A Critical Aspect Of Product Advertising Is The Choice Between GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

A critical aspect of product advertising is the choice between positive and negative approaches. Positive advertisements tout the benefits of a product to convince consumers that they want or need the item for sale. Negative advertisements, by contrast, involve attacks on competing companies or products to dissuade their audience from considering those options.

An advantage of positive advertising is its ability to evoke emotions such as happiness, nostalgia, and optimism in its audience, creating a psychological association between the brand and feelings of warmth. Despite this, some consumers may view such campaigns as insincere or predatory due to their reliance on manipulating emotions rather than presenting factual information. The resulting distrust can then lead to skepticism regarding appeals that are based more on logic, as consumers assume they are still being manipulated for the goal of producing positive feelings. By contrast, negative advertising can appear more truthful: the company is not painting a rosy sheen over its own products but rather warning consumers of a competitor’s flaw. Consumers may thus more readily believe negative information compared to arguments made in favor of a brand or product, and the former often makes a stronger mental impression.

Psychological research explains why such advertising can be more memorable: negativity bias. People tend to give more attention to negative, rather than positive, events, and make more decisions based on negative information. Furthermore, negative advertising has other applications aside from attacking competitors: many firms have found success in advertising by highlighting a problem that the promoted product can solve or by suggesting that it could prevent the consumer from losing something—rather than positive advertising, which might focus on what the audience has to gain.

In spite of these benefits, negativity in advertising is not always more effective than the alternative. For instance, featuring a competitor in an advertisement can inadvertently provide a boost to the competing brand, even if the message is ultimately defamatory. Furthermore, negative advertising poses a risk that the audience will be alienated from both the competitor and the company criticizing it. Consumers who choose a brand simply because the alternative is presented as flawed are not as loyal as those for whom merit guides the decision. A final concern is that consumers may view attacks on competitors as petty and untoward.

“A critical aspect of product advertising is the choice between”- is a GMAT reading comprehension exercise. Candidates need to be highly proficient in GMAT reading comprehension. There are four comprehension questions in this GMAT reading comprehension section. The purpose of the GMAT Reading Comprehension questions is to evaluate candidates' comprehension, analysis, and application skills. Candidates who are actively preparing can benefit from GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solutions and Explanation

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

1. argue the inferiority of one advertising approach to another
2. explore the advantages of different forms of advertising on different audiences
3. consider the benefits and risks of two marketing strategies
4. explain what makes a particular advertising strategy effective
5. illustrate the need for companies to advertise their products

2. All of the following are mentioned as potential risks in advertising EXCEPT

1. Consumers may lose interest in petty feuds between rival companies.
2. Consumers may reject both the advertiser and a named competitor.
3. Consumers may not believe claims made in advertising.
4. A company could lose its audience’s trust.
5. A company could give attention to a competitor’s products.

3. Which of the following could best serve as an example of negative advertising as it is described in the passage?

1. A packaging company uses a bittersweet story about an animal shelter to provoke an emotional response.
2. A restaurant advertises that its fruits and vegetables do not contain pesticides.
3. A beauty company claims its competitor’s product has long term health implications.
4. An environmental group criticizes the airline industry for its lack of sustainability.
5. A construction firm provides data and customer reviews to attract new clients.SHOW TIMER STATISTICS

4. Which of the following best describes the function of the highlighted sentence in the context of the passage as a whole?

1. It explains why a particular strategy is demonstrably superior to the approach that was previously discussed.
2. It summarizes the main differences between the two strategies described in the passage and introduces a new perspective.
3. It refutes the argument made in the first paragraph and provides the foundation for an assertion made in the following paragraph.
4. It describes an alternative to a potential problem mentioned earlier in the paragraph and previews the topic of the following paragraph.
5. It suggests that a method mentioned earlier in the paragraph is less effective than most experts believe

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