A Lecture on Advertising - IELTS Listening Sample Answer

The IELTS Listening section examines a candidate’s ability to properly listen to audio and answer the questions. IELTS Listening contains four sections and a total of 40 questions. This topic - A Lecture on Advertising is Section Four of IELTS Listening. Candidates will find different types of questions in IELTS Listening practice papers. This section contains many question types:

• Complete the notes
• Choose the correct answer

Audio Transcript

In section four you will hear part of an advertising lecture

Good morning everyone. Today's advertising lecture is on the history and development of highway billboards and their effectiveness. Later on, we will look at their design and different uses. The roots of billboard advertising can be traced to the invention of movable type printing by Johannes Gutenberg as far back as 1450 and advertising in the modern sense was launched in the form of the handbill when the lithographic process was perfected in 1796.

The illustrated poster became a reality gradually measures were taken to ensure exposure of a message for a fixed period of time. In order to offer more desirable locations where traffic was heavy bill posters began to erect their own structures. In 1835 the large American outdoor poster of more than 50 square feet originated in New York in Jared bell's office where he printed posters for the circus. In 1900 a standardized billboard structure was created in America and ushered in a boom in national billboard campaigns. There are a number of reasons for the recent surge in billboard advertising not the least of which is cost-efficiency. Compared to other forms of advertising billboards are a relatively inexpensive way to get your point across to the general public. Consider this a newspaper ad is only good for a day and a television commercial only lasts about 30 seconds but a billboard ad is working for you 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The cost of billboard advertising ranges from about seven hundred dollars to two thousand five hundred dollars a month. At that rate, ten billboards could run for as much as twenty-five thousand dollars per month that sounds like a lot of money until you realize that a full-page ad running for one day in a major newspaper costs about the same. So billboard advertising can be an effective and cost-efficient way for entrepreneurs to spread the word about their products and services. The outdoor advertising association of America estimates that u.s businesses spent more than 5.5 billion dollars on outdoor advertising last year and the association is anticipating a healthy increase. Over the next few years, advances in technology have also contributed to billboard advertising's cost efficiency. In the past billboards had to be hand-painted a time-consuming and costly venture but with today's computer technology billboards are designed on a computer screen printed to final or poster paper and glued to the billboard structure the result is higher quality ads in less time for less money.

Let's look now at a famous example in 1925 Allen Odell who owned a small company that made a brushless shaving cream noticed that gas stations and other local businesses were increasing trade by putting up advertising signs along the nation's highways. He decided that he could increase his sales by putting up sets of signs five in a set they would not have to be big and a short line on each one would do. At first, Odell tried the hard sell approach sales began to increase at once but that did not satisfy him. Motorists see these signs he told himself at remote places on the highway perhaps after hours of monotonous driving they would appreciate a touch of rhyme and humor. They would indeed it was not long before catchy Burma shaved signs some ironic some cynical some absurd but all of them funny caught the fancy of nearly everyone including those people usually critical of advertising. These signs continued as the advertising medium of the company for 35 years and then when cars traveled too fast to take in these messages more than a dozen words were painted in rather small letters. The company phased out its roadside advertising perhaps a growing criticism of this sort of advertising which interfered with highway scenery also influenced the company's decision. By late 1965 this criticism resulted in president Lyndon johnson's highway beautification bill. This bill authorized a federal-state campaign to improve the scenery on either side of major highways. To conceal or remove junkyards and to put billboards sufficiently far back from the highway so that they would not interfere with the view states that did not comply with the bill could lose 10 percent of their federal highway grant. But this was not the end of the billboard industry many roads were not part of the highway system which was supported by federal grants and these roads were not affected by the law and nor signed in commercial and industrial areas. Now let's look at some of the advertising developments in Europe.

That is the end of section four.

Questions 31-34

Complete the lecture notes below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Billboard Advertising

Johannes Gutenberg invented 31_______________________________in 1450.

The lithographic process was perfected in 1796.

In 32_________________________-Jared Bell’s office in New York made the first large US outdoor poster when he printed circus posters.

In 1900 a boom in national billboard campaigns was created in America with the advent of a 33 ___________________of a billboard.

Last year US expenditure on outdoor advertising reached $5.5 billion.

Over the next few years, there is an expectation of a 34_____________________________-in outdoor advertising.

Question 31.

Answer: a movable type printing

Explanation: As states by the speaker, “The roots of billboard advertising can be traced to the invention of movable type printing by Johannes Gutenberg” Therefore ‘a movable type printing’ is the answer here.

Also, check:

Question 32.

Answer: 1835

Explanation: The speaker mentions the large American outdoor poster of more than 50 square feet. It was made in Jared bell's office in 1835.

Question 33.

Answer: standardized structure

Explanation: In the lecture, we can hear the speaker telling a standardized billboard structure was created in 1900 in America and ushered in a boom in national billboard campaigns.

Question 34.

Answer: healthy increase

Explanation: The speaker states that soon The outdoor advertising is anticipating a healthy increase.

Question 35-40

Choose a letter A-D that correctly completes the following statements next to 35-40 on your answer sheet.

Question 35. Allan Odell decided to use roadside advertising because_______

1. no one else had tried it.
2. other people were beginning to use it.
3. it was the cheapest form of advertising.
4. other people were improving their sales through it.

Answer: D

Explanation: The speaker states that when Allan noticed the immense growth of the business by roadside advertising that is when he decided to incorporate that strategy into his business.

Question 36. Allan Odell’s first advertisements were________

1. successful.
2. boring.
3. hard to understand.
4. too far apart.

Answer: A

Explanation: As stated by the speaker, “At first, Odell tried the hard sell approach sales began to increase at once but that did not satisfy him.” Therefore the correct answer is option A.

Question 37. Allan Odell’s second type of advertising_______

1. criticized people.
2. amused people.
3. made fun of people.
4. irritated people.

Answer: B

Explanation: The second type of advertising was appreciated by nearly everyone including those people usually critical of advertising. Hence the answer is option B.

Question 38. Allan Odell’s company eventually decided to stop this form of advertising because_______

1. it was no longer effective.
2. people were in a hurry.
3. it was old-fashioned.
4. people criticized the rhymes.

Answer: A

Explanation: The speaker mentioned, “ The company phased out its roadside advertising perhaps a growing criticism of this sort of advertising which interfered with highway scenery also influenced the company's decision.” Also, it was no longer bringing any sales so the company decided to stop this form of advertising.

Question 39. The main purpose of Lyndon Johnson’s bill was to______

1. improve the condition of the roads.
2. stop roadside advertising.
3. reduce federal grants.
4. makes the roads and countryside more attractive.

Answer: D

Explanation: The speaker mentions in his lecture, “This bill authorized a federal-state campaign to improve the scenery on either side of major highways.” Hence D is the correct answer.

Question 40. Roadside advertising continued because_______

1. it was good for business.
2. some states did not get federal aid.
3. federal laws did not apply to some roads.
4. some states ignored the law.

Answer: C

Explanation: Roadside advertising continued because many roads were not part of the highway system which was supported by federal grants and these roads were not affected by the law and nor signed in commercial and industrial areas. Therefore option C is the correct answer.