depicting lives consumers want to live and people consumers want to become

[I'm a Chubby Baby]

Hi, everyone. Is 'depict' the right verb here? Do the two definite articles necessary? I repeated 'consumers' because I think if I use 'them', it would be unclear.

Advertisers are very good at tricking consumers into believing their products can lead them to happiness. They do this by depicting the lives consumers want to live and the people consumers want to become.

 

[jutfrank]

Look at the ways the verb and noun portray/portrayal are used here.

You can use depict to mean 'represent in picture form'. If you mean to talk about the kind of pictures of people's lives that are shown in ads, then depict is fine. If you mean to talk about the way certain people or types of people are represented, then portray works well.

If you can find a way of using both verbs accurately, that will make a good impression on the IELTS examiner and you'll score well in lexical resource.

Your use of articles is good.

 

[Tarheel]

Hi, everyone. Is 'depict' the right verb here? Are the two definite articles necessary? I repeated 'consumers' because I think if I use 'them', it would be unclear.

Advertisers are very good at tricking consumers into believing their products can make them happy. They do this by depicting the lives consumers want to live and the people consumers want to become.

I'm not sure why you used "trick" there. Do you think advertising is a trick?

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm not sure why you used "trick" there. Do you think advertising is a trick?

I'd agree that the concept "This product will make you happy" is, to some extent, a trick. It seems we never learn that stuff doesn't actually make us happy!

 

[I'm a Chubby Baby]

Thank you all!
About the correction in #3, Why do I need to change "lead them to happiness" to "make them happy"? What's wrong with my 'lead them to happiness'?

 

[Rover_KE]

It's not colloquial.

 

[jutfrank]

What's wrong with my 'lead them to happiness'?

It doesn't sound good.

 

[Tarheel]

I'd agree that the concept "This product will make you happy" is, to some extent, a trick. It seems we never learn that stuff doesn't actually make us happy!

I think advertisers want you to believe that their product will make you happier, and it's certainly true that some things increase your enjoyment at least for a while. Also, I think most people understand that perfectly well. Thus there is no trick. People know what they are looking for and what they are getting. (It's always possible to be disappointed, of course.)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Personally, I don't mind "lead them to happiness." It seems to say what you mean. But judging from other reactions here, it might not be a great word choice.