A few decades ago, many people didn’t drink water outside of a meal. Then beverage /bevrd/ companies started bottling the production of far-off springs, and now office workers unthinkingly sip /sp/ bottled water all day long. Chewing gum, once bought primarily by adolescent /dlesnt/ boys, is now featured in commercials as a breath freshener and teeth cleanser for use after a meal. Skin moisturizers /mstrazrz/ are advertised as part of morning beauty rituals /rtulz/, slipped in between hair brushing and putting on makeup.
“Our products succeed when they become part of daily or weekly patterns,” said Carol Berning, a consumer psychologist who recently retired from Procter & Gamble, the company that sold $76 billion of Tide /tad/, Crest /krest/ and other products last year. “Creating positive habits is a huge part of improving our consumers’ lives, and it’s essential to making new products commercially viable /vabl/.” Through experiments and observation, social scientists like Dr. Berning have learned that there is power in tying /ta/ certain behaviors to habitual /hbtul/ cues through relentless /rlentls/ advertising. As this new science of habit has emerged, controversies /kɑntrvrsiz/ have erupted when the tactics have been used to sell questionable beauty creams or unhealthy foods.
beverage noun
BrE /bevrd/ ; NAmE /bevrd/
(formal) any type of drink except water
laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages
Studies on the consumption of various alcoholic beverages have been conducted.
far-off adjective
BrE /fɑr f/ ; NAmE /fɑr f/
[only before noun]
a long distance away
synonym distant, faraway, remote
a far-off land
a long time ago
synonym distant
memories of those far-off days
spring noun
BrE /spr/ ; NAmE /spr/
[countable] a place where water comes naturally to the surface from under the ground
a mountain spring
spring water
sip verb
BrE /sp/ ; NAmE /sp/
[intransitive, transitive] to drink something, taking a very small amount each time
sip (at something) She sat there, sipping at her tea.
sip something He slowly sipped his wine.
adolescent adjective
BrE /dlesnt/ ; NAmE /dlesnt/
in the process of developing from a child into an adult
adolescent boys/girls/experiences
ritual noun
BrE /rtul/ ; NAmE /rtul/
[countable, uncountable]
something that is done regularly and always in the same way
Sunday lunch with the in-laws has become something of a ritual.
viable adjective
BrE /vabl/ ; NAmE /vabl/
that can be done; that will be successful
synonym feasible
a viable option/proposition
There is no viable alternative.
to be commercially/politically/financially/economically viable
If there was any delay then the rescue plan would cease to be viable.
tie verb
BrE /ta/ ; NAmE /ta/
[transitive, usually passive] tie somebody/something (to something/somebody) to connect or link somebody/something closely with somebody/something else
Pay increases are tied to inflation.
The house is tied to the job, so we'll have to move when I retire.
habitual adjective
BrE /hbtul/ ; NAmE /hbtul/
[only before noun] usual or typical of somebody/something
They waited for his habitual response.
(formal) a person’s place of habitual residence
She sat smoking her habitual cigarette.
relentless adjective
BrE /rlentls/ ; NAmE /rlentls/
not stopping or getting less strong
synonym unrelenting
her relentless pursuit of perfection
The sun was relentless.
controversy noun
BrE /kntrvsi/ , also /kntrvsi/ ; NAmE /kɑntrvrsi/
[uncountable, countable] (pl. controversies)
controversy (over/about/surrounding somebody/something) public discussion and argument about something that many people strongly disagree about, disapprove of, or are shocked by
to arouse/cause controversy
a bitter controversy over/about the site of the new airport
the controversy surrounding his latest movie
The President resigned amid considerable controversy.
tactic noun
BrE /tktk/ ; NAmE /tktk/
[countable, usually plural] the particular method you use to achieve something
They tried all kinds of tactics to get us to go.
This was just the latest in a series of delaying tactics.
The manager discussed tactics with his team.
Confrontation is not always the best tactic.
It's time to try a change of tactic.
They used strong-arm (= aggressive or violent) tactics.
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