Have you heard of Pester Power? What do you think it means?
What do you do if you have someone who keeps asking you to buy something or keeps following you to look at their shop?
We have heard of product placement in our movies, and maybe you know about a tool that marketeers use called Pester Power. Children don’t have money, but they are easily influenced by advertisers to want things because they don’t yet know the value of money.
Small children are both trusting and gullible, and big businesses are exploiting this by advertising unhealthy and unnecessary products directly to them. There are a large number of advertisements for junk food, toys and chocolate breakfast cereals of very little nutritional value made specifically to get children interested and are shown on television during children’s favorite television program times.
But the vital link between the young children's wants and the actual buying are the parents who must be pestered into buying the product advertised. Maybe marketers know that if parents comply with children’s wants it's because the parents buy the products to get the children to stop nagging.
Guessing meaning from context
Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. The answers are below the table.
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Knowing how much work and importance something is |
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Something that is eaten that give us energy/power, healthy food |
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The influence of continual bothering/annoying |
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The important connection between two things |
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Making full use of an opportunity, completely using something |
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Agree, follow rules or directions, do what is expected or told to do |
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Placing things in movies and t.v. shows where people will see them and notice the brand names |
A=9, B=3, C=1, D=8, E=5, F=2, G=4, H=7, I=6
Some example sentences using the new words to help you to better understand their meaning.
1. A good example of product placement is the many luxurious brands placed in each movie such as the expensive Cartier watches that he wears.
2. McDonalds have been famous for the Pester Power of their advertisements.
3. If you never had to work for something because your parents gave it to you, then you might not know the real value of money.
4. My sister was so gullible, she would believe everything I told her even though I was joking.
5. Canada is exploiting the oil it has in Alberta.
6. I think wheydobap (회덮밥) is one of the most nutritional Korean meals.
7. Scientists in the CERN research institute in Switzerland are trying to find something called the Higgs Boson. They believe it is the vital link between that will help us to find the answer to how life began.
8. The policeman told me to get out of my car. If I did not comply then I would be arrested.
9. If you go to any supermarket you can see children pestering their mothers to buy candy.
Some discussion questions using the new words to help you better understand the word meaning and how to use them correctly. Try to use the words in your answer.
1. Give an example of a product placement that you have seen.
2. Give an example of how Pester Power is used in advertising.
3. How do you think we can teach children the value of money?
4. Do you agree that children are gullible? How can we educate them?
5. What is your opinion on companies exploiting children’s minds?
6. What nutritional Korean foods would you recommend to foreigners? Why?
7. What do they mean, “the vital link is the parents” in the reading? Try to use your own words.
8. Do you think that there should be more control of advertising? How could we make marketers comply?
9. What would you do if your children kept nagging you to buy something?
ECK Education
