Issue

"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."

Sample Essay

Many advertisements do indeed use attractive models or celebrities¹ to entice² consumers into buying the products that are being promoted. Who would not like to look like the beautiful models that are depicted³ enjoying the product? Who would not like to be like a Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods? To a certain extent, buying products to emulate⁴ 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.

Marketing⁵ departments have long known that using attractive models and celebrity⁶ endorsers⁷ 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 subconscious⁸ 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 physically⁹ fit. Marketers are savvy¹⁰ 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 cosmetics¹¹ or clothing advertised by beautiful models in an attempt to look the same as them. Young men may buy athletic¹² shoes or apparel in an attempt to perform athletically¹³ 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 derive¹⁴ 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 advertising¹⁵ 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)

观点陈述型作文[题目]

"许多广告的目的在于，通过使顾客购买某种商品，从而让他们觉得他们将会和广告中的那个人'相差无几'。这一做法甚为有效，因为它不仅能售出产品，而且也帮助人们有更好的自我感觉。"

[范文正文]

许多广告确实使用迷人的模特或名人来诱使顾客购买所推销的产品。试想，谁不想看上去像广告所描绘的那个正在享受该产品的漂亮模特呢？谁不喜欢成为麦克尔·乔丹或泰格·伍兹呢？在某种程度上，通过购买产品从而去模仿广告中所表现的人物可以使人产生较好的自我感觉。但这类广告却是一把双刃剑----当产品不能使购买者与广告人物"相差无几"时，人们就会对产品产生失落感和幻灭感。

营销部门早就深知，使用迷人的模特和名流有助于说服顾客顾买某一产品。某些顾客可能实际上相信购买和使用该产品会使自己与广告中描绘的人物"相仿"。对某一些顾客来说，至少有可能存在某种潜意识的反应，使他们相信他们在实际上可以获取广告中所表现的人物的某些特征。自尊感较低的顾客更有可能购买某一产品，其动机便是他们将能变得类似于另一个人。

要证明这一营销公理，我们仅须审视一下世界各地的广告。广告所刻划的人物几乎总是漂亮，健康，精力充沛。营销人员个个老谋深算，有足够的市场研究已证明，有迷人模特的广告可激发起顾客的购买欲望。即使是面向老年人的广告也会展示迷人的老年人形象。尽管只展示"漂亮脸蛋"对普通民众，尤其是对年轻妇女姓，所产生的影响已遭到某些批评，但广告商深知，美能带来商业效益。但该做法是否真能使人有更好的自我感觉，这因人而异，且值得商榷。

某些自尊感低的个人，尤其是年轻人，他们购买产品有可能是试图让自己类似于广告中所表现的人物。特别是年轻女性，她们购买那些漂亮模特作广告宣传的化妆品或服饰，可能是为了能和广告人物显得一模一样。年轻男性购买运动鞋或服装，试图能在运动方面与广告中的人物相媲美。然而，当这些人使用或穿上广告中的产品，却发现他们还是他们以前的那个样子时，他们会倍受打击。购买广告产品并没有改变什么。

另外有一些人可能会从这样的事实中获得某种满足感，即他们穿着和漂亮模特一样的内衣或喝着与Britney Spears一样的饮料。这些人普遍而言早已清楚自己是什么样的人，并不希望某一特定产品为他们创造奇迹。对这些人来说，购买产品与其说是在提升自己的形象，还不如说是一种自我表现。或许，喝百事可乐使他们觉得年轻，或穿上耐克鞋使他们觉得更象一个运动员，不管他们实际上年龄有多大或多么的不爱运动。广告有可能以这样的方式使人们有更好的自我感觉。

市场营销和广告绝对应该以一种方式或另一种方式来打动人们，以便取得成功。研究表明，应用名人或迷人的人物可以促使消费者购买某一产品。无论用何种手法，广告商们希望，他们能够使人们实际上形成更好的自我感觉，因为这样有助于培养人们反复购买某一产品的习惯。最终来说，广告是否能使人们有更好的自我感觉取决于个人，取决于他们将自己与某一特定广告联系起来时是如何看待他们自己的。