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  Unit 5: Reading 45/125 previousGo to the Unit Menunext

Pre-Reading Activities

A: Categorizing words

 From the following list of animals choose the four that go in each category below.

cat

zebra

greyhound

rat

pony

mouse

lion

wolf

tiger

horse

squirrel

spaniel

donkey

poodle

leopard

hamster

Feline

Canine

Rodent

Equine

B: Vocabulary

 Match each word in the table with its meaning. (Use your dictionary if necessary.)

Words

Meanings
1. stationed a. hard question, riddle
2. consumer b. advisor
3. guru c. to research something
4. soundtrack d. placed, sat
5. conundrum e. user, buyer
6. investigate f. to get started
7. launch (v) g. sound on a film or TV

 

Reading Activities

A: Choose the best answer

 Read the article and choose the best answer from the list of choices offered:

1. In January a food maker launched...

  1. a new cat food.
  2. a TV ad.
  3. a soap opera about cats.

2. Whiskas is...

  1. a pet food maker.
  2. an advertising agency.
  3. a cat food maker.

3. The ads are made for...

  1. cats.
  2. cat lovers.
  3. cat owners.

4. Meows, tweets and squeaks are noises...

  1. made by fish, birds and mice.
  2. cats, birds and dogs.
  3. cats, birds and mice.

5. The ad described in today's article...

  1. cost $825 000.
  2. is 10 seconds long.
  3. has been enjoyed by 60% of cats.

6. The article says that many cats show they are watching TV by...

  1. smelling the screen.
  2. looking up or moving their ears.
  3. tapping the TV.

 


Ad Men Claim Purr-Fect TV Spot For Cats

LONDON Wednesday January 27 (Reuters) - First there was "girl power," now Britain's advertising gurus have hit upon "pet power."

A British cat food maker is launching Wednesday what it says is the first TV commercial to go over the heads of pet owners and speak directly to their feline friends. The 40-second ad features cat-friendly pictures of fish, mice, birds and a ball of string set against a soundtrack of meows, tweets and mice-like squeaks.

Whiskas, the cat food maker, will also be running a 10-second pre-ad spot to urge owners to get their cats stationed in front of the TV set, said M&C Saatchi, the advertising agency that created the $825,000 commercial.

The ad will be shown during one of Britain's top soap operas when an estimated seven million cats will be watching.

The advertisers hope the sight of their pets glued to the screen will get owners heading for the shops, the agency said.

"One of the conundrums of pet food advertising has been that we are advertising to purchasers who don't consume and consumers who don't purchase," agency chief Maurice Saatchi said.

Tests conducted with hundreds of cats have suggested that 60 percent of cats watching should experience some form of response, the agency said.

"Reactions range from mild interest, such as looking up or twitching their ears into a listening posture which was very common in research, to more active responses -- a few cats even investigated and tapped the TV," a spokesman said.

Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited.

B: What does it mean?

 Use your understanding of the article to choose the correct meaning for each phrase.

1. "to hit upon" (Paragraph 1)

a. to think out, to get an idea
b. to smack

2. " to go over the heads of" (Paragraph 2)

a. to not understand
b. to avoid the usual decision maker and communicate directly with their boss

3. "glued to the screen" (Paragraph 5)

a. pasted to the screen with gum
b. paying close attention to the screen

4. "heading for the shops" (Paragraph 5)

a. playing soccer while going to the shops
b. going to the shops

C: Thinking Carefully

Answer these questions.

  1. How is the ad described in today's article different to other TV ads for cat food?



  2. How are the advertisers making sure that cat owners will station their cats in front of the TV?



  3. 7 million cats watch 'one of Britain's top soap operas'. How do advertisers know this?



  4. Advertisers are hoping to get a response from cats. What sort of response are they expecting? How do they hope this response will influence cat owners?



  5. Look again at the headline of today's article. Why is the word 'Purr-fect' used?



  6. What do the words 'cat-friendly' (paragraph 2) mean?



D: Vocabulary

Fill spaces in the sentences below with the most suitable pair of words from this table. (There are more words than sentences.)

soap opera

girl power

feline friends

pre-ad

cat food

advertising guru

TV spot

advertising agency

pet food

TV set

  1. The Spice Girls showed teenagers the strength of ....

  2. is food made for pets like dogs and cats.

  3. A British cat food maker has an advertisement for the of pet owners.

  4. A is a serial TV story about people's lives.

  5. He is an expert on making TV ads. He's an .

  6. M&C Saatchi is an .



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