An Advertisement With a Famous Person in It

Part 3 follow-up questions

These are the discussion questions examiners asked after this cue card. Sample answers are shown where available.

1. 1. Where do people often see advertisements?

   Sep–Dec 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The 6.5 answer opens with a general statement ('almost everywhere') and lists examples with 'and', closing with a simple 'Basically' summary.

   People see advertisements almost everywhere these days. On my way to work, I usually see a logo on someone's motorbike helmet, an advert on the back of a bus, a banner on the bridge, and then the first thing on my phone screen when I unlock it. Online is probably the biggest place now — inside apps, before videos, and in search results. There are also traditional places like television, billboards, shop windows, buses, and product packaging. Basically, the question is not where you see ads, but where you don't.

   Why this band

   • FC“On my way to work, I usually see” — This is a plain, direct way of introducing a personal example; a higher band would likely use a more vivid framing device, such as describing an actual count of the sightings.
   • LR“almost everywhere” — 'Almost everywhere' is a common, general phrase; a higher band would likely intensify or vary this with a more specific claim, such as naming an exact number of ads spotted.
   • GRA“There are also traditional places like television, billboards, shop windows, buses, and product packaging” — This sentence lists five examples joined only with commas and 'and', a fairly basic listing structure rather than a dash-marked, more compact list.

   Band 7.0

   The 7.0 answer opens with 'Honestly' and adds the extra category 'sponsored events and even products placed inside films', showing a wider range of examples than the 6.5 answer's shorter list.

   Honestly, people see advertisements pretty much everywhere now. On my commute alone, I usually notice a logo on a motorbike helmet, an advert on the back of a bus, a banner across the bridge, and then the first thing my phone shows me when I unlock it. Online is probably the biggest space these days, inside apps, before videos, and scattered through search results. There are still the traditional places too, like television, billboards, shop fronts and packaging, plus sponsored events and even products placed inside films. In a city like mine, I'd say the real question isn't where you see ads, but where you don't.

   Why this band

   • FC“Honestly, people see advertisements pretty much everywhere now” — The spoken opener 'Honestly' plus the informal intensifier 'pretty much' shows more natural, reflective framing than the plain factual opener typical of a 6.5 answer.
   • LR“scattered through search results” — 'Scattered through' is a more vivid, precise collocation than the plainer phrase used at 6.5, 'in search results'.
   • GRA“plus sponsored events and even products placed inside films” — A prepositional phrase beginning with 'plus' is added onto the list economically, extending the sentence rather than starting a new one, showing more sentence-combining control than the shorter, separate sentences at 6.5.

   Band 7.5

   The 7.5 answer opens with a vivid personal anecdote of literally counting the ads on a commute, uses the precise phrase 'people paid to look spontaneous', and closes with the evaluative, almost witty claim that 'the only honest answer is the sea'.

   I actually counted once on my commute: a logo on the motorbike helmet ahead of me, the back of a bus, a banner strung across the bridge, the screen inside the café, and the first thing my phone showed me the moment I unlocked it — five before I'd even reached the office. Online is easily the biggest space now: inside apps, before videos, scattered through search results, in the posts of people paid to look spontaneous. Then come the traditional spots — television, billboards, shop fronts, buses, sports shirts, packaging — plus sponsored events and the quieter kind, products slipped into films and shows. In a city like mine, the real question isn't where you see them, but where you don't, and about the only honest answer is the sea.

   Why this band

   • FC“I actually counted once on my commute” — Opening with a concrete narrative action (counting) rather than a general statement is a more vivid, essay-like framing device than the flat opener typical of a 6.5 or 7.0 answer.
   • LR“the posts of people paid to look spontaneous” — This is a precise, slightly ironic collocation describing sponsored content, a more sophisticated and less-common phrase than the plainer list of ad locations used at the lower bands.
   • GRA“five before I'd even reached the office” — A past-perfect construction ('I'd even reached') inside a compact time clause adds a vivid detail economically, a more flexible structure than the plainer, separated sentences a 6.5 answer would use for the same idea.

2. 2. Why do companies sometimes use famous people to advertise things?

   Sep–Dec 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The 6.5 answer opens with 'I think it's because' and lists reasons with 'also', ending with a plain 'The risk is that' final sentence.

   I think it's because attention and trust can both be bought, and a famous face has both. For example, a cardboard picture of Messi at a shop stops my little nephew every morning, and no random stranger's photo could do that. People also unconsciously connect what they feel about the celebrity to the product, so if people admire Messi, the product seems better too. Famous people also let a brand show a certain personality quickly, like funny or elegant, depending on who they choose. The risk is that if the celebrity does something bad, the brand can be damaged too.

   Why this band

   • FC“no random stranger's photo could do that” — This is a plain, literal comparison; a higher band would likely phrase the same idea with a more compact, idiomatic label such as 'borrowed attention'.
   • LR“stops my little nephew every morning” — 'Stops' is used fairly plainly here; a higher band would likely intensify this with 'every single morning' for extra emphasis, a more natural spoken pattern.
   • GRA“The risk is that if the celebrity does something bad, the brand can be damaged too” — This closing sentence uses 'if... can' for a simple conditional, a basic structure rather than a more advanced clause with an inserted comment like 'of course'.

   Band 7.0

   The 7.0 answer adds the inserted aside 'in a sense' and 'of course', and names the phenomenon directly as 'borrowed attention', showing more precise, reflective labelling than the 6.5 answer.

   I'd say it's because attention and trust are both, in a sense, for sale, and a famous face carries both. The cardboard Messi at our local shop stops my nephew every single morning, which no random stranger's photo could ever manage — that's basically borrowed attention. People also unconsciously transfer what they feel about a celebrity onto the product, so since Messi is widely admired, the crisps somehow seem more admirable too. Famous people let a brand express a personality quickly as well, funny, elegant, tough, depending on who's hired. There's also a global shortcut in it, since one well-known footballer can save a company from making a different advert for every country. The risk, of course, is that the celebrity misbehaves and drags the brand down with them.

   Why this band

   • FC“that's basically borrowed attention” — Naming the phenomenon directly with the compact label 'borrowed attention' is a more precise, essay-like move than the plainer comparison used at 6.5, 'no random stranger's photo could do that'.
   • LR“a global shortcut” — 'A global shortcut' is a precise, compact collocation for saving effort across markets, more specific than a plainer phrase such as 'easier for different countries'.
   • GRA“The risk, of course, is that the celebrity misbehaves and drags the brand down with them” — Inserting the aside 'of course' between the subject and verb shows a more natural, conversational rhythm than the plainer conditional sentence used at 6.5.

   Band 7.5

   The 7.5 answer opens directly with 'Because', extends the metaphor to 'borrowed attention in its purest form', and closes with the precise detail that 'contracts now quietly plan for it'.

   Because attention and trust are both, in a sense, for sale, and a famous face carries both at once. The cardboard Messi outside our local shop stops my nephew every single morning, something no cardboard stranger could ever manage — that's borrowed attention in its purest form. People also unconsciously transfer what they feel about the celebrity onto the product; Messi is admired, so the crisps somehow inherit a little of that admiration. Famous faces let a brand express a personality quickly too — funny, elegant, tough — depending on who's signed up. There's a genuine global shortcut in it as well, since a footballer known everywhere spares a company from tailoring a different advert to every market. The catch is that the person eventually misbehaves and drags the brand down with them, which happens often enough that contracts now quietly plan for it.

   Why this band

   • FC“that's borrowed attention in its purest form” — Extending the compact label from 7.0 with 'in its purest form' is a more developed, precise version of the same metaphor, showing finer control over figurative language than the shorter phrase used at 7.0.
   • LR“spares a company from tailoring a different advert to every market” — 'Tailoring' used metaphorically for customising something to fit is a precise, less-common verb, more vivid than the plainer phrase used at 6.5, 'making a different advert for every country'.
   • GRA“which happens often enough that contracts now quietly plan for it” — A non-restrictive relative clause ('which happens often enough that...') is tacked onto the end of the sentence to add a final specific detail, a more compact structure than starting a new sentence for the same idea, as the lower bands do.

3. 3. Which is better for companies to spend money on, advertising online or advertising in public places?

   Sep–Dec 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The 6.5 answer opens with a direct conditional opinion ('depends on whether') and gives one example joined by 'while', closing with a plain two-part 'So... but' summary.

   I think it depends on whether the company knows exactly who they want to reach. For example, for a seafood client I worked with, a banner on a bridge was seen by the whole city, including people who had never thought about the brand before, while the online adverts only reached people who were already searching for fish. Online advertising is easy to measure — you know who saw it and what they did next. Public advertising is expensive and hard to measure, but it reaches more people, including those who block ads on their phone. So for a local business, public space still matters, but for something sold only online, online advertising wins.

   Why this band

   • FC“Online advertising is easy to measure” — 'Easy to measure' is plain, everyday wording; a higher band would likely use a more precise pair of adjectives, such as 'measurable and precise'.
   • LR“hard to measure” — This is a plain, general adjective; a higher band would likely intensify this with a stronger word such as 'impossible to measure properly'.
   • GRA“So for a local business, public space still matters, but for something sold only online, online advertising wins” — This closing sentence links two ideas with 'so... but', a fairly basic contrast structure rather than a semicolon-marked, more compact conclusion.

   Band 7.0

   The 7.0 answer adds the hedge 'I'd say' and the concessive 'though very efficiently', plus a conditional clause ('if it's not working') that shows more nuanced reasoning than the flatter 6.5 statement.

   It really depends on whether the company knows who it wants, I'd say. For the seafood client, the banner on the Hàn river bridge was seen by the whole city, including people who'd never thought about the brand, whereas the online campaign reached only people already searching for fish, though very efficiently. Online advertising is measurable and precise, you know exactly who saw it and what they did next, and you can stop it tomorrow if it's not working. Public advertising is blunt, expensive, and basically impossible to measure, but it builds familiarity and reaches everyone, including people who block ads on their phones. For a local business with a physical product, public space still matters, whereas for anything sold through a screen, online generally wins.

   Why this band

   • FC“though very efficiently” — Inserting this concessive aside after the main clause shows a more natural, reflective qualification than the plainer, unqualified statement used at 6.5.
   • LR“Public advertising is blunt, expensive, and basically impossible to measure” — 'Blunt' is a precise, figurative adjective describing a lack of precision, more vivid than the plain phrase used at 6.5, 'hard to measure'.
   • GRA“you know exactly who saw it and what they did next, and you can stop it tomorrow if it's not working” — This sentence adds a conditional clause ('if it's not working') onto the end of a compound sentence, a more layered structure than the simple statement used at 6.5.

   Band 7.5

   The 7.5 answer uses colons and semicolons to link ideas tightly, the vivid verb 'pull' for stopping a campaign, and closes with the idiom 'earns its keep' plus the evaluative final sentence about companies 'arguing endlessly'.

   It depends on whether the company knows who it wants. For the seafood client, the banner on the Hàn river bridge was seen by the whole city, including people who'd never thought about the brand; the online campaign reached only people already searching for fish, very efficiently. Online advertising is measurable and precise: you know exactly who saw it and what they did next, and you can pull it tomorrow if it flops. Public advertising is blunt, expensive and impossible to measure properly, yet it builds familiarity and reaches everyone, including people who've blocked every ad on their phone. For a local business selling a physical product, public space still earns its keep; for anything sold through a screen, online simply wins. Most sensible companies end up doing both and arguing endlessly about the proportion.

   Why this band

   • FC“you can pull it tomorrow if it flops” — 'Pull' and 'flops' are vivid, informal-yet-precise verbs for stopping a failing campaign, more idiomatic than the plainer phrasing used at the lower bands, 'stop it tomorrow if it's not working'.
   • LR“public space still earns its keep” — 'Earns its keep' is an idiomatic phrase for something proving its worth, a more figurative and less-common collocation than the plain verb 'matters' used at 6.5 and 7.0.
   • GRA“Most sensible companies end up doing both and arguing endlessly about the proportion” — This closing sentence uses a present-participle phrase ('arguing endlessly') attached to the main verb, a more compact structure than a separate closing sentence, and adds an evaluative observation absent from the lower bands.

4. 4. How important is advertising for increasing sales?

   Sep–Dec 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The 6.5 answer opens with a direct claim ('important for some products but almost useless for others') and gives two contrasting examples joined by 'But', ending with a plain closing sentence.

   I think it's important for some products but almost useless for others. For example, a café near me opened with no advertising at all and had a queue within a month, because people talked about the good coffee. But a sports drink that is advertised during football matches sells well only while the adverts are showing, and sales drop as soon as the adverts stop, because there is nothing else to talk about. Advertising matters most for products that are similar to their competitors, like snacks or phones, and for completely new products that people don't know about yet. For products people really need or love, word of mouth works better than advertising.

   Why this band

   • FC“almost useless for others” — 'Useless' is a plain, blunt adjective; a higher band would likely use a more precise, softer term such as 'almost irrelevant'.
   • LR“sells well only while the adverts are showing” — This is a plain, literal description; a higher band might phrase the same idea more precisely, such as saying the drink sells 'exactly as long as the adverts run'.
   • GRA“But a sports drink that is advertised during football matches sells well only while the adverts are showing, and sales drop as soon as the adverts stop” — This sentence links ideas mainly with 'and', a fairly basic coordinating structure rather than a semicolon-marked contrast against the previous example.

   Band 7.0

   The 7.0 answer names the café by name ('Vy's café') for a more natural, personal touch and adds the reflective aside 'honestly' before its final evaluative comment.

   I'd say it's important for some products and almost irrelevant for others. Vy's café opened with no advertising at all and had a queue within a month, simply because people talk about good coffee, whereas the sports drink in the football adverts sells exactly as long as the adverts run and drops the moment they stop, because there's nothing else to talk about. Advertising matters most for products that are fairly similar to their competitors, where the story becomes the real difference, snacks, drinks, cosmetics, phones. It also matters a lot for brand-new things nobody knows exist yet. For products people genuinely need or love, though, word of mouth tends to do more, and advertising mainly just reminds people. A great advert honestly can't rescue a bad product; it just makes the failure faster and more public.

   Why this band

   • FC“Vy's café opened with no advertising at all” — Naming a specific person ('Vy's café') rather than the generic phrase 'a café near me' used at 6.5 shows more natural, personal storytelling typical of a 7.0 answer.
   • LR“where the story becomes the real difference” — 'The story becomes the real difference' is a more abstract, precise way of explaining differentiation than the plainer phrasing used at 6.5, 'products that are similar to their competitors'.
   • GRA“A great advert honestly can't rescue a bad product; it just makes the failure faster and more public” — A semicolon links two closely related independent clauses into one flowing sentence, a more controlled structure than the simpler standalone closing sentence used at 6.5.

   Band 7.5

   The 7.5 answer drops the opening 'I'd say' for a more confident, essay-like fragment, uses the idiomatic phrase 'does more of the heavy lifting', and closes with the sharpened 'considerably more public'.

   Important for some products and almost irrelevant for others. Vy's café opened with no advertising at all and had a queue within a month, because people talk about good coffee; the sports drink in the football adverts sells exactly as long as the adverts run and drops the moment they stop, because there's nothing to talk about otherwise. Advertising matters most for products that are similar to their competitors, where the story becomes the actual difference — snacks, drinks, cosmetics, phones. It matters, too, for new things nobody knows exist. For products people genuinely need or love, word of mouth does more of the heavy lifting, and advertising mainly just reminds. A brilliant advert can't rescue a bad product; it simply makes its failure faster, and considerably more public.

   Why this band

   • FC“Important for some products and almost irrelevant for others” — Opening directly with the adjective rather than a full 'I'd say it's important' sentence is a more compact, confident structure than the fuller opener used at 6.5 and 7.0.
   • LR“word of mouth does more of the heavy lifting” — 'Does the heavy lifting' is a vivid, idiomatic metaphor for doing the main work, more figurative and less common than the plainer phrase used at 7.0, 'tends to do more'.
   • GRA“it simply makes its failure faster, and considerably more public” — Adding the intensifying adverb 'considerably' before 'more public' sharpens the closing evaluation further than the plainer version of the same sentence used at 7.0.

5. 5. What qualities might an effective advertisement have?

   Sep–Dec 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The 6.5 answer opens with 'I think a good advertisement usually has just one clear idea' and lists qualities with 'also', ending with an 'And most importantly' final sentence.

   I think a good advertisement usually has just one clear idea. For example, the crisps advert I remember works because it has exactly one joke told in thirty seconds with almost no words, and a face that does the rest. Good adverts make you feel something before they tell you anything, like laughter or recognition. They are also memorable, which usually means people can repeat them easily. A good advert also matches the real personality of the product, so the promise does not seem silly. And most importantly, adverts fail when they try to say too many things at once instead of just one.

   Why this band

   • FC“Good adverts make you feel something before they tell you anything, like laughter or recognition” — This sentence gives examples with 'like', a simple, direct way of listing feelings rather than a colon-marked, more compact list.
   • LR“a good advertisement” — This general phrase is repeated across the answer; a higher band would likely vary the subject with shorter forms such as just 'adverts' for more natural flow.
   • GRA“And most importantly, adverts fail when they try to say too many things at once instead of just one” — This closing sentence uses 'when... instead of' for a simple contrast, a basic structure rather than a more compact clause pairing 'trying to say four things' with 'saying none'.

   Band 7.0

   The 7.0 answer opens with the fragment 'One idea, mostly, I'd say' and uses a colon-free list of feelings ('laughter, longing, recognition') for a punchier rhythm, plus the honest aside 'honestly' near the close.

   One idea, mostly, I'd say. The crisps advert works because it has exactly one joke, told in thirty seconds with almost no words, and a face that does the rest — effective adverts tend to be ruthlessly simple. They make you feel something before they even tell you anything, laughter, longing, recognition. They're memorable too, which usually just means repeatable, if people quote it, it's clearly working. They match the product's actual personality so the promise doesn't feel absurd, and they respect the viewer's intelligence, which is rarer than it should be. Most adverts fail, honestly, by trying to say four things at once, and ending up saying none.

   Why this band

   • FC“One idea, mostly, I'd say” — Opening with a compact noun-phrase fragment instead of a full sentence is a more natural, essay-like structure than the fuller opener used at 6.5, 'I think a good advertisement usually has just one clear idea'.
   • LR“effective adverts tend to be ruthlessly simple” — 'Ruthlessly simple' is a vivid, precise collocation for extreme simplicity, more figurative than the plain phrase used at 6.5, 'just one clear idea'.
   • GRA“laughter, longing, recognition” — This asyndetic list (nouns joined without 'and') creates a punchier rhythm than the 'like laughter or recognition' phrasing used at 6.5, showing more stylistic control over listing.

   Band 7.5

   The 7.5 answer uses a colon to introduce the same list of feelings for a slightly more formal rhythm, adds the precise clause 'a brilliant advert for a poor product just spreads the disappointment faster', and drops 'I'd say' for a more confident opener.

   One idea, mostly. The crisps advert works because it has exactly one joke, told in thirty seconds with almost no words, and a face that does the rest — effective adverts are ruthlessly simple. They make you feel something before they tell you anything: laughter, longing, recognition. They're memorable, which usually means repeatable; if people quote it, it's working. They match the product's actual personality, so the promise isn't absurd, and they respect the viewer's intelligence, which is rarer than it should be. They're honest enough, too, that the product doesn't disappoint afterwards, since a brilliant advert for a poor product just spreads the disappointment faster. Most adverts fail by trying to say four things at once, and end up saying none.

   Why this band

   • FC“They make you feel something before they tell you anything: laughter, longing, recognition” — Using a colon instead of a comma to introduce the list of feelings is a more formal, structured device than the comma-based list used at 7.0, showing finer control over punctuation.
   • LR“a brilliant advert for a poor product just spreads the disappointment faster” — This precise causal claim about disappointment spreading is a more developed, specific idea than the shorter comment at 6.5, and uses the more vivid verb 'spreads' rather than a plain description.
   • GRA“They're honest enough, too, that the product doesn't disappoint afterwards, since a brilliant advert for a poor product just spreads the disappointment faster” — This long sentence chains a result clause ('enough that...') with a further 'since' clause justifying it, a more complex structure than the shorter, simpler sentences used at 6.5.

6. 6. How truthful are advertisements about the things they advertise?

   Sep–Dec 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The 6.5 answer opens with 'I think adverts are selectively truthful' and explains with one example joined by 'so', ending with a plain 'I think most adults understand this, but' closing.

   I think adverts are selectively truthful, which is really the whole skill of advertising. For example, Messi probably does not eat crisps before football matches, but the advert never actually says that he does, so it is truthful about nothing and lies about nothing at the same time. Adverts rarely say things that are completely false, because the law checks for that, but they show the product at its best and leave out anything inconvenient. A car advert always shows an empty road, never the traffic it will actually be driven in. Some areas, like cosmetics or weight loss products, are worse than others. I think most adults understand this, but the adverts still work anyway.

   Why this band

   • FC“truthful about nothing and lies about nothing at the same time” — This is a plain, literal restating of the paradox; a higher band would likely trim the phrase for a punchier, more compact rhythm, dropping 'at the same time'.
   • LR“the whole skill of advertising” — 'The whole skill of advertising' is a fairly general phrase; a higher band would likely use a more precise, elevated term such as 'the industry's whole art'.
   • GRA“Adverts rarely say things that are completely false, because the law checks for that, but they show the product at its best and leave out anything inconvenient” — This sentence links three ideas with 'because... but... and', a fairly loose coordinating structure rather than a semicolon-marked, more compact contrast.

   Band 7.0

   The 7.0 answer opens with the compact fragment 'Selectively truthful, I'd say' and adds the honest aside 'honestly', showing more natural spoken rhythm and reflection than the fuller 6.5 opener.

   Selectively truthful, I'd say, which is really the industry's whole skill. I assume Messi doesn't actually eat crisps before matches, and the advert never claims he does either, it's truthful about nothing and lies about nothing, and honestly that's fairly typical. Adverts rarely state something outright false, since the law watches closely for that, but instead they show the product at its best, leave out whatever's inconvenient, and attach feelings that have no real logical connection to the object. A car advert always shows an empty mountain road, never the traffic jam it'll actually sit in. Some categories are worse, cosmetics, weight loss, finance, and some countries police them more strictly than others. The genuinely truthful part is usually just the small print, and the rest is theatre that most adults see through and enjoy anyway.

   Why this band

   • FC“it's truthful about nothing and lies about nothing, and honestly that's fairly typical” — The trimmed repetition of the paradox, followed by the honest aside 'honestly', is a punchier, more natural structure than the fuller, slightly redundant phrasing used at 6.5.
   • LR“A car advert always shows an empty mountain road, never the traffic jam it'll actually sit in” — 'Sit in' used for being stuck in traffic is a more vivid, idiomatic collocation than the plainer phrase used at 6.5, 'the traffic it will actually be driven in'.
   • GRA“Adverts rarely state something outright false, since the law watches closely for that, but instead they show the product at its best, leave out whatever's inconvenient, and attach feelings that have no real logical connection to the object” — This long sentence chains a 'since' clause with a three-part list joined by commas, a more complex, layered structure than the shorter version of the same idea used at 6.5.

   Band 7.5

   The 7.5 answer replaces 'the whole skill' with the more elevated 'the industry's whole art', uses semicolons to link closely related clauses, and closes with the tricolon 'the rest is theatre, and most adults know it, and it works on them anyway'.

   Selectively truthful, which is the industry's whole art. I assume Messi doesn't eat crisps before matches, and the advert never claims he does; it's truthful about nothing and lies about nothing, and that's fairly typical of the genre. Adverts rarely say outright false things, since the law watches closely for that; instead they show the product at its best, leave out whatever's inconvenient, and attach feelings that have no logical connection to the object at all. A car advert shows an empty mountain road, never the traffic jam it will actually live in. Some categories are worse — cosmetics, weight loss, finance — and some countries police them more strictly than others. The truthful part is usually the small print; the rest is theatre, and most adults know it, and it works on them anyway.

   Why this band

   • FC“Selectively truthful, which is the industry's whole art” — 'Art' is a more elevated, precise noun for a refined skill than the plainer 'skill' used at 6.5 and 7.0, showing a more sophisticated lexical choice.
   • LR“the rest is theatre” — 'Theatre' used metaphorically for staged performance is a vivid, precise noun, more figurative than the plainer explanation given at 6.5, 'they show the product at its best'.
   • GRA“The truthful part is usually the small print; the rest is theatre, and most adults know it, and it works on them anyway” — Semicolons and repeated 'and' clauses build a tricolon rhythm across three short statements, a more stylistically controlled structure than the plainer, single closing sentence used at 6.5.

7. 7. Should companies avoid targeting their advertising at children?

   Sep–Dec 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The 6.5 answer opens with 'Yes, I think' and gives one personal example joined by 'because', ending with a plain 'but' contrast at the close.

   Yes, I think this is one area where I would want the law to be strict. My four-year-old nephew greets a cardboard picture of Messi every morning because he cannot tell the difference between a friend and an advertisement, and children with no ability to defend themselves should not be a target. Children cannot judge claims properly, and advertising sugary food, toys, and games with in-app purchases to them causes pestering at home and bad habits that last for years. Some countries already ban this kind of advertising for children, and it seems fine. Companies say they are just informing families, but they actually know exactly who the advertising is really for.

   Why this band

   • FC“bad habits that last for years” — This is a plain, general phrase; a higher band would likely intensify this with a more precise time span, such as saying habits 'outlast childhood by decades'.
   • LR“children with no ability to defend themselves” — This is a fairly literal description; a higher band would likely use a more compact, precise phrase such as 'an audience with no defences'.
   • GRA“Companies say they are just informing families, but they actually know exactly who the advertising is really for” — This closing sentence uses 'but... actually' for a simple contrast, a basic structure rather than splitting the contrast into two short, punchy separate sentences.

   Band 7.0

   The 7.0 answer adds the honest aside 'honestly' twice and uses the more precise phrase 'an audience with basically no defences', showing more natural spoken emphasis than the flatter 6.5 wording.

   Yes, and honestly it's one area where I'd actually want the law to be firm. My nephew greets cardboard Messi every morning because he's four and genuinely can't tell a friend from an advertisement, an audience with basically no defences shouldn't be a target at all. Children can't weigh claims properly, can't fully understand persuasion, and can't separate the hero from the product he's holding. Advertising sugary food, toys tied to shows, or games with in-app purchases to them produces pestering at home and habits that last for decades. Some countries already ban this kind of advertising under a certain age, and their children seem to survive perfectly fine. Companies will say they're only informing families, but honestly, they know exactly whom the cardboard cutout is actually for.

   Why this band

   • FC“Yes, and honestly it's one area where I'd actually want the law to be firm” — Doubling the intensifiers 'honestly' and 'actually' in one opening sentence shows more natural, emphatic spoken register than the plainer opener used at 6.5.
   • LR“an audience with basically no defences shouldn't be a target at all” — 'No defences' is a precise, compact metaphor for vulnerability, more figurative than the fuller, literal phrase used at 6.5, 'children with no ability to defend themselves'.
   • GRA“Companies will say they're only informing families, but honestly, they know exactly whom the cardboard cutout is actually for” — Inserting 'honestly' mid-sentence before the final clause adds a natural, reflective aside, a more flexible structure than the plainer 'but they actually know' sentence used at 6.5.

   Band 7.5

   The 7.5 answer tightens the phrase to 'an audience with no defences shouldn't be a target in the first place', uses the vivid claim that habits 'outlast childhood by decades', and closes with two short, punchy separate sentences for emphasis.

   Yes, and it's the one area where I'd want the law to be genuinely firm. My nephew greets cardboard Messi every morning because he's four and cannot tell a friend from an advertisement; an audience with no defences shouldn't be a target in the first place. Children can't weigh claims, can't grasp persuasion, and can't separate the hero from whatever product he happens to be holding. Advertising sugary food, toys tied to shows, and games with in-app purchases at them produces pestering at home and habits that outlast childhood by decades. Some countries already ban it below a certain age, and their children seem to survive the deprivation just fine. Companies will insist they're merely informing families. They know exactly whom the cardboard is for.

   Why this band

   • FC“habits that outlast childhood by decades” — 'Outlast childhood by decades' is a vivid, precise way of quantifying long-term harm, more figurative and specific than the plainer phrase used at 6.5, 'bad habits that last for years'.
   • LR“their children seem to survive the deprivation just fine” — 'Deprivation' is a precise, slightly ironic noun choice, more sophisticated than the plainer wording used at the lower bands, which simply says children 'seem to survive'.
   • GRA“Companies will insist they're merely informing families. They know exactly whom the cardboard is for” — Splitting the final contrast into two short, separate sentences instead of joining them with 'but' creates a more deliberate, punchy rhetorical effect than the single connected sentence used at 6.5 and 7.0.

8. 8. Should there be more restrictions on which products can be advertised?

   Sep–Dec 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The 6.5 answer opens with 'I think yes, for some products' and gives one example joined by 'but', closing with a short 'But the line should be about' final sentence.

   I think yes, for some products, and there is a good recent example. Gambling adverts used to appear during football matches here, aimed at exactly the young men most likely to be harmed by them, but when the rules became stricter, the adverts disappeared, and nothing bad happened. Products that clearly cause harm, especially to vulnerable people, like tobacco, gambling, alcohol, and junk food advertised to children, should have limits on where and how they can be advertised. I would not want a general rule deciding everything people can be sold, because adults can usually be sold most things. But the line should be about harm and vulnerability.

   Why this band

   • FC“nothing bad happened” — This is a plain, vague phrase; a higher band would likely be more specific and vivid, such as saying 'the world didn't end'.
   • LR“a good recent example” — 'A good recent example' is a general, everyday phrase; a higher band might use a more specific claim about what the example demonstrates.
   • GRA“But the line should be about harm and vulnerability” — This is a short, plain closing sentence using 'should be about', a basic way of stating a final position rather than a more developed, self-aware conclusion.

   Band 7.0

   The 7.0 answer adds the vivid idiom 'the world didn't end' and the reflective closer 'The line, for me, is harm and vulnerability', showing more natural evaluative commentary than the plainer 6.5 ending.

   I'd say yes, for some products, and there's a fairly recent example that shows it actually works. Gambling adverts appeared between the halves of football matches here for a couple of years, aimed at exactly the young men most likely to be harmed, and when the rules tightened, they simply vanished, the world didn't end and nobody really missed them. Products that cause clear harm, especially to the vulnerable, tobacco, gambling, alcohol, high-interest loans, junk food aimed at children, deserve limits on where and how they're advertised, as plenty of countries already accept. I'd stop short of some general censor deciding what's good for everyone though, adults can generally be sold most things. The line, for me, is harm and vulnerability.

   Why this band

   • FC“the world didn't end and nobody really missed them” — 'The world didn't end' is a vivid, idiomatic understatement for something turning out fine, more figurative than the plain phrase used at 6.5, 'nothing bad happened'.
   • LR“some general censor deciding what's good for everyone” — 'Censor' is a precise, slightly formal noun for a body deciding what's permissible, more specific than the general phrase used at 6.5, 'a general rule'.
   • GRA“I'd stop short of some general censor deciding what's good for everyone though, adults can generally be sold most things” — This sentence uses 'though' inserted mid-clause as a natural spoken connector, a more flexible link than the separate 'because' clause used at 6.5.

   Band 7.5

   The 7.5 answer drops the initial 'I'd say' for a more confident fragment opener, uses the semicolon-linked contrast about the censor, and closes with the self-aware, evaluative admission 'the crisps sit closer to it than I'd like to admit'.

   For some products, yes, and a recent example shows it actually works. Gambling adverts appeared between the halves of football matches here for a couple of years, aimed at exactly the young men most likely to be harmed, and when the rules tightened they vanished — the world didn't end, and the adverts were not missed. Products that cause clear harm, especially to the vulnerable — tobacco, gambling, alcohol, high-interest loans, junk food aimed at children — deserve limits on where and how they're advertised, as many countries already accept. I'd stop short of a general censor deciding what's good for people; adults can generally be sold most things. The line is harm and vulnerability, and the crisps sit closer to it than I'd like to admit.

   Why this band

   • FC“the world didn't end, and the adverts were not missed” — This tightened version of the idiom, with the added clause 'the adverts were not missed', is a more developed and specific evaluative comment than the shorter phrase used at 7.0.
   • LR“the crisps sit closer to it than I'd like to admit” — This self-aware, evaluative closing admission is a more sophisticated rhetorical move than the plain closing statement used at the lower bands, showing personal reflection rather than a flat conclusion.
   • GRA“I'd stop short of a general censor deciding what's good for people; adults can generally be sold most things” — A semicolon links two independent clauses tightly together in a single balanced sentence, a more controlled structure than the comma-and-'though' link used at 7.0 for the same idea.

9. 9. Does advertising have a harmful or beneficial effect on society?

   Sep–Dec 2026
   Compare Band 6.5 / 7.0 / 7.5 for this question

   Band 6.5

   The 6.5 answer opens with 'I think advertising is both harmful and beneficial' and lists points with 'also' and dashes, closing with a plain 'So I would say' summary.

   I think advertising is both harmful and beneficial, and I keep changing my mind about the balance. The football I watch is free because crisps and other brands pay for it, and a lot of the news and apps I use are also funded by advertising, which is a real benefit people often forget. Advertising also tells people that useful products exist and pays for a lot of creative work. But the harm is quieter — it creates wanting, especially in children, makes ordinary life look not good enough, and pushes people to buy more than they need. So I would say advertising is beneficial when it gives information, but harmful when it becomes persuasion.

   Why this band

   • FC“makes ordinary life look not good enough” — This is a plain, slightly clumsy phrase; a higher band would likely use a single, more precise adjective such as 'inadequate' instead of the wordier construction.
   • LR“creates wanting” — 'Creates wanting' is a fairly plain, direct phrase; a higher band would likely use a more specific, formal verb such as 'manufactures wanting'.
   • GRA“So I would say advertising is beneficial when it gives information, but harmful when it becomes persuasion” — This closing sentence uses 'but' for a simple contrast between two conditions, a basic connector rather than a more compact 'as X and Y as Z' parallel structure.

   Band 7.0

   The 7.0 answer opens with the compact fragment 'Both, honestly' and uses the precise verb 'manufactures', plus the closing parallel structure 'beneficial as information and harmful as persuasion' for a punchier final claim.

   Both, honestly, in a proportion I keep changing my mind about. The football I watch is free because crisps pay for it, and the news I read, the apps I use, most of the culture I consume, is funded by advertising too, which is a real benefit people tend to forget. Advertising also tells people that useful things exist, and it funds a huge amount of design and creativity, including some of mine. The harm is quieter, though, it manufactures wanting, especially in children, makes ordinary life look somehow inadequate, and pushes consumption in a world that arguably needs less of it. My honest view is that advertising is beneficial as information and harmful as persuasion, and the industry has spent a century drifting from the first toward the second.

   Why this band

   • FC“Both, honestly, in a proportion I keep changing my mind about” — Opening with the single word 'Both' before any full sentence is a more compact, confident structure than the fuller opener used at 6.5, 'I think advertising is both harmful and beneficial'.
   • LR“it manufactures wanting, especially in children” — 'Manufactures' used metaphorically for artificially creating desire is a precise, more sophisticated verb than the plainer phrase used at 6.5, 'creates wanting'.
   • GRA“advertising is beneficial as information and harmful as persuasion” — This parallel 'X as A and Y as B' structure compresses a contrast into one balanced clause, a more compact and controlled structure than the 'when it... but... when it' sentence used at 6.5.

   Band 7.5

   The 7.5 answer uses semicolons and a colon to chain the harms into a tight tricolon ('it manufactures wanting... it makes ordinary life look inadequate; and it pushes consumption'), and closes with the more vivid verb 'sliding' in place of 'drifting'.

   Both, in a proportion I keep changing my mind about. The football I watch is free because crisps pay for it; the news I read, the apps I use, most of the culture I consume is funded by advertising, and that's a real benefit people forget. Advertising also tells people that useful things exist, and it funds a great deal of design and creativity, including some of mine. The harm is quieter: it manufactures wanting, especially in children; it makes ordinary life look inadequate; and it pushes consumption in a world that needs rather less of it. My honest view is that advertising is beneficial as information and harmful as persuasion, and the industry has spent a century sliding from the first into the second.

   Why this band

   • FC“The harm is quieter: it manufactures wanting, especially in children; it makes ordinary life look inadequate; and it pushes consumption in a world that needs rather less of it” — A colon followed by three semicolon-separated clauses builds a tight tricolon rhythm, a more stylistically controlled structure than the comma-joined list used at 6.5 and 7.0 for the same three harms.
   • LR“the industry has spent a century sliding from the first into the second” — 'Sliding' is a slightly more vivid, gradual verb than 'drifting' used at 7.0, both being more figurative than the plain phrasing a 6.5 answer would use for the same idea.
   • GRA“that's a real benefit people forget” — Dropping 'often' before 'forget' tightens the sentence slightly compared with the fuller phrase used at 6.5 and 7.0, 'a real benefit people often/tend to forget', showing a more economical grammatical choice.