ESL podcast 888 advertising in TV and movies

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GLOSSARY

to clear (one’s) throat – to make a low, deep sound, almost like a cough, to

move the food or mucus (thick liquid) that is in one’s throat so that one’s voice will be clearer and easier to understand, and/or to get attention before one

begins to speak

* The presenter cleared her throat nervously before she began speaking into the microphone

congratulations are in order – a phrase used when someone has done

something impressive or good and deserve recognition, appreciation, admiration, and praise from other people

* Did you hear that Ahmed just secured the company’s biggest deal ever? I think congratulations are in order!

to score – to get or obtain something that is very good or impressive, especially

when it is difficult to do so

* How did you score front-row tickets for the concert?

product placement – the appearance of a company’s product in a television

show or movie, intended to make people want to buy it, usually in exchange for a payment from that company

* Car makers pay a lot of money for product placement in action movies where they want the hero to drive their car

brand – the name of a type of product or several related products sold by a

particular company

* David always buys his favorite brand of cereal, but Yuki just buys whatever cereal is on sale

prominent – famous and important; seen and noticed by many people

* What is that prominent building on the mountaintop?

logo – a small image that represents a company or organization

* We need to find a graphic designer who can create a new logo for our website, stationary, and business cards

in the blink of an eye – very quickly, almost unnoticeably

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subtle – very delicate, almost unnoticeable; not obvious

* This dessert is mostly chocolate, but it has a subtle flavor of cherries

to be embedded – to be placed within something else, almost becoming a part

of it

* How did those fossils become embedded in the rocks?

associated with – connected to; related to; thought about in connection with

* Street gangs are associated with drugs and violence

to beat around the bush – to be very indirect, wanting to avoid saying

something

* If you’re going to ask your boss for a raise, do it directly Don’t waste her time

by beating around the bush

sole – the bottom of one’s shoe; the part of a shoe that touches the ground

* How do I get gum off the sole of my favorite shoes?

slow motion – referring to a video recording that is played very slowly so that

one can see all the details

* The referees had to view the action in slow motion to determine whether a player had committed a foul

subliminal advertising – messages that appear very quickly that encourage

viewers or listeners to buy something without making those people aware of the message

* The company is considering flashing very quick images of its product on the screen as a form of subliminal advertising

horde – many people; large groups of people

* If we offer free pizza, hodes of students will come to the meeting

genius – a very smart or intelligent person, much smarter than others

* Albert Einstein was a genius in physics

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COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1 What will be on the bottom of the star’s shoe?

a) A small image representing the company

b) A photograph of the company’s products

c) A popular advertising slogan

2 Why does Gerard tell Victoria to “stop beating around the bush”?

a) Because he wants her to speak clearly and directly

b) Because he wants her to stop being nervous

c) Because he thinks she is bragging too much

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to score

The verb “to score,” in this podcast, means to get or obtain something that is very good or impressive, especially when it is difficult to do so: “It can be really hard to score a reservation at that popular restaurant.” The verb “to score” also means to make a point during a game: “How many points did Gerry score in the basketball game?” The phrase “to score points with (someone)” means to do something that another person will like, making that person want to do something nice in return:

“Right before the big test, Samantha tried to score points with the teacher by bringing her cookies.” Finally, when talking about cooking, “to score” means to use a sharp knife to make shallow (not deep) cuts in the surface of a piece of meat so that flavors can get into it: “Score the steak and place it in soy sauce for about an hour.”

sole

In this podcast, the word “sole” means the bottom of one’s shoe, the part that touches the ground: “It’s time to replace these tennis shoes since they have holes in the sole.” A “sole” is also a type of white fish: “This sole would taste better with some lemon juice and pepper.” The word “sole” also means only or single: “Heather was the sole woman employed by the engineering firm.” Or,

“The sole reason why we hired Jenna was because she was the owner’s

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CULTURE NOTE

Movie Product Placement

Movies have “a long history of” (a lot of experience with) product placement,

“dating back to” (from) the 1920s, when a “silent film” (a movie made without sound, before sound recordings were possible) called Wings included a product placement for Hershey’s chocolate

The 1949 “classic” (very well known and admired by many people) film It’s a Wonderful Life had a product placement for National Geographic Magazine when

a young boy who wanted to become an “explorer” (a person who travels to

unknown places) was shown with the magazine

The 1982 film E.T had several examples of product placement When the young boy wanted to “attract” (bring closer) the “alien” (a creature from another planet),

he left a “trail” (long line) of Reese’s Pieces candies Sales of the candies

increased by 65% after the movie “appeared in theaters” (was first shown in movie theaters) In another scene, the alien became “drunk” (affected by alcohol) after drinking a can of Coors Beer

The “James Bond films” (one of many films about a popular private detective) called GoldenEye (1995) and the Tomororw Never Dies (1997) contained

“heavy” (a lot of) BMW product placement, with James Bond driving the “latest” (newest) car model

The 2000 film Cast Away had extensive product placement for FedEx, with logos appearing in many scenes Interestingly, FedEx did not pay for the product

placement, but it did benefit from it when its “brand awareness” (people’s

familiarity with a company’s products) increased internationally The movie also had product placement for Wilson “volleyballs” (a white ball hit over a net by team members’ “wrists” (the body part connecting one’s hand and arm) and hands)

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – a

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COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 888: Advertising in

TV and Movies

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 888 I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California

Our website is ESLPod.com Go there and become a member of ESL Podcast This episode is a dialog about advertising, or having commercial advertisements

in the world of television and movies Let’s get started

[start of dialog]

Victoria: [clears her throat] Congratulations are in order I just scored a product placement for our brand in the latest McQuillanator movie Thank you, thank you very much

Gerard: Really? That’s great! Will it have a prominent place in the movie?

Victoria: Well, you know how these things are Our logo goes by in the blink of

an eye, but millions of people are going to see it

Gerard: So will the star be wearing our logo on his shirt or something?

Victoria: Something like that

Gerard: But not that

Victoria: No, it’s a little more subtle than that, but it’ll be embedded into an

important scene

Gerard: But where are they going to see it?

Victoria: Is that really important? The important thing is that our brand will be associated with a major Hollywood movie What more could we ask for?

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Victoria: All right It’ll be on the bottom of the star’s shoes, on the sole, and the audience will be able to see it when he’s running

Gerard: Only if he’s running in slow motion, but he won’t be, right? If it goes by that quickly, it’ll be more like subliminal advertising

Victoria: Exactly! I hadn’t thought of it that way, but hordes of people will be going out to buy our products and they won’t even know why I’m even more of a genius than I thought!

[end of dialog]

Victoria begins by clearing her throat “To clear your throat” is to do this [clears throat)] You are making a low sound, almost like a cough, to get rid of anything that's in your throat that would prevent you from being heard clearly I clear my throat before I record often

Victoria begins by saying, “Congratulations are in order.” “To congratulate

(congratulate) someone” means to say they've done a good job, to give them your best wishes after they have accomplished something Someone who wins a race or wins a competition will be congratulated by other people – “Good job!”

“Congratulations!” “Congratulations are in order” is a phrase used when you are talking to a group of people, typically, and you want to congratulate one person You want to announce some achievement or accomplishment by this person, and tell him what a good job he did

Victoria says, “I just scored a product placement for our brand in the latest

McQuillanator movie.” We learn immediately then that Victoria is congratulating herself or telling other people to congratulate her because she's accomplished something We don't normally ask other people to congratulate us, but Victoria does This is Hollywood, after all

She says “I just scored a product placement.” “To score” here means to get or to obtain something that is very good “I scored us two tickets to the Bruce

Springsteen concert.” I was able to get, I was able to buy, I was able to obtain, two tickets “Product placement” is when a company's product appears usually in

a television show or a movie So, if you're watching a TV show like “Friends” or

“24,” and you see somebody drinking a can of Coca-Cola, or drinking from a can

of Coca-Cola, that would be an example of product placement Usually the

company pays to have its product in the movie or in the television program

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Victoria scored a product placement for our “brand,” she says A “brand” (brand)

is a type of product or related products that are sold under a single name Coca-Cola is a brand name It's the name of a group of products that are similar

Victoria scored a product placement for the company's brand in the latest

McQuillanator movie (And if you haven't seen the latest, the most recent,

McQuillanator movie, I think you'll like it!) Victoria says “Thank you Thank you very much.” She sort of making a joke She's congratulating herself

Gerard says, “Really? That’s great Will it have a prominent place in the show?”

“Prominent” means important or easily seen, easily noticed, so that people will see it easily Victoria says, “Well, you know how these things are,” which means

“you understand this kind of situation.” “Our logo goes by in the blink of an eye, but millions of people are going to see it.” A “logo” (logo) is a small image that represents the company The expression “in the blink of an eye” means very quickly, almost without noticing it

Victoria said the logo goes by “in the blink of an eye, but millions of people will see it.” Gerard says, “So, will the star be wearing our logo on his shirt or

something?” He's asking if the main actor in this movie will be wearing something that has the logo of the company on his shirt Victoria says, “Something like that,” meaning “Well not exactly, but something similar to that.” Gerard says “But not

that,” meaning not that exact thing I just said, wearing the logo on his shirt

Victoria says, “No It's a little more subtle than that.” “To be subtle” (subtle)

means not obvious, not easily noticed, something that is there but you may have

to look for it

Victoria says, “The logo will be embedded into an important scene.” “To embed” (embed) means to put something inside of something else, almost to become part of it The logo, then, will be embedded into an important scene, an important part of the movie Gerard says, “But where are they going to see it?” Where are they going to see our logo, the thing that represents our company? Victoria says,

“Is that really important? The important thing is that our brand will be associated with a major Hollywood movie.” “To be associated with” means to be connected

to, to be related to Their brand is going to be related or connected to a major, or very important, Hollywood movie “What more could we ask for?” That question means “What could be better than this situation?” The idea of course, is nothing Gerard says, “Stop beating around the bush.” The expression “to beat (beat)

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Gerard says, “Where in the movie will our logo appear?” In what part of the

movie will we see our logo? Victoria replies, “All right It will be on the bottom of the star’s shoes, on the sole, and the audience will be able to see it when he's running.” The bottom of your shoe is called the “sole (sole)” of your shoe Of course, usually you can't see the bottom of someone's shoes Victoria says that the logo will be on the sole of the shoe and people will see it when the star, the main character in the movie, is running with these shoes

Gerard says, “Only if he's running in slow motion, but he won't be right?” “Slow motion” refers to playing a video recording at a slower speed so that it looks like the people are moving and talking very slowly – like our podcast English in slow motion Gerard says, “But if it goes by that quickly, it will be more like subliminal advertising.” “Subliminal (subliminal) advertising” is advertising where the

message only appears on the TV or movie screen very quickly, for less than a second The idea is that people see the image, the message, and their brain captures it but they're not aware that they saw that message That's called

subliminal advertising

Victoria says, “Exactly I hadn't thought of it that way,” – in that manner – “but hordes of people will be going out to buy our products and they won't even know why.” Once again, the idea of subliminal advertising is that people get an idea, but they don't know where they saw it because they weren't consciously able to see the message or the image Victoria is trying to make the best of a not very good situation by saying that “Oh yes Our advertising will work and hordes of people will be going out to buy our products.”

“Hordes” means a large group of people, many people Hordes is a word that you need to pronounce carefully You need to have the “d” at the end of hordes

otherwise you get the word “whores” which means something very different It means a prostitute And of course, you don't want to be talking about prostitutes when you mean a large group of people

“I'm even more of a genius than I thought,” Victoria says A “genius” (genius) is a very smart or intelligent person, someone who is smarter than the rest of us In the twentieth century, we often talked about Einstein as being one of the

geniuses of science Victoria says that she is smarter then she even realized because she has created this subliminal advertising by putting the logo on the bottom of the star’s shoes

Now let's listen to the dialog this time, at a normal speed

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