Diamond

Diamond

 

“I love this woman!”----There’s a better way to do it, says the ad: Give her a diamond, or a ¹⁾bunch of them, and she’ll love you back. Which makes me ask, “Why a diamond?” Why not a ruby¹ or an ²⁾emerald, or, what the ³⁾heck, a ⁴⁾toaster or a ⁵⁾kitten? Why did diamonds get to be the “Love and marriage” thing? Why, everywhere, do couples, who wish to declare their love, go out and pay big bucks² for diamonds? One reason we’re given is that diamonds are so ⁶⁾scarce. So, ah, is it true?

Donna: No.

Marketing³ professor, Donna Bergenstock, points out their ⁷⁾scarcity⁴ is a myth created long ago by DeBeers, the South African company that’s dug up most of the world’s diamonds. 

Donna: There are billions of dollars of diamonds sitting in ⁸⁾vaults in London, in South Africa, that DeBeers specifically keeps off the market in order to ⁹⁾artificially raise the price of diamonds. 

The supply’s so vast that if DeBeers hadn’t controlled the world market for decades, diamonds would be much cheaper. 

Donna: A diamond really’s just a piece of ¹⁰⁾carbon. It’s a just a rock. 

Advert⁶: A diamond is forever.

So why is this rock a symbol of love? Because DeBeers told us it was. Since 1940, DeBeers’ brilliant ad campaign’s been convincing Americans that diamonds mean love.

Garfield: Unlike most advertising⁷, people just completely bought it. 

Bob Garfield, of Advertising Age Magazine, says it’s one of the best ad campaigns ever done.

Garfield: It created, out of whole cloth, the ¹¹⁾notion that at your engagement, you must give your ¹²⁾intended a diamond. 

But years of listening to this ¹³⁾propaganda has convinced us that giving diamonds is an age-old tradition. This is just a sales ¹⁴⁾pitch.

 

钻石代表我的心

“我爱她！”——有一个比大喊大叫更好的办法，广告上这么说：“送她一颗钻石，或一条钻链，她就会爱你”。这不禁让我想问：“为什么一定要送钻石呢？”为什么不送红宝石、绿宝石，或者，去他的，就送个烤面包机或小猫咪好了？为什么钻石象征着“爱和婚姻”？为什么各地的情侣宣布他们的爱情时，就会去花大把票子买钻石呢？我们听到的理由是：钻石太稀有了。所以说，啊哈，真是这样的吗？

唐娜：不是。

营销学教授唐娜·伯根斯多克指出“钻石稀有”是德比尔公司——一家挖掘出世界上大部分钻石的南非公司——在多年以前虚构出来的童话。

唐娜：在伦敦、南非的地下存放着价值亿万美元的钻石，德比尔公司有意不将它们投放市场，目的就是要人为地抬高钻石的价格。

钻石的销量很大，如果不是数十年来德比尔公司一直在控制着全球市场，钻石的价格可能会便宜得多。

唐娜：其实钻石就是一颗碳，就是一块石头而已。

广告：钻石恒久远.

可为什么这块石头成了爱的象征？因为德比尔公司告诉我们它是。自1940年以来，德比尔公司魅惑人心的广告深入美国人心，使人们认为钻石代表着爱。

嘉菲德：与大部分广告效果不同的是，人们全深信不疑。

《广告时代杂志》的鲍伯·嘉菲德说，这是有史以来最成功的广告宣传。

嘉菲德：它凭空地制造出一个概念：订婚时必须送给爱人一颗钻石。

多年来一直听到这种宣传，让我们相信了送钻石是一个历史渊源的传统。其实，这纯粹是个销售手段。                      

 

注释:

1) bunch [bQntF] n. 串

2) emerald [5emErEld] n. 绿宝石

3) heck [hek] n.地狱  What the heck! 去他的！

4) toaster [5tEJstE(r)] n. 烤面包机

5) kitten [5kitn] n. 小猫

6) scarce [skZEs] a. 稀有的

7) scarcity [5skZEsiti] n. 稀有

8) vault⁵ [vC:lt] n. 地窖，地下室

9) artificially [7B:ti5fiFEli] adv. 人为地

10) carbon [5kB:bEn] n. 碳

11) notion [5nEuFEn] n. 概念，观点

12) intended [in5tendid] n. 已经订婚的人

13) propaganda [7prCpE5^AndE] n. 宣传

14) pitch [pitF] n. 顶点

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

5 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

6 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。

7 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。