Advertising in America offers some great advantages to consumers. For example, in order to keep prices low through mass production, companies must have a mass market for their products. Mass advertising creates mass markets. Producers cannot afford to develop new products, put themn on the market and wait for customers to discover them. This would take too long. Demand for some products must be created. This is done through advertising.
But advertising sometimes makes it difficult for consumers to make wise decisions. The fact is that when people are constantly flooded with messages through the mass media persuading them to buy particular products, mamy respond by buying them.
Advertising is designed to influence an individual to buy product. Sellers often study human behavior to discover what will convince consumers to buy a certain item. This reason for buying is called a buying motive.
Buying motives are usually broken down into two categories: rational and emotional. Rational buying motives include the desire to save money, the desire for comfort, or the desire for good workmanship. Emotional buying motives include buying out of fear, wanting to be liked, and wanting to have something better than your friends have.
Emotional appeals are found in most consumer advertising today. Certain cars promise to make the driver feel "younger" and " freer". Shoes promise to make the buyer's whole life "springier". Life insurance policies promise to take the "care out of living".
Most consumers believe that they are not easily influenced by emotional appeals. However,corporations that sell consumer products obviously think differently. They spend many millions of dollars every day on radio, television, newspaper and magazine ads that use these appeals.
According to the passage, a toothpaste ad promising that people who use the product will make a lot of friends is an example of an ad that appeals to ______.
A、rational buying motives
B、the consumer's commonsense
C、emotional buying motives
D、the desire for good product
【正确答案】：C
【题目解析】：推理判断题。由第四段第一句话可知，购买动机通常分为两类:理智动机和感情动机。由第五段可知,感情动机在广告中很常见，比如汽车广告承诺某种汽车会让你更“年轻”和“自由”;某种鞋会让购买者的人生更“具有弹力”等。牙膏广告承诺使用本产品的人会交到很多朋友,这属于感情动机。故选C。
