LSAT 111 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q25

LR Question 25 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: A company that produces men’s cologne had been…

QUESTION TYPE: Paradox

CONCLUSION: A cologne company did worse when it switched from general circulation magazines to a sports magazine with a male readership.

ANALYSIS: Presumably the company switched because it thought the sports magazine would help it sell more cologne. And men are the target market, so it would seem to make sense to advertise in a magazine that men read.

The correct answer explains that women often buy cologne for men. So the company accidentally cut itself off from many customers.

___________

1. This tells us absolutely nothing. It just tells us the company never advertised on TV. We’ve learned nothing new about magazines. 
2. This tells us that it was a bad idea to leave those magazines, as they would have increased sales. But it doesn’t explain why sales shrank: presumably the company switched because it thought the sports magazines would work at least as well. 
3. Some men still wore the cologne, even if most don’t. Otherwise the product wouldn’t exist. So this doesn’t explain it.
4. CORRECT. Women often buy cologne. Women read the general circulation magazines but they don’t read the male sports magazines. So the company cut itself off from many customers. 
5. This doesn’t tell us if the company used athletes in their ads in either magazine category. It also doesn’t tell us if the ads featuring athletes work. This tells us nothing.