Company X manufactures swim wear and planned to launch a new line of women's bathing suits in March, which is typically the peak time of year for swim wear sales. The company conducted consumer polls, which returned favorable results for both style and price, and took out advertisements in major fashion magazines and television stations. Yet the launch was disappointing: sales in March did not exceed even half of the company's sales during the same period in the previous year.

Each of the following, if true, could explain the disappointing sales of the new swim wear line EXCEPT:

None of the stores carrying the new swim wear line displayed it prominently.
The company's manufacturing plants experienced difficulty in obtaining dyes in the advertised colors and so substituted different colors.
A major competitor launched a line of similar swim wear at a lower price in February.
A scene in which a major actress was to wear one of the new swimsuits in a much anticipated movie to be released in February was never filmed.
The prediction of a cool, rainy summer by meteorologists received much attention in the national media.

OA is D, but isnt that option related to advertising, so if the scene was never filmed, wouldn't sales have dropped?

Also am I reading too much into the passage if I chose option B, since option B is about colors and the passage mentions consumer polls returned favourable results in style and price?

D has nothing to do with the advertisements that were actually purchased, and there is no indication from the argument that this movie factored into the company’s estimates of projected sales. As for B, what do you think style means if it doesn’t include color? :)

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Tim Sanders
Manhattan GMAT Instructor