What are the worst branding gaffes?

You are going to 

• discuss gaffes, advertising and translating
• listen to a radio interview and do a true / false quiz
• practise the passive
• give advice about how to avoid making gaffes when speaking another language or visiting another country

Discuss

• What's a gaffe?

gaffe  /gaf/  Noun: An accidental act or remark causing embarrassment to its maker; a blunder: "an unforgivable social gaffe".

Synonyms: faux pas - blunder - mistake

• Have you ever made any gaffes? Describe one
• Do you ever make any gaffes when you are speaking in a foreign laguage?
• Do you know of any translations from your language into English which may cause a gaffe?
• Do you know of any translations from English into your language which may cause a gaffe?
• Why should we be very careful when we translate into another language?
• What are "false friends"
• What's an advertising or branding gaffe?
• Can you give any examples of advertising or branding gaffes?

Listen

Listen to a radio interview from BBC Radio 4 Today.  The interview is about branding gaffes.

The carmaker BMW launched a Mini Cooper marketing campaign in Germany to try to take advantage of the cold weather.  Unfortunately the Mini Cooper's name was attached to a cold weather front which killed many across Europe. BMW is embarrassed and a spokesman said that "it took on catastrophic proportions and left so many victims... we do regret it very much."

In this interview Allyson Stewart-Allen, a marketing expert who runs International Marketing Partners, explains how to avoid a branding mistake.

Listen to the interview
What other examples of branding gaffes do they give?




Listen again and do the exercise below

Grammar - Passive

What's the difference between these sentences?

• They translated the text into Chinese
• The text was translated into Chinese

Which one uses the passive?
When do we use the passive?

Not sure how to use the passive? Look here  http://efllecturer.blogspot.com/2011/04/passive-present-simple.html
or here http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/passive.htm

Try this exercise to practise the passive using phrases from the interview.

Printable version here

More practice

Passive
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/active_passive/sentences_gaps.htm
http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blgrquiz_passive1.htm

Other activities
Things that happen on the internet every 60 seconds
http://efllecturer.blogspot.com/2011/08/60-seconds-things-that-happen-on.html
Making Potato chips
http://efllecturer.blogspot.com/2011/05/making-potato-chips-ielts-describing.html


Reading
More funny gaffes
http://k3hamilton.com/cb/cbgaffes.html

http://www.learnenglish.de/mistakes/HorrorMistakes.htm

Writing / Discussion

What advice would you give to an English speaking person who was learning your language or coming to visit your country?
How could he / she avoid making any gaffes?

What Britain Loves

You are going to

• discuss countries and stereotypes
• watch and listen to a TV ad.
• listen and order words and expressions
• talk about what your country / region / city loves

 


1) Discuss

• What is the British stereotype?
• What do the British love?
• Think of some things we love

2) Watch the clip

What  does Britain love?
Can you guess before you watch?

3) Put the words and expressions in order
Look at the list of words and expressions in the exercise below
Do you understand all of them?
Watch the youtube clip again. While you listen, use your mouse to drag the expressions into the right order on the lines.

4) Discuss / Writing

• Do you think the ad is true?
• What do you love doing?
• What do people in your country love doing?

What does your country love?
Make a list of things
Read them out to the class or make a poster.

Grammar
Don't forget -  "... loves + a NOUN or VERB +ing"
eg Britain loves a celebration 
or
Britain loves gardening

Visit Britain - You're invited.

You are going to

• watch 3 tourist adverts for Great Britain
• do some listening and vocabulary activities
• look at adjectives to describe feelings and places
• write or present a descriptive advert for your country

Discuss

What do you know about Great Britain?

• What is it famous for?
• What famous British people do you know?
• What are the famous places in Great Britain?
• How do you feel when you visit new places?

Watch Advert 1

You are going to watch an advert for Great Britain. 

1) What adjectives can you hear?

Source http://www.visitbritain.com/en/GB/

2) Now look at the exercise below. Match the correct meaning to the participles on the left.
You can drag and drop the expressions into the right place.

Answer these questions
How do you feel when you go on holiday?
How do you feel when you watch a good film?
How do you feel when you fall deeply in love with someone or something?
How do you feel when you see a magic trick?
How do you feel when you do something dangerous?
How do you feel when your teacher tells you that you are a brilliant student?

Watch Advert 2

You are going to watch Jamie Oliver. Jamie is a famous TV chef.

1) Here are some adjectives. Watch the advert and match them with these topics;

cities  |  countryside |  seaside |  food

• amazing = cities
• busy
• bustling
• (really) special
• lush
• green
• amazing
• (absolutely) incredible
• great
• some of the very best (in the world)

Now do the exercise.

2) Jamie says the UK is "steeped in loads of tradition" but also we are a "magpie culture"

• What does he mean by "magpie culture"? (A magpie is a bird. It can also describe a person who collects and keeps many things)
• What examples does he give?

Answers - highlight below

• We are very multicultural. We take and embrace bits from different cultures.
• Food. Music. Fashion. The arts. 

Watch Advert 3

You are going to watch Dev Patel in London's Leicester Square. Dev Patel starred in the film Slumdog Millionaire

1) Before you watch. What do these expressions mean?  Double click on each word to find out.

cutting edge, forefront, really into, a melting pot, diverse, chilled out, buzzing, energetic, boisterous

2) Read his introduction. Why does he like Leicester Square?

Coming from the suburbs most exciting thing about central London for my friends and me was the energy of Leicester square. I always wanted to be an actor and this is the place where all the big premieres happen and I dreamt of one day having one of my films here too. My dream did come true. The British "Slum Dog Millionaire" film premier was down in Leicester Square.

3) Watch the advert. What adjectives does he use to describe Britain?

4) Now put these sentences from the video in the correct order. Watch again if you need to.
 You can drag and drop the sentences into the right place

Writing / Presentation

Write or present a short advert for your country, city or region
Look on the internet to find important information
Talk about the cities, countryside, food, culture and customs


Don't forget to use lots of adjectives

• Past participles say how something makes you feel - invigorated, involved, inspired...
• Adjectives describe something - amazing, busy, bustling, really special, lush, green, amazing, absolutely incredible, some of the very best, cutting edge, diverse, chilled out, buzzing, energetic, boisterous...

Reading and practice

More infomation and reading about Great Britain

http://www.visitbritain.com/en/GB/
Look at the Cities and Towns. Where would you like to go?
Choose 3 places. Say why you would like to go there.

More on participial adjectives http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/passive3a.html

A Commercial Break: TV Adverts / Commercials - Make and present your own advert / commercial

You are going to 

1. Watch some TV commercials and answer some questions
2. Discuss advertising
3. Make an ad of your own
4. Write about advertising

1) Intro - Watch this TV ad.

• How does it make you feel? 
• Is it scary, funny or both? 
• Is it memorable? 
• Do you think it's a good ad?
• What is the ad telling you about the car?

2) Discuss

• Do you watch adverts on TV?
• Do you like them?
• Can you remember any? Can you think of any funny ones?
• What do you think makes a succesful ad?
• What's a slogan? What examples can you think of?
• What makes a good slogan?
• What do ads usually have to make them memorable?

Answers (highlight here) = Music, Slogan, Humour, Images...

3) Watch the clip of TV adverts and answer the questions

1) How many of the ads are for

• shops
• electrical items
• central heating
• films
• insurance
• cameras

2) What nine products or businesses do they advertise?

Answers (highlight here) =

1) How many of the ads are for

• shops 3 - Wickes, Currys, M&S
• electrical items 3 - TV Recorder, 02, Currys,
• central heating 1 - Worcester
• films 1 - The King's Speech
• insurance 1 - Churchill
• cameras 1 - Cannon

2) What nine products or businesses do they advertise?

1. Wickes Kitchen units shop sale
2. Freeview plus box TV recorder
3. O2 phone network
4. Cannon cameras
5. Currys and PC World shop Sale
6. Worcestor home heating
7. Churchill home insurance
8. The King's Speech film
9. M&S shop Sale

 
3) Watch again. How many of the ads have slogans?
What are they?

Answers (highlight here) =
6 have slogans
1. It's got our name on it  
2. Buy today. Watch today. Free forever
3. We're better, connected
4. -
5. -
6. Thank Worcester for that.
7. Count on Churchill
8. -
9. Quality worth every penny

Watch these ads. Are they funny? Why do you think so many ads try to be funny?

Answer = It's a way of getting your attention and making you remember the product
Humour is one way advertising gets your attention. What other ways are used?
Suggested Answers = Excitement, appealing to the emotions, sex, music, glamour, making you feel happy...

More TV Ads here  http://www.tellyads.com/index.php

4) Group Presentation Activity - Make an Advert

Make an advert and present it to the class. Choose what you want to advertise eg a drink, a holiday, your school.... The ad can be video or audio. You should have a slogan and it should be short and memorable. You must present your ad to the class.

Think of what kind of language you can practise in the ad.  

• direct speech - "..... "
• imperatives - Buy one, get one free!, Hurry!
• conditionals - If you....
• superlatives - It's the best, the fastest, the cheapest....
• adjectives - new, modern, clean....
• typical phrases - (Up to) 15% off,  Offer ends 15th March, Save £50, Half price,

When you have finished

1.  Describe the product you are advertising.
2.  Explain why you chose to advertise your product in the way you did. 

Answer these questions to help you plan and reflect

What is your product?
What kind of an ad is it? (Radio or TV) Why did you choose to advertise the product in this way?
What is your target market? Old, young, teenagers...? (If you have any experience of marketing or business can you explain the best way to approach your chosen market?)
Do you have a logo or slogan? How / why did you choose it?
Is the Ad convincing? Does it appeal to people’s emotions or something more intellectual or both?
What presentational style did you choose (is the advert funny / informative / does it tell a story / has it got music / what kind?)
What kind of language did you use in the ad (formal / informal, direct speech, imperatives, conditionals, superlatives, adjectives…? Why?)
Did you use music? What music did you choose? Why?
Do you think your ad has the qualities to be successful? - is it memorable, persuasive, funny…?
What difficulties did you encounter when designing the ad?
What skills do you think you have learned from this challenging activity?
What should you remember to do next time you do a presentation activity?

5) Discuss

• Where do you see advertising?
• Do you think advertising is a good thing or a bad thing?
• Does it help you or annoy you?
• Do you think advertisers always tell the truth?
• Is some advertising informative?
• Should advertisers be allowed to advertise to children?
• Do you think advertising encourages stereotypes? 
• Do you think advertising encourages people to buy things they don't need?
• What effects does advertising have on business, people and society?

6)Write

Choose one

1) Advertising is all around us, it is an unavoidable part of everyone's life. Some people say that advertising is a positive part of our lives while others say it is negative. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. You should write at least 250 words. (IELTS)


2) Today, the high sales of popular consumer goods reflect the power of advertising and not the real needs of the society in which they are sold. To what extent do you agree or disagree? You should write at least 250 words. (IELTS)