2015年经济学人 公共信息电影广告 莫停留莫张望莫听信

Public-information films

Don't stop, don't look, don't listen

Scary adverts² don't work, yet they are everywhere

CHATTERING³ schoolchildren don colourful anoraks; clutching hands, they depart for a woodland picnic. Elsewhere a young man leaps into his car and speeds off to work. Moments later he careers off the road and his spinning car kills each one of the cheery youngsters. The camera lingers on their dead hands and the now-empty classroom. A grim voice explains that they represent the children killed as a result of speeding in Northern Ireland since 2000.

British road-safety adverts are more shocking than those broadcast in America, says Anne McCartt of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an independent research group there. The British penchant⁴ for horror might reflect the nation's long tradition of public-service broadcasting, which seeks to entertain and inform at once. But do the ads work?

Though gory⁵, shocking public-information films linger in people's heads, they seem not to alter behaviour much. If the consequences seem too extreme, the threat may seem too far-fetched, says Josh Bullmore, who has both made and studied such adverts. Few may believe that disaster could befall them or adjust their behaviour accordingly. Tessa Langley of the University of Nottingham has compared the impact of smoking campaigns that showed tumours⁶ erupting disgustingly out of cigarettes with more positive ones that also urged people to quit. The former proved more memorable⁷, but the latter led more people to ring the national smoking helpline.

The budget for public-information films is shrinking. The Central Office of Information, the government's marketing⁸ department, was closed in 2011. In 2008-09 the Department for Transport (DfT) spent almost ￡3m on its drink-drive advertising⁹ campaign. In 2013-14 spending fell to less than ￡1m. Unable to afford as many spots on television, the scaremongers hope their films will be shared on social media. And that is encouraging them to churn out the gory kind. In a recent advert¹ from the DfT, men washing their hands in a pub toilet are startled by the face of a mannequin smashing bloodily¹⁰ through the mirror. The ad suggests a hashtag, publooshocker, for online sharing. Less shocking adverts might work better, but fewer people would see them.

1 advert   

vi.注意，留意，言及；n.广告

参考例句：

• The advert featured a dolphin swimming around a goldfish bowl.该广告的內容为一条在金鱼缸里游动的海豚。
• Please advert to the contents below.I believe you won't be disappointed.敬请留意后面的内容。相信您一定不会失望的。

2 adverts   

advertisements 广告，做广告

参考例句：

• the adverts on television 电视广告
• The adverts are not very informative. 这些广告并没有包含太多有用信息。

3 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

4 penchant   

n.爱好，嗜好；（强烈的）倾向

参考例句：

• She has a penchant for Indian food.她爱吃印度食物。
• He had a penchant for playing jokes on people.他喜欢拿人开玩笑。

5 gory   

adj.流血的；残酷的

参考例句：

• I shuddered when I heard the gory details.我听到血淋淋的详情，战栗不已。
• The newspaper account of the accident gave all the gory details.报纸上报道了这次事故中所有骇人听闻的细节。

6 tumours   

肿瘤( tumour的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Blood vessels develop abnormally in cancer tumours. 在癌肿瘤中血管出现不正常。
• This apparatus scans patients' brains for tumours. 这台仪器扫描检查病人的脑瘤。

7 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

8 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

9 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

10 bloodily   

adv.出血地；血淋淋地；残忍地；野蛮地

参考例句：

• The war goes bloodily on. 战争血淋淋地继续着。 来自互联网
• It isn't every day that you see your husband bloodily murdered in the living room. 在起居室里目击丈夫被血腥地谋杀，这可不是你每天都能碰到的情景。 来自互联网