Real English Conversations: TV adverts, advertisements and commercials

Posted on March 17, 2007
Filed under British vs. American English, Intermediate, Listening, Phrasal verbs, Real English conversations |

 
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Introduction


Hi, Lori here welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations from Better at English dot com. In today’s episode, Michael and I exchange some opinions about television, particularly with respect to commercials and advertising. In this conversation we discover some differences between British and American English vocabulary, and use some everyday phrasal verbs. As always, you’ll find the full transcript and vocabulary list on the website, www.betteratenglish.com.

Before listening to the conversation, you might want to pause and think about the following questions:

  1. Are you influenced by TV advertising?
  2. If so, then how are you influenced?
  3. Do TV commercials attempt to appeal to people’s logic or to their emotions?
  4. Is watching TV is a constructive activity, or is it more a waste of time?

OK, without further ado, here is the conversation.

Conversation Transcript

Lori: TV is so evil.

Michael: [laughs]

L: I mean, don’t…don’t even get me started on TV – what a time waster and a time sucker it is, and…and all of the horrible…all of the horrible messages that you’re bombarded with if you are, you know, just one of these people who comes home in the evening, turns on the TV and just has the TV on kind of in the background until you go to bed at night. Some people even fall asleep in their bedrooms with the TV on.

M: Yeah, well I don’t know…I think people would perhaps use this for different reasons. If you just want some background noise, maybe they just regard it the same way they would do putting on a piece of music…

L: Yeah

M: …in the background, just to have some ambiance…

L: Yeah.

M: …as they’re going about their evening, but I do know what you mean. I think that a lot of programs are a complete waste of time.

L: Well see, that’s the thing. I don’t think people should be limited to watching things that are educational. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with watching something that’s just entertaining. [It's just] that there’s so much…umm…just really negative stuff out there.

M: Yes. I…But I think that’s…that’s the commercial side of it, and unless you have something like in England for example – the BBC – they don’t have advertisements.

L: [laughs]

M: They… they get their…

L: Ads!

M: …revenue from…

L: Do you really say that, advertisements? You don’t say…?

M: Yes! That’s right, well we would say adverts but, or advertisements, yeah.

L: Even for the ones that are on the TV? You don’t call them commercials?

M: No, no! We wouldn’t…I mean, I know…we know what commercials are, but no, we would say the adverts.

L: Really?

M: “I’m going to make a cup of tea whilst the adverts are on,” that’s what we would say.

L: Oh that’s funny because as…I can’t speak for all Americans, but for an American we would definitely call those things you see on TV commercials.

M: Right, right that’s… that’s what I hear Americans calling them but we…

L: Yeah.

M: …we call them adverts.

L: OK, interesting

M: But that’s, umm, with the BBC they don’t get their money from adv-…advertising, they get it from the TV license, which you have to pay just for owning a TV every year, and that’s what… you know, they keep it free from adverts.

L: OK.

M: So you don’t have to put up with that, which is really quite nice because all the satellite channels and the independent TV channels in England are umm…full of adverts, all the time, and you really get that impression that people are trying to sell things to you all the time and it’s, err…all the things showing you that you have to be young and beautiful and all this kind of…

L: Yeah.

M: And “If you buy our products. you will be like these people in these… perfect people…”

L: Yeah, the myth of transformation.

M: Yes, exactly, exactly.

L: Yeah it’s like, “let’s create things that make you feel bad about yourself and then show you the things you need to buy to…”

M: That’s it!

L: “…improve yourself so you will feel better.”

M: That’s it, and I think that’s… that’s mean, that’s… that’s not nice.

L: It’s horrible!

M: So, but I… that’s… that’s what I see when I see the adverts, I… I see through it so…

L: Yeah.

M: But I… I don’t watch much TV either, so umm…

L: Uh huh. No, it’s horrible – horrible time waster.

Final words

Thanks for listening, and thanks to those of you who have donated since last time. I can’t tell you enough how much Michael and I appreciate your support. Remember, your continued donations make Better at English possible. Bye for now!

Vocabulary list

Don’t even get me started
If someone says, “Don’t get me started (on X)” it means that they have strong feelings and a lot to say about the current topic. The idea is that if they start talking about it, you won’t be able to get them to stop. You can say it about other people, for example “Don’t get him started on butterfly collecting…he’ll bore you for hours!”

going about
In this context, to go about something means to continue an activity for a period of time. If you are going about your evening, you are engaging in your typical evening activities.

revenue
Income (money) that a business, organization or government receives regularly. TV licenses generate revenue (money) for the government.

to put up with
To put up with (something or somebody) means to tolerate it, even though you don’t like it.

mean (adj)
Mean in this context means unkind (or even cruel). In Br.E, the adjective mean can also mean being selfish and ungenerous (particularly about money).

see through it
In this context, to see through something/somebody means to understand the truth about a person or situation that is intended to deceive or manipulate you.

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Comments

10 Responses to “Real English Conversations: TV adverts, advertisements and commercials”

  1. Marcos on March 18th, 2007 11:34

    I find your blog search on internet.
    It´s very nice. Provided many tips for beginners.

    I´m brazilian. I started to learn English in 2004.

    Thanks

  2. Kristof on March 18th, 2007 12:15

    Oi Lori & Michael,

    When I went to live on my own, the first thing I bought was a PC. And then a TV. Well, I bought them both in one go, actually, but if I hadn’t been able to, that would have been the order in which I’d have bought them.

    When I’m home alone I often turn on the TV as Michael indicated, as a sort of comforter. It produces light, sound and warmth and it doesn’t talk back.

    When both of us are home, we hardly watch any TV except in the bedroom. I use the TV to clear my head before going to sleep. I know there’s a lot of other interesting activities in the bedroom such as reading a book, playing a game on my Nintendo DS or carnal pleasure, but TV is the thing that best puts my mind to rest.

    Did you know that people actually have minimal brain functions when watching TV? And that people who take an IQ test, then watch an hour of TV and then take the same IQ test again, will score lower on said test?

    Enough trivia! Keep it up!

  3. Kai on March 19th, 2007 09:28

    Hi Lori,

    I really enjoy your podcast and just wanted to congratulate you for beeing under the top 10 most wanted podcasts in the German i-tunes store.

    I,m locking forward to read new storys from you and Michael.

    Best wishes
    Kai

  4. Lori on March 20th, 2007 17:20

    Marcos: Thanks for your nice feedback. It’s fun to know that we have listeners as far away as Brazil!

    Kristof: Thanks for the interesting trivia! I used to be a big TV-watcher as well, but gave it up altogether about 4 years ago. But I still like to watch films and other programs on the computer. Someday when I have a bigger place I’d like to buy a dedicated DVD player and large TV screen to enhance my viewing pleasure. Oh, and a comfy chair, natch! :)

    Kai:Thanks for the kind words and the good news. I had no idea we were doing so well in Germany. Cool!

  5. Claire on March 21st, 2007 12:11

    Hi Lori,
    just wanted to say that I so agree with you on this one.TV is just a waste of time, I´d rather read books, study or go out (or download my favourite TV shows and watch them on my PC, but then I do it mostly to improve my English - and that way I can avoid commercials - as I am not a huge tv-watcher myself)

    Anyway,thanks for another great podcast =)

  6. Lori on March 24th, 2007 12:31

    Claire: Thanks for your comment! I agree about the value of consuming mainstream media (whether it be via TV or DVDs or downloaded films) to keep your English sharp. I do the same thing. Living here in Sweden, there’s a huge risk that my English will turn into Swenglish if I’m not careful.

  7. Nour on May 28th, 2007 19:10

    Good afternoon

    your website is indeed great !!

    chukran jazilan : ( means = thank you very much )

  8. Lori on June 9th, 2007 23:20

    Thank you, Nour. I’m glad you like the site!

  9. Dang Long on June 24th, 2008 10:00

    Hi,Lori.I ‘m from Vietnam.I think you ‘re doing a great job.In my country,commercial on TV is usual so I have standed it for ages.Especially in my favourite drammas.In addition,I ‘ve known this site untill April 2008.Thank you so much.

  10. moo on October 21st, 2008 20:48

    I like this conversation very much
    your accent is great
    i hope to be like native people in talking english
    and i hope to improve my pronunciation soon

    thank you

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