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Ads Everywhere 无所不在的广告

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In the U.S., eggs are being stamped with the names of television shows, motion sickness bags bear ads for airlines, and subway turnstiles peddle insurance. Advertisements have permeated our everyday lives in unprecedented ways by turning up in some seemingly strange places, going beyond the normal mediums of TV, radio, print, and the Internet. Advertisers are now adopting a strategy of a complete flooding of the senses: ubiquity over exclusivity. It seems that we can’t turn our heads without seeing an advertisement for something.

在美国，鸡蛋打着电视节目名称；机上呕吐袋印着航空公司广告；地铁旋转门则出现保险广告。广告以前所未见的方式渗入我们的日常生活。除了电视、广播、印刷品和网络这类常见媒体外，广告还常出现在一些意想不到的地方。目前广告商采取的策略是让广告充斥人们的感官：普遍性先于独特性。似乎不论我们身在何处，都会看到广告。

The attention span of the modern consumer is not as long as it was 10 years ago. Because we are perpetually bombarded with information, our brains have adapted to filter out what isn’t important. Therefore, advertisers have learned that to get through, they have to cover everything we see with ads.

现代消费者的注意力集中的时间较十年前短。由于时时被信息轰炸，我们的头脑习于过滤掉无关紧要的事物。因此，广告商学会在目光所及处都打上广告，以求突破。

Thirty years ago, a person living in a city would see an average of 2,000 advertisements a day. Today, that number has skyrocketed to 5,000. Billboards with digital screens, video monitors in elevators and buses, and even interactive displays involving changing projected images are becoming more and more prevalent.

卅年前，城市居民平均一天看两千则广告，现已飙升至五千则。数字屏幕显示的广告广告牌、电梯和公交车上的录像显示器，甚至是可变化投影画面的互动显示器都日趋普及。

Not surprisingly, people are starting to feel that enough is enough, and a backlash against excessive advertising has begun. This is forcing advertisers to consider which is better: being everywhere, or exercising some restraint? It is a slippery slope the advertisers walk between selling products and alienating potential buyers. As Bill Bean, director of trade insight at Miller Brewing Company said, “No one wants to annoy the consumer. However, there are annoying ads that sell products, and it’s very difficult to tell what annoys one consumer and what pleases another.”

不令人意外的是，人们开始觉得广告应适可而止，对过多广告的反弹声浪已应运而生，迫使广告商思考孰者为重：无所不在或稍事收敛？广告商正走在销售商品和赶跑潜在顾客的两难局面上。诚如美乐啤酒贸易部门主管比尔．宾恩所说：「没人想惹恼消费者；然而，有些讨人厌的广告依旧卖得出商品。实在很难定义什么广告会激怒或讨好消费者。」

−by Joe Henley

Vocabulary

单词发音

peddle [ˋpɛd!] v. 叫卖，挨户兜售

permeate [ˋpɝmɪ͵et] v. 浸透；充满

unprecedented [ʌnˋprɛsə͵dɛntɪd] adj. 空前的; 前所未有的

attention span 注意力持续时间

bombard [bɑmˋbɑrd] v. 不断攻击；使大量面对[（+with）]

filter out  滤除

skyrocket [ˋskaɪ͵rɑkɪt] v.【非正式】急升; 猛升; 剧增; 剧涨

prevalent [ˋprɛvələnt] adj. 盛行的；普遍的

backlash [ˋbæk͵læʃ] n.〔对重大事件的〕强烈反应, 反弹

alienate [ˋeliə͵et] v. 使疏远

More Information

单词发音

stamp [stæmp] v. 压印于；打上（标记等）[（+on/with）]

motion sickness【美】晕动病〈如晕车﹑晕船等〉

bear [bɛr] v. 携带

turnstile [ˋtɝn͵staɪl] n. 十字转门

turn up 出现, 被发现 to happen unexpectedly

ubiquity [juˋbɪkwətɪ] n. 无所不在，普遍存在

exclusivity [ɛkskluˋsɪvətɪ] n. 独享；独有

adapt to 适应于

get through  完成（任务）；到达(某人处) to penetrate something

slippery slope【口】易导致失败(或灾难等)的情况

annoying [əˋnɔɪɪŋ] adj. 讨厌的

Reading Questions

1. Which of the following is true about modern day advertisements?

A. They are only directed towards online shoppers.

B. They really understand the personal needs of consumers.

C. They can be seen all around you.

D. They are completely non-invasive.

2. What does the phrase “a slippery slope” refer to in the last paragraph?

A. The floor is so wet that one can slip and fall.

B. It has just rained so the hill is hard to climb.

C. It is a metaphor indicating how careful advertisers must be.

D. There is an invisible fight between advertisers and insurance companies.

3. Which of the following would be a proper title for this article?

A. Advertising Always Sells

B. Consumers Fight Back

C. The More Ads The Better

D. Advertising: Walking a Fine Line

Walking a Fine Line 小心行事 to balance two competing ideas or groups

Answer