are answering the questions on the spot. The teaching sections that set up the tasks and give the answers are scripted, so the instructions stay clear.

What level is this episode?

Level 3, from the Vocabulary and Pronunciation 3 pack. It suits learners who already talk comfortably about everyday topics and want more precise vocabulary for opinions.

Do I need the workbook to follow the audio?

No. The 18-minute audio works on its own and is free. The workbook adds the glossary with phonetics, the three practice sections and the answers.

What if I don't recognise the adverts they mention?

That's fine, and it's good listening practice. The brands are named clearly, so you can follow the language even if the campaigns are unfamiliar.

How do I get the workbook?

It comes with the all-in-one pack at €39, which covers every episode.

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