IELTS Speaking Part 2 – Topic: Describe an advertisement you have seen

Well, I’d like to talk about a mooncake commercial that I saw yesterday during dinner. It made me feel quite homesick.

As you may know, the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming and this time is my favourite time of the year. One interesting thing I found is that most of the ads for this traditional festival are so touching and meaningful. Of course, the ad I mentioned is no exception. It starts with the image of a little girl missing her dad, who’s in the army now and has been far from home for a long time. On the Mid-Autumn day, while all of her family members, except her father, are gathering around the five-fruit tray, celebrating the festival, she looks so sad hugging the Teddy Bear he gave her last year. Suddenly, the door opens and her dad comes in with a mooncake box, she bursts into tears, then he holds her tightly in his arms. At the end of the ad, the whole family is enjoying mooncakes happily together.

The meaning of the Mid-Autumn festival is for family members to gather, encouraging affection for children and expressing gratitude to the older generation, so for me, this advertisement successfully conveyed the message of family reunion. As I now live far from my family, it made me want to come back home right away and enjoy the taste of my favourite mooncakes with my parents. Actually when I saw the ad, my eyes filled with tears too, just like the little girl. Normally, I don’t really like watching ads on TV, but if all the commercials can be that meaningful, maybe I’ll change my habit.

– commercial [n] an advertisement on the radio or TV
Example: They’re looking for actors for a phone commercial.

– homesick [n] sad because you are away from your home and family
Example: After spending a month in the USA, I felt homesick for Vietnam.

– touching [adj] making you feel sympathy or pity
Example: It was a touching story, which moved many of us to tears.

– miss [v] feel sad because you can no longer see somebody
Example: When I first went to university, I missed my sisters a lot.

– hug [v] put your arms around somebody and hold them tightly
Example: Before I got on the train, I said goodbye to my parents and I hugged them for a few moments.

– burst into tears [expression] begin to cry suddenly
Example: The children burst into tears on hearing about the death of their dog.

– affection [n] the feeling of liking/loving somebody very much and caring about them
Example: Children need lots of love and affection.

– gratitude [n] the feeling of being grateful and wanting to express your thanks
Example: The boss expressed his gratitude to all the staff for their hard work during the year.

– convey [v] to make ideas or feelings known to somebody
Example: I will be late for the appointment, so please convey my apologies to the customer.

– reunion [n] the act of people coming together, after they have been apart for some time
Example: Christmas is a time of reunion, when family and friends have the chance to see each other again.