This list was written by BandLadder's authors, Fizza Butool Zaidi and Ali Zaidi. The meanings and example sentences are our own, not taken from model answers or dictionaries.

12 words

Writing Task 2 vocabulary

Formal and neutral items that suit an essay. They work in Speaking too.

target audience
The group of people an advert or product is aimed at.
Advertisers shape every message to suit a specific target audience.
persuasive techniques
Methods used to convince people.
Advertisements rely on persuasive techniques such as repetition and emotional appeal.
celebrity endorsement
A famous person publicly supporting a product.
Celebrity endorsement can make an ordinary product seem desirable.
misleading claims
Statements that give a false impression.
Regulators fine companies that make misleading claims about health benefits.
consumer behaviour
How and why people buy things.
Social media advertising has transformed consumer behaviour.
British spelling; American 'behavior'.
targeted advertising
Adverts chosen for each person using their personal data.
Targeted advertising uses browsing history to show users products they may want.
brand awareness
How well people know and recognise a brand.
Sponsoring major sporting events raises brand awareness worldwide.
vulnerable groups
People who can be harmed or influenced more easily, such as children.
Strict rules protect vulnerable groups such as children from aggressive marketing.
restrict advertising
To limit when, where or how products can be advertised.
Several countries restrict advertising of unhealthy food to children.
influencer marketing
Promoting products through popular social media users.
Influencer marketing blurs the line between personal opinion and paid promotion.
create demand
To make people want something they did not want before.
Advertising can create demand for products people did not know they wanted.
a marketing campaign
A planned series of activities to promote a product.
The marketing campaign doubled the company's online sales within a year.

Use advertising and marketing vocabulary in a Task 2 essay

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10 phrases

Speaking vocabulary

Natural spoken English for Parts 1 to 3. Items noted as informal or as an idiom belong in Speaking only, never in Task 2.

an advert
An advertisement.
I saw an advert for a new phone on the side of a bus.
British; 'ad' is also common, and 'commercial' is used for TV in American English.
skip the ads
To jump past adverts, especially online.
I always skip the ads on videos as soon as I can.
a catchy slogan
A short, memorable phrase used in advertising.
The campaign had such a catchy slogan that everyone was repeating it.
pop-up ads
Adverts that suddenly appear in a new window online.
Pop-up ads are so annoying that I use a blocker.
fall for
To be tricked into believing something.
I sometimes fall for adverts that promise quick results.
word of mouth
Information passed from person to person.
I find most restaurants by word of mouth rather than adverts.
sponsored posts
Social media posts that a company has paid for.
Half of what I see on social media seems to be sponsored posts.
in your face
Aggressive and very direct.
Some adverts are really in your face, and that puts me off.
Informal: Speaking only.
grab your attention
To make you notice something quickly.
Good adverts grab your attention in the first few seconds.
a gimmick
A trick to attract attention, often with little real value.
The free gift was just a gimmick to get people into the shop.

Writing Task 2

Use it in an answer

Some countries have banned advertising fast food to children. Is this a positive or negative development?

I believe this is a positive development. Children are among the most vulnerable groups: they struggle to tell entertainment from persuasion, and adverts with cartoon characters and celebrity endorsement are designed to make them pester their parents. Restrictions do not remove choice, since families can still buy whatever they like; they simply remove one source of pressure. Governments that restrict advertising of unhealthy food should, however, also support healthy school meals, because a ban on its own cannot change dietary habits.

Written by our authors to show the vocabulary in use; not an official IELTS sample.

Lexical Resource

How examiners judge this vocabulary

Vocabulary is scored as Lexical Resource, one quarter of your Writing and Speaking marks. At the higher bands the public IELTS band descriptors for Speaking mention “less common and idiomatic vocabulary”, together with awareness of style and collocation. In practice that means the right item in the right register: ‘target audience’ in an essay, ‘an advert’ when you speak. Accuracy comes first; a misused advanced word costs more than a plain one used well.

Practise in context

Advertising and marketing questions to practise

Frequently asked questions

Advert, ad, advertisement or commercial: which should I use?+

All are correct. 'Advertisement' is the full, neutral form for Writing; 'advert' and 'ad' are common in British speech; 'commercial' is a TV or radio advert, more common in American English.

Is advertising the same theme as media?+

They overlap. Our media page covers news, social media and television; this page focuses on persuasion, marketing and consumer protection. Read both for Task 2 questions about social media advertising.

Can I use the Speaking phrases in Writing Task 2?+

Not the informal ones. Phrasal verbs and idioms such as 'in your face' sound natural in Speaking but are too casual for an essay, and Task 2 should have no contractions. Everything in the Writing list works in both papers.

Will learning these words raise my IELTS band?+

Not on their own, and no word list guarantees a band. Lexical Resource rewards vocabulary used precisely and naturally, so five items you can use correctly are worth more than twenty forced into an answer. Learn each one with its example, then write or say a sentence of your own.

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IELTS vocabulary for advertising and marketing