Debate: Opposing "Advertisements Do More Good Than Harm"

The following speech was made by a speaker who took part in a debate on the motion “Advertisement Do More Good than Harm”.

Write a speech opposing the views of the speaker.

“Mr. Chairman, judges, my worthy opponents and members of the floor. Let me make my stand earlier. I believe strongly that advertisement do more good than harm. They include some important part of our lives and we need them.      First and foremost, advertisements provide us with vital information. Consequently, we are able to know what type of goods are available, where they can be bought as well as information on the prices. Is this not a useful service? Let me give an example. If you decide to buy a TV, you’d find it difficult to make a choice as there are so many models available. Before you make a decision, you will want to compare prices and the special features of each model. In such a situation, advertisements would be useful as they provide all the information that we need. The second argument is that prices are cheaper because of advertisement. Why is this so? This is because when customers are better informed, they buy more. As a result, more goods are produced and when this happens, the public gets goods at lower prices. This is certainly an advantage to us. There’s another advantage too. In my opinion, advertisements make our life more interesting. Think of all the TV advertisements that you have seen. Some of the tunes are so catchy that you find yourself humming them. Besides, many of the advertising boards that we see along the roads add beauty to the landscape. The board along the Klang – Kuala Lumpur highway are good examples. I maintain, therefore, that advertisement do more good than harm. Thank you.”

Answer

“Good morning, Mr. Chairman, honourable judges, and my fellow students. The speaker from the proposition team has tried, quite unsuccessfully, I’m afraid, to show you that advertisement do more good than harm. Honestly, it is impossible to believe what he has said.      My opponent claimed that advertisement provide information and as a result of that, more goods are bought. Yes, more goods are bought. But I’m convinced that what is bought is not useful. The public buys these goods because they are influenced by the advertisements. The information given is often not the truth. Haven’t we come across people complaining that they have been cheated by advertisement?      Goods are cheaper because of advertisement. That was what my worthy opponent said. We certainly cannot believe that. When more goods are produced, the businessman will try to make more profits. It’s not true that they will sell the goods at a cheaper price.       I think of advertisements as a nuisance. I’m sure you’d agree with me on this. It’s because of advertisements that we are not able to enjoy our TV programmes in peace. These days even the YouTube video is interrupted by annoying advertisements which are always trying to influence us to buy things we don’t need anyway. Would you call that doing good?      My argument is that advertisements do more harm than good. They make people materialistic. I’m of the opinion that people are so greedy these days because they want to buy the goods advertised.      I’ve an important question to ask the members of the proposition team. If the goods are really good, why are companies spending millions of dollars on advertisements? Advertising is just a clever way of robbing us of our money.      I’m sure my short speech has shown you that advertisements do more harm than good. Thank you.”

Vocabulary

	Meaning
Oppose	(verb) disagree with synonyms:   be against, object to
Vital	(adj) absolutely necessary; essential synonyms:   essential, indispensable, crucial, key, necessary
Consequence	(noun) a result or effect, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant synonyms:   result, upshot, outcome
Argument	(noun) a reason or set of reasons given in support of an idea, action or theory synonyms:   reasoning, logic, case
Humming	(adj) making a droning sound; buzzing
Landscape	(noun) all the visible features of an area of land synonyms:   scenery, countryside
Claim	(verb) state or assert that something is the case synonyms:   assert, declare, profess, maintain, state
Convince	(verb) cause (someone) to believe synonyms:   persuade, satisfy, prove to
Worthy	(adj) having adequate or great merit, character, or value
Nuisance	(noun) a person or thing causing inconvenience or annoyance synonyms:   irritation, annoyance, inconvenience
Interrupt	(verb) break the continuity synonyms:   break up, break
Influence	(noun) the capacity to have an effect on synonyms:   effect, impact (verb) have an influence on synonyms:   affect
Materialistic	(adj) excessively concerned with material possessions synonyms:   worldly, consumerist, money-oriented