adv demo lesson

8/6/2019 Adv Demo Lesson

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Jeffrey ParkerSummer 2011

Context: Some of the questions I asked myself before I began this endeavor (whichultimately took seven weeks ):

1. H ow aware are my students of advertising?2. H ow are my students affected by advertising, given their language deficits? Are

they easier prey?3. What do they perceive as the purpose of advertising?4. What do my students know about the demographics and techniques of

advertising?5. H ow capable are my students with turning the tables and wielding this power?

Rationale and Theoretical Framework:

The ultimate purpose of all commercial advertising is to persuade people to recognize a product, accept that brand and to buy.

Purpose of Advertising (http://www.saskschools.ca/~ischool/media20/unit_4/purpose.htm)

I t is estimated that the average 20-year-old American has seen one million commercial messagesthroughout his or her life . That works out to approximately 137 commercial messages a day.

- Critical Consumerism (urbandreams.ousd.k12.ca.us/lessonplans/consumerism/index.html)

Advertising surrounds us. Whether it is commercials on television, advertisements inmagazines, billboards along the highway, product placement in movies or sidebars onFaceBook, advertisers want to get into our minds. Even though we would like to thinkthat we are way too savvy to fall for their tricks, that we make informed decisions andwe would never give in to group think, the subtleness of advertising language isinsidious. In working with students that are challenged in the realms of receptive andexpressive language, it has become clear that they are particularly vulnerable to thecraft of advertisers. As advertising becomes even more pervasive in the digital age,students must be armed with the knowledge to recognize the techniques of advertisersand be ready to use that information to their advantage. By playing with the languageand engaging in discourse with their partners or small groups, they become more awareof this language and the mindset of advertisers. The broader application comes whenstudents begin to realize that politicians, journalists and sales professionals use thesesame techniques.

"C arry out operations only after having first determined your strategy. One must have clear awareness of

the capabilities of one's forces, the vulnerabilitiesof opponents, and the lay of the land. "

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

P ropaganda (advertising) is nothing more than the exploitation of human foibles - the inherent flaws inthe way you, I and other people make decisions.



Strategic Planning, Business Applications of Propaganda, Shareholder Buy/Sell Agreements(www.corporate -partnering.com/cpi -wp.htm)

Lesson:

This lesson is a condensed portion of a larger unit that focuses on the purposes and

language of advertising. At the completion of the unit, the students are able torecognize many of the techniques that advertisers use in both print and videoadvertising. In an effort to put them in control and play with the language, they thenincorporate these techniques into their own commercials and zines. Many of thestudents have strong reactions to the idea that advertisers purposefully prey on themand will put out misleading or humorous stories in an effort to hook them.

1. Watching a commercial: Everyone is familiar with commercials. H aving the

students watch a commercial cold sets the stage for the upcoming

information. After watching the commercial, we talk about

a. What product was being advertised?

b. Who was the target audience?

c. What was the advertiser doing?

d. Was it effective?

2. Purpose of advertising: H aving the students brainstorm ideas about what is the

purpose of advertising? After brainstorming and discussing the idea, we talk

about the accepted purpose, which is stated above.

3. Demographics and targeting:

a. What are demographics?

b. In the eyes of advertisers, why are some demographics more attractive or

profitable than others?

c. Why are advertisers focusing on younger demographics?

4. Terms and techniques:

a. H ow do advertisers hook people into recognizing products and brands?

b. Explicit introduction and teaching of techniques.

c. Viewing advertisements and commercials to identify demographic focus

and use of technique as a group

d. Small group analysis of ads

5. H and out the envelopes with assignment: Product, demographic and purpose



a. Each envelope contains the name of a common product (Budweiser,

H ead and Shoulders, Kool -Aid, etc.), demographic and purpose.

b. Go over the directions with the students

i. An advertising agency has hired you and your partner to construct

an ad campaign (a pitch) to advertise a product. Convince the

executives that your idea will be effective and be able to explain

the particular techniques that you use.

6. Create your pitch

a. Using the PowerPoint template, the students will create their mockup

and explain the reasons for making their choices.

7. Present your pitch

a. In their pairs, the students will present their ideas and answer questions

posed to them by the executives.

References:

Gener al Adv ertising Resources:

http://www.frankwbaker.com/ad_lesson_plans.htm - a wealth of advertisingrelated lesson plans and materials.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/ - a short documentary by Annie Leonard thatexplores the consumer mindset of America. It is presented simply with line drawingsand is very engaging.

http://camy.org/ - Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. Well regardedwebsite that explores the effect and effectiveness of alcohol advertising on youth.

http://www.adbusters.org/ - from their website: We are a global network of culture jammers and creatives working to change the way information flows, the waycorporations wield power, and the way meaning is produced in our society.

http://www.frankwbaker.com/learning_to_be_critical.htm - lesson plan focused onteaching advertising awareness to students in grades K -2.

D emogr aph ics:



http://adage.com/section/american -demographics/195 - AdAge is a magazinethat caters to advertisers. Not all sections are free. This section is devoted to givinginformation on particular populations.

http://www.facebook.com/ads/create - Facebook s advertising tool which gives

you an approximate number of people on Facebook categorized by age, sex, interestsand more.

Adv ertising T ec hniques: http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/omalley/120/empire/ads/ads.html - website that

gives a general history lesson on the development of advertising

http://www.adcracker.com/techniques/Advertising_Techniques.htm - adcrackeris devoted to identifying the most effective and persuasive selling techniques.

http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/comp/ad -claims.html - the original essay,written by a teacher, Jeffrey Schrank, on advertising techniques in a veryunderstandable format.

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