📙 Part 2: Describe an advertisement with a famous person in it

This episode's vocabulary

Comes to mind (idiom) – to be remembered or thought of. → The only example that comes to mind is one I saw last year.

After the fact (idiom) – after something has happened. → I only learned the details after the fact.

Stand out (phrasal verb) – to be very noticeable. → The bright colours of the advertisement really made it stand out.

The brand escapes me (idiom) – I cannot remember the brand name. → I remember the celebrity, but the brand escapes me right now.

Distinctly remember (adverb + verb) – to remember something very clearly. → I do distinctly remember that the advertisement was for kitchenware.

And the like (idiom) – and other similar things. → They were selling air fryers, fridges, and the like.

Commonplace (adjective) – not unusual; ordinary. → Red and white are quite commonplace colours for branding.

Eye-catching (adjective) – very attractive or noticeable. → The special effects in the commercial were very eye-catching.

Celebrity endorsement (noun phrase) – a form of advertising where a famous person uses their fame to help promote a product. → The company invested a lot of money in celebrity endorsement to boost sales.

Brand ambassador (noun phrase) – a person, especially a celebrity, who is paid to endorse or promote a particular company's products. → The tennis player became the new brand ambassador for the luxury watch company.

Comes on (phrasal verb) – (of a broadcast) to begin or be shown. → If that advertisement comes on again, I'll pay more attention.

Frustrated (adjective) – feeling or expressing distress and annoyance. → I felt frustrated that I couldn't remember any of the important details.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Describe an advertisement with a famous person in it. You should say who the person is, where you can see it, what the advertisement is all about, and explain how you feel about the advertisement.

Rory: Well, to be honest, I don't really pay attention to ads and the only one that immediately comes to mind is one with Andre Agassi. He's a former tennis player, I think. I don't really know any sports or follow any sports, so I have no idea about the fine details of his career. I only realized it was him because someone had pointed him out to me after the fact. Speaking about where I saw it, I was actually just online when I was working and waiting for some content to stream. I wasn't really paying attention, which is why I can't really remember the brand or anything that anybody said. It wasn't particularly memorable or distinctive to be honest, which is ironic given that that's what adverts are supposed to be, they're meant to stand out. If we consider what the whole thing was about, well, the brand escapes me, I do distinctly remember that it was for one related to kitchenware. So they had all these things like fridges, air fryers and the like on display with the same branding and similar designs and logos. Though I've no idea how they expected it to stand out because the logo and the branding was all just white, red, and silver. And I think those are pretty commonplace colors for branding and brands, but I don't know much about advertising. As far as how I felt and feel about it is concerned, I think at the time, I was just happy to skip the ad as soon as the option came up. It wasn't particularly eye-catching, and even if it had been, I was more interested in watching the show I was waiting for it to load than anything else. I only feel a bit frustrated about it now because I can't remember any of the distinguishing features of it to explain further here. If it comes on again, then I'll have to take some notes.