GMAT考试写作指导：Issue写作范文八六

　　There are two traditional advertising tactics for promoting a product, event,

　　candidate, or point of view. One is to provide reasons; the other is to bypass reasons

　　altogether and appeal strictly to emotion. Considered in isolation, emotional appeals are

　　far more effective. But many of the most influential ads combine slim reasons with

　　powerful appeals to emotion.

　　To appreciate the power of emotional appeals we need only consider the

　　promotion of sodas, beer, cigarettes, cosmetics and so on. This advertising is the most

　　successful in the industry; and it trades almost exclusively on the manipulation of our

　　desires, fears and senses of humor. In fact, it wouldnt make sense to offer up arguments,

　　because there really arent any good reasons for consuming such products.

　　Even so, some of these products are advertised with at least superficial reasoning.

　　For instance, in the promotion of facial moisturizers it has become popular to use the

　　image of a youthful woman with fresh, unlined skin along with the claim that the

　　product car reduce the signs of aging. This is indeed a reason, but a carefully couched

　　one that never really states that product users will look younger. Still, countless middle-

　　aged women will pay twice as much for products that add this claim to the expected

　　image of youthfulness that trades on their fears of growing old.

　　One of the most clever and ironic combined uses of reason and emotion is seen in

　　the old Volvo slogan, Volvo, the car for people who think. The suggested reason for

　　buying the car is obvious: it is the intelligent choice. But the emotional snare is equally

　　clear; the ad appeals to ones desire to be included in the group of intelligent, thoughtful

　　people.

　　In conclusion. I agree that appeals to emotion are more powerful tools than

　　arguments or reasoning for promoting products. It is no coincidence that advertising

　　agencies hire professional psychologists, but not logicians. Still, in my view the most

　　influential advertisements mix in a bit of reasoning as well.