Introduce the Document (Source, Author, Date, Topic, Illustration, Title) (/4)

TARGETS Unit 6 Consumers

Introduce the document (source, author, date, topic, illustration, title) (/4)

 The document is an extract from a book entitled Consuming kids, written by Susan Linn and published in 2004.

The extract is entitles Targets so the text is probably about advertising which targets kids as the photo shows. Indeed, we can see a little girl with a trolley full of goods so children have become consumers like adults.

Part 1 (from l. 1 down to l. 6) (/8)

1. A popular kid (l.1) is a kid everybody: (/1)

 knows  prefers  likes  has heard of

2. Give the French for Corporate America = Les grandes entreprises américaines (/1)

3. Answer the following questions and justify by quoting from the text. (/4)

a) What has changed in the advertising business over the last decades? (/2)

 Over the last decades, the targets have changed, indeed children have become the darlings of corporate America. Today, American corporations target children who have become target consumers.

b) How does the writer feel about it? (/2)

 The writer disapproves of this evolution and feels helpless because corporations bombard her daughter with marketing messages.

4. Deduce the meaning of undermine (l.6): (/1)

 Subir  Sous-estimer  Miner (anéantir) Sous-tendre

5. On the whole, what is the author’s opinion of corporate America? Quote the text. (/1)

 Negative Positive  Mixed

Quote: “They’re targets for marketers .... And it’s not good for them” (line 2/3/4)

Part 2 (from l.7 to l.19) (/8)

What legendary campaigns are mentioned by the author? Give some details about them. Why does the author mention them? Explain. (/5)

 Two famous advertising campaigns are mentioned, one about diamond rings and the other one for Mc Donald’s. These two campaigns targeted adults and not at children. These two campaigns were very successful as most couples (80%) bought a diamond engagement ring so the sales of diamond increased significantly. And more and more people went to Mc Donald’s and its annual sales rose significantly too.

Say if the following statements are true or false and justify by quoting the text. (/3).

1. Eating a Big Mac with French fries from time to time is not a problem. True / False

Line 13 What’s wrong with trying to get people indulge in the occasional Big Mac?

2. Children can understand commercials as well as adults. True / False

Line 17/18 “because children are unable to employ such judgment, they are more vulnerable to marketing.

Part 3 (from l.20 to the end) (/9)

Find the words corresponding to the following definitions. (/3)

Occupied: ENGAGEDAnalyse: PROCESS Not controlled: UNCHECKED

Say if the following statements are true or false and justify by quoting the text. (/6)

1. Children only have a vague idea about brands. True / False ?

Line 21 they all had strong opinions about which was the best brand of sneaker.

2. Children have confidence in commercials. True / False?

Line 20/21 school kids who all told me that commercials do not tell the truth

3. Most media have a commercial purpose. True / False?

Line 30 with the media... most of which are commercially driven

4. Most adults are there for their children to explain how to understand advertising. True / False?

Line 33/34 children watch TV by themselves, meaning that no adult is present to help them process marketing messages

Words

Find the equivalents of these words in the text (in the right order). (/6)

Les chouchous : The darlings (l.2) ; Réussir Succeed (l.8) ; Mériter: Deserve (l.11) ;

Les ventes Sales(l.11) ; Viser: Target (L.37) ; Moyen (adj): Average (l.38) ;