B.Com 2nd Year A TALK ON ADVERTISING Lecture-6

Vi. A talk on Advertising

Herman Wouk

In this piece of writing, the author makes a scathing attack on the advertising business and also those people who pursue this vocation. The artist thinks that advertising is un-productive and wasteful. It does no good to society. On the contrary, it does much harm. An advertising man induces human beings to want things they don’t want. According to him, advertising has done a great damage to everything that is beautiful – Nature, Language, Art and Youth.

 Ques 1)

 In what way does the author find advertising   

 unproductive and wasteful ?

Answer :

According to the author, advertising persuades people to buy things that they don’t need for. He calls advertising an unproductive because it does not produce or create anything. Moreover, it does not provide [or render] any service to the people as the shoemakers or pilot or singers do. Further , the poet calls advertising as wasteful because it induces people to buy things which they don’t need and which are sometime harmful. People waste money on things which they don’t desire. According to the author, advertising performs no useful service to the society. Moreover it destroys everything which is good and beautiful .

 Reference to Context

Ques 2)

 To what end is all this lying, vandalism (destroy of art) and misuse ? you are trying to sell, never mind what, never mind how, never mind to whom – Just sell, sell and sell !

Answer :

Reference to Context :

The above extract has been taken from the lesson “A Talk on Advertising” written by Herman Wouk. In this lesson the author has described that advertising is an unproductive and wasteful.

Explanation :

The author asks a simple question to the advertising men as to what are the results of telling lies to people . The purpose of all advertising business is Just “Sell” which is an old American slang means fraud . The advertising people make false promises like love to miserable girls, vigour to the weak, even bravery to little children. This is all lying and therefore fraud. Their sole aim in doing so is to sell the product so that they may earn profit.

Ques 3)

Shakespeare used the rhyming of double & bubble to create two immoral lines in Macbeth

You use it to help sell your Dubl-Bubl shampoo.

Answer :

Reference to Context :

The above extract has been taken from the lesson “A Talk on Advertising” written by Herman Wouk. In this lesson the author has described that advertising is an unproductive and wasteful.

Explanation :

In this extract the author has discussed how advertising has misused language. The author gives an example. Shakespeare used the rhyming of two words ‘double & bubble’ in his play ‘Macbeth’ . But advertising men have cheapened the language by misusing the same rhyming in the phrase ‘Dubl-Bubl’ shampoo. Such advertising is a crime against the language. We should not forget that language is a divine gift. It is a good mean of communication but the advertising men spoil the beauty of language for their personal gain.

Video Lecture :- 6