Advertising Unit
Grade Nine Curriculum Guide
Version 1.0: September 2009
Table of Contents: Advertising Unit
Activity
Page #
Introduction to Unit
3
Unit Template with Learning Plan
4
Student Progress Monitoring
7
Academic Vocabulary
9
Pre-assessment
10
Creating Media Awareness
12
Representations in Advertisements
24
The Audience of an Advertisement
35
How to Read an Ad
37
Techniques of Persuasion and Advertising Claims
41
Analysis of an Advertisement
50
Culminating Assessment: Analyzing and Creating an
Advertisement
52
Taking Action
58
Differentiation
61
Resources
62
2
Introduction
Movies, television, video games, and advertisements take up an increasingly large part of
the already crowded life of a typical teenager. These media outlets share a reliance on
the visual image to influence the consumer. We have prepared students to tackle the
written and spoken word, but what about their knowledge of visual texts that will help
make them a wise consumer of the media? This unit introduces the ways that advertising
affects or manipulates the audience’s reactions. We know that advertising can affect
adolescents’ body image and self-esteem, so we need to give students the tools to
deconstruct some of the media’s messages. This, however, is a unit for a Language Arts
classroom, not a media studies program, so the real focus of the unit is on how well
students can analyze and interpret, specifically with regard to audience and intended
effect. The culminating assessment is to both analyze an advertisement for its persuasive
techniques and to create a new ad that appeals to a different audience. This is a unit that
may pay off double for us: make students effective readers and creators of visual texts
AND to make them wise and careful consumers of the media.
John Golden
TOSA-Rice
[email protected]
3
Advertising Unit Template
Stage 1: Desired Outcomes
Priority Standards:
9.02. Use the features of informational text to reach supported conclusions.
9.05 Infer an author’s unstated ideas, analyzing evidence that supports those unstated ideas and
make reasonable generalizations about text.
9.06. Draw conclusions about the author’s purpose.
9.11. Develop a thesis, providing connections and insights.
9.11. Provide details/examples to support ideas developed into separate paragraphs.
9.17. Analyze advertisements, entertainment and news programs for how they affect targeted
audiences.
9.18. Make informed judgments about television, radio, and film productions.
Understandings:
Students will understand that…
 Advertisements use persuasive techniques
Essential Questions:

to influence consumer choices.


Advertisements create unrealistic
representations


The media should not be received
passively.
What happens when we do not see
ourselves represented fairly in the media?
How do we become active and critical
consumers of the media and advertising?
How does the media and its advertising
seek to influence us?
Students will know:
 The main techniques that advertisements
use to influence their consumer choices
 How audience affects language and visual
choices in advertising and the media
Students will be able to:
 Deconstruct any advertisement by
examining its language and visuals
 Create an advertisement that uses the
techniques used by the media


More about their own media habits
Explain the role that audience plays in the
choices of advertisers.
Stage 2: Assessment Evidence
Culminating Assessment
Other Evidence
(learning task)
Students write an analysis of a print
advertisement for its persuasive techniques, use
of language, claims made, and effectiveness at
influencing its audience. Then, create a new
advertisement for that same product that is
targeted to a different audience. Last, they will
write a reflection on the differences between
the two advertisements.
1. Advertising and media viewing logs
2. Practice paragraphs on advertising
techniques
3. SOAPStone and found poems on
nonfiction pieces
4
Stage 3: Learning Plan
Activity Title
Priority Standards
Pre-Assessment
9.05 Infer an author’s unstated ideas, analyzing evidence that
supports those unstated ideas and make reasonable
generalizations about text.
9.11. Provide details/examples to support ideas developed
into separate paragraphs.
9.17. Analyze advertisements, entertainment and news
programs for how they affect targeted audiences.
9.18. Make informed judgments about television, radio, and
film productions.
Creating Media
Awareness
9.02. Use the features of informational text to reach
supported conclusions.
9.18. Make informed judgments about television, radio, and
film productions.
Representations in
Advertisements
9.02. Use the features of informational text to reach
supported conclusions.
9.05 Infer an author’s unstated ideas, analyzing evidence that
supports those unstated ideas and make reasonable
generalizations about text.
9.06. Draw conclusions about the author’s purpose.
9.18. Make informed judgments about television, radio, and
film productions.
The Audience of an
Advertisement
9.17. Analyze advertisements, entertainment and news
programs for how they affect targeted audiences.
9.18. Make informed judgments about television, radio, and
film productions.
How to Read an Ad
9.02. Use the features of informational text to reach
supported conclusions.
9.05 Infer an author’s unstated ideas, analyzing evidence that
supports those unstated ideas and make reasonable
generalizations about text.
9.06. Draw conclusions about the author’s purpose.
Techniques of
Persuasion and
Advertising Claims
9.02. Use the features of informational text to reach
supported conclusions.
9.05 Infer an author’s unstated ideas, analyzing evidence that
supports those unstated ideas and make reasonable
generalizations about text.
9.17. Analyze advertisements, entertainment and news
programs for how they affect targeted audiences.
9.18. Make informed judgments about television, radio, and
5
Page
Activity Title
Priority Standards
film productions.
Analysis of an
Advertisement
9.05 Infer an author’s unstated ideas, analyzing evidence that
supports those unstated ideas and make reasonable
generalizations about text.
9.11. Develop a thesis, providing connections and insights.
9.11. Provide details/examples to support ideas developed
into separate paragraphs.
9.17. Analyze advertisements, entertainment and news
programs for how they affect targeted audiences.
9.18. Make informed judgments about television, radio, and
film productions.
Culminating
Assessment:
Analyzing and
Creating an
Advertisement
9.06. Draw conclusions about the author’s purpose.
9.11. Develop a thesis, providing connections and insights.
9.11. Provide details/examples to support ideas developed
into separate paragraphs.
9.17. Analyze advertisements, entertainment and news
programs for how they affect targeted audiences.
9.18. Make informed judgments about television, radio, and
film productions.
6
Page
Student Progress Monitoring: Advertising Unit
Student
9.05 Infer an author’s
unstated ideas,
analyzing evidence
that supports those
unstated ideas and
make reasonable
generalizations about
text.
9.11. Provide
details/examples to
support ideas
developed into
separate paragraphs.
9.17. Analyze
advertisements,
entertainment and
news programs for
how they affect
targeted audiences
9.18. Make informed
judgments about
television, radio, and
film productions.
E
E
E
E
M
D
n/e
M
D
n/e
M
D
n/e
M
D
n/e
E
M
D
n/e
Student
9.05 Infer an author’s
unstated ideas,
analyzing evidence
that supports those
unstated ideas and
make reasonable
generalizations about
text.
9.11. Provide
details/examples to
support ideas
developed into
separate paragraphs.
9.17. Analyze
advertisements,
entertainment and
news programs for
how they affect
targeted audiences
9.18. Make informed
judgments about
television, radio, and
film productions.
E
E
E
E
M
D
n/e
M
D
n/e
8
M
D
n/e
M
D
n/e
E
M
D
n/e
Academic Vocabulary
The vocabulary used extensively in this unit:
Advertisements
Analysis
Audience
Author’s purpose
Headline
Layout design
Media
Persuasion
Slogan
Thesis statement
Topic sentences
Pre-assessment for Advertising Unit
Time: one class period
Objective: to determine students’ prior knowledge of the persuasive techniques used by
advertisers and how they can determine and analyze the intended audience for
advertisements.
Materials: Locate 5-7 print advertisements. Ideally, they would be color, full-page ads.
Post these ads on the walls around the room.
Steps:
1. Have students take out two blank pieces of paper; they should label one as
“Notes” and the second as “Response.”
2. Students should walk around the room with their “Response” page, examine each
ad closely, and take notes on what the visuals and the text in the ads.
3. Next, ask them to choose ONE of the ads and respond to the following prompt on
their other piece of paper: “Who is the intended audience of the advertisement and
what does the advertisement include to attempt to persuade that audience?” Direct
them to write a topic sentence and to include support for that topic sentence.
4. When you assess their responses, consider two separate topics: how well they can
interpret the advertisement and how well they can write about it. Use the guide on
the next page, and be sure that students have an opportunity to reflect for
themselves on how well they did. Also, after students have been exposed to and
have had an opportunity to practice with advertising analysis, you might want to
return to this pre-assessment by re-viewing the ads, and asking students to revise
their responses.
10
Scoring Guide for Advertising Unit Pre-Assessment
Priority
Standard
6-5
4-3
2-1
9.05 Infer an
author’s unstated
ideas, analyzing
evidence that
supports those
unstated ideas
and make
reasonable
generalizations
about text.
Makes an
exceptionally clear
analysis about how
the advertisement
achieves its purpose
in persuading an
audience.
Identifies that the
inferred purpose of
the advertisement is
to persuade, but the
analysis of the
techniques used to
persuade lead to a
somewhat simplistic
conclusion.
At this point the
response is mainly a
description of the ad.
There is not an
analysis yet nor is
there a reasonable
inference made about
the ad.
9.11. Provide
details/examples
to support ideas
developed into
separate
paragraphs.
Even in this short
response there are
several effective
examples offered to
support the topic
sentence. The
examples are fully
explained.
The response
includes appropriate,
if somewhat limited,
examples from the
advertisement. The
examples may not be
fully explained at
this point.
At this point, the
response does not
include any specific
examples from the
advertisement to
support the topic
sentence.
9.17. Analyze
advertisements,
entertainment
and news
programs for
how they affect
targeted
audiences
The targeted
audience of the ad is
clearly identified and
thoroughly analyzed
by examining
language and visual
choices made in the
ad.
A possible audience
of the advertisement
of the ad is
identified, though the
analysis of the
language and visual
choices may be
somewhat limited at
this point.
There is little or no
mention of the
intended audience of
the advertisement at
this point and no
analysis of the
language or visual
choices.
11
Creating Media Awareness
Materials
 You and the Media survey
 “Just the Facts”
 Various media logs
Purpose
 To recognize media viewing habits
 To identify the role and number of advertisements in
students’ lives
Steps
1. Students should fill out the Before Reading column in the You and the Media survey to activate prior
knowledge.
2. As they read “Just the Facts,” students should underline any statistics that relate to the questions they
answered on their survey. Direct them to put stars next to any statistic that seems particularly surprising or
interesting.
3. When they finish reading, students should return to the survey and fill in the After Reading column.
4. Part 2 of the survey page asks students to examine how words can be expressed in visual terms. Students
should then try rewriting the article — transforming the text into a graph or a chart.
5. At the beginning of this unit, students were asked to begin keeping a log of their media viewing habits.
Ask students to return to that log and compile their results on the graphic organizer provided. Students
should create charts, diagrams, or graphs to express in visual terms some aspect of their media viewing
habits.
6. The last page in this series of activities asks students to observe the advertisements that exist all around
them in school and to keep track of memorable ads they see during the course of these activities. After
students have observed ads in school, ask them to discuss the type of ads they see, where the ads appear,
and why ads appear in particular places (the athletic field or the cafeteria, for example). How does this ad
compare with the types and locations of ads in other public places? How does the marketing of ads differ
in schools from marketing in other public places where they appear?
12
Creating Media Awareness
7. This section could be concluded with an informal class debate in which students are either placed in or
allowed to choose a group that answers in the affirmative or the negative one or more of the following
compelling questions:
 Should ads be allowed in school?
 Should soft drink companies be allowed to sponsor school sports?
 Does watching too much TV hurt children?
 Do advertisements really influence our purchases?
 Once students are in an affirmative or negative group, they compose opening statements to defend their
position. Each side shares its opening statement. Each side then presents its main points, followed by
the opposition’s response or refutation. Last, each side presents a closing statement. If you or your
students have prior experience with debate, this activity has the potential to be used as practice for a
formal debate.
13
Creating Media Awareness
Part One
Before reading the article, complete the center column.
Question
Before Reading
How many billions of dollars do you think the advertising industry
spends every year?
What types of products do you think are advertised the most to
children?
How much money do you think children aged 4 to 12 spend per year?
About how many advertisements do you think a typical child sees
every day?
About how many hours do you think children spend watching TV
every day, on average?
What percentage of children do you think have a TV in their rooms?
14
After Reading
Creating Media Awareness
Part Two
1. Re-read the paragraph that begins “Children’s spending has....” This paragraph could be
expressed in visual form as well as in written form. As a chart, it might look like this:
Dollars Spent
by Children
(in Billions)
40
17.1
4.2
2.2
Year
1968
1984
1994
2002
2. Choose any statistic from the article and rewrite it in visual terms as above. You may use a
bar graph, a pie chart, a diagram, or any other visual representation.
15
Creating Media Awareness
Just the Facts About Advertising and Marketing to Children
by Betsy Taylor
Advertising Expenditures Spiral Upward

In 2001 U.S. advertising expenditures topped $230 billion, more than doubling the $105.97
billion spent in 1980. (1)

Given that the 2000 Census reports 105 million households in America, this means that
advertisers spend an average of $2,190 per year to reach one household. (2)
Ad Industry Spends Billions to Target Kids

Marion Nestle, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at New York
University, estimates that $13 billion a year is spent marketing to American children — by
food and drink industries alone. Food advertising makes up about half of all advertising
aimed at kids. (3)

Channel One’s twelve-minute in-classroom broadcast, featuring 2 minutes of commercials for
every 10 minutes of news, is compulsory on 90% of the school days in 80% of the classrooms
in 40% of U.S. middle and high schools. Companies pay up to $195,000 for a 30-second ad,
knowing that they have a captive audience of 8 million students in 12,000 classrooms across
the country. (4)
Little Big Spenders — Children and Teen Spending Skyrockets

Children’s spending has roughly doubled every ten years for the past three decades, and has
tripled in the 1990s. Kids 4–12 spent $2.2 billion in 1968, and $4.2 billion in 1984. By 1994
the figure climbed to $17.1 billion, and by 2002 their spending exceeded $40 billion. Kids’
direct buying power is expected to exceed $51.8 billion by 2006. (5)

Older kids, 12–19, spent a record $155 billion of their own money in 2001, (6) up from $63
billion just four years earlier. (7)
The “Nag” Factor Works — Kids Influence on Parents’ Purchases Continues to
Grow

In the 1960s, children influenced about $5 billion of their parents’ purchases. By 1984 that
figure increased ten-fold to $50 billion. (8) By 1997 it had tripled to $188 billion. Kids
marketing expert James McNeal estimates that by 2000, children 12 and under influenced
family purchases to the tune of $500 billion. (9)
16
Kids Are Glued to the Tube and Bombarded by Commercials

It’s estimated the average child sees more than 20,000 commercials every year — that works
out to at least 55 commercials per day. (10)

Children spend a daily average of 4 hours and 40 minutes in front of a screen of some kind —
two and a half hours of which are watching television. (11)

47% of children have a television set in their bedroom. (12)
Creating Brand-Conscious Babies

At six months of age, the same age they are imitating simple sounds like “ma-ma,” babies are
forming mental images of corporate logos and mascots. (13)

According to recent marketing industry studies, a person’s “brand loyalty” may begin as early
as age two. (14)

At three years of age, before they can read, one out of five American children are already
making specific requests for brand-name products. (15)

Experts say a lifetime customer may be worth $100,000 to a retailer, making effective “cradle
to grave” strategies extremely valuable. (16)
What Do Kids Really Want?

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, children who use the most media tend to be
the least contented. (17)

In the Art/Essay Contest “What Do Kids Really Want That Money Can’t Buy?” sponsored by
the Center for a New American Dream, the most common answers were “love,” “happiness,”
“peace on earth,” and “friends.” Significant numbers of children also wanted time with
family, a clean environment, a world where people treat each other with respect, a chance to
see lost loved ones, help for suffering people, health, and time to play.
Footnotes
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
McCann-Erickson U.S. Advertising Volume Reports and Bob Coen’s Insider’s Report for December
2001 (www.mccann.com/insight/bobcoen.html. Accessed 5/8/02).
Ibid., and U.S. Census reports.
Marion Nestle and Margo Wootan as quoted in “Spending on Marketing to Kids Up $5 Billion in Last
Decade,” The Food Institute Report, April 15, 2002.
Center for Commercial-Free Public Education, “Channel One.”
www.commercialfree.org/channelone.html. Accessed 6/5/02
James McNeal, The Kids’ Market: Myths and Realities, Ithaca: Paramount Market Publishing, Inc., 1999,
and The U.S. Kids Market, a 2002 report from Packaged Facts available at MarketResearch.com
National Institute on Media and the Family “Children and Advertising Fact Sheet” 2002
(www.mediaandthefamily.org/research/fact/childadv.shtml. Accessed 5/8/02).
Peter Zolo, “Talking to Teens,” American Demographics, November 1995.
James McNeal, “Tapping the Three Kids’ Markets,” American Demographics, April 1998.
Kim Campbell and Kent Davis-Packard, “How ads get kids to say I want it!” Christian Science Monitor,
September 18, 2000.
American Academy of Pediatrics, “Television and the Family” fact sheet (www.aap.org/family/tv1.htm
Accessed 5/9/02).
17
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
(17)
Annenberg Public Policy Center, “Media In The Home 2000: The Fifth Annual Survey of Parent and
Children,” http://www.appcpenn.org/reports/2000/
Ibid.
James McNeal and Chyon-Hwa Yeh, “Born to Shop,” American Demographics, June 1993, pp 34–39.
Cited in “Brand Aware,” Children’s Business, June 2000.
“New Poll Shows Marketing to Kids Taking its Toll on Parents, Families.” Center for a New American
Dream, 1999. www.newdream.org/campaign/kids/press-release.html
James McNeal and Chyon-Hwa Yeh, “Born to Shop,” American Demographics, June 1993.
Kaiser Family Foundation, “Kids & Media @ The New Millennium,” 39.
www.kff.org/content/1999/1535.
18
Creating Media Awareness
During this unit, you will monitor your interactions with the media. Try your best to estimate the
amount of time you spend with each medium.
Medium
Week One
Week Two
Television
Films
(in theaters on at
home)
Radio
(not an I-pod)
Magazines
Newspaper
Facebook,
Myspace, etc.
Other Internet
Facebook,
Myspace, etc.
Media Total
Hours
19
Week Three
Total Hours
Creating Media Awareness
Return to the media log that you started at the beginning of this unit. Tabulate your results below.
Hours per Day
Medium
You
A Classmate
Television
Radio
Internet
Magazines
Movies
Total Hours
20
Class Average
National Average
Creating Media Awareness
Total Hours with Media
Create a bar graph that compares your viewing habits with that of another student, the class, or
the national average.
Me
Classmate
Class
average
National average
Create a pie chart that identifies the individual components of your media interactions.
21
Creating Media Awareness
Log 1: Memorable Ads
Pay attention to advertisements that you see or hear on TV, on the Web, in magazines, or on the
radio. Use the space below to keep track of ads that you think are effective.
Product
Where Seen
Describe Ad
22
Log 2: Ads in School
Look around the school and put a mark every time you see a particular type of advertisement.
Total each type before the next class period.
Ad Type
You See
Corporate logos on hats or shirts
Ads for food or beverage products
Ads for computers or electronics
Ads for school rings, yearbooks, etc.
Ads for movies, CDs, etc.
Other types of ads
23
Total Number
Where Seen
Representations in Advertisements
“The Price of Happiness”
“Politically Correct Barbie”
“To Be Real?”
Various print ads
Materials




Purpose
 To recognize stereotypical representations in
advertisements
 To understand the effects of these representations on
themselves and others
Steps
1. Assign students to bring to class a one-page print ad from a newspaper or magazine that features a man or
a woman. Post the ads around the room. As students move around the room looking at the ads, have them
complete the chart that identifies features of their portrayal.
2. Before they read, students should be directed to skim through the article called “The Price of Happiness.”
As they scan the text, students should underline all the questions that are asked in the article. Before they
read, have students think-pair-share one of the questions that they underlined in the text. Then direct
students to highlight each of the section headings and to write a prediction of what they believe this article
will be about.
3. As they read, students should complete the chart on the following page, which asks them to describe the
representation of males, females, teenagers, and Americans in advertising, to identify the effects of these
representations, and to support their analysis with a quote from the text.
4. Before moving on, you should return to the ads that have been posted around the room; have students
discuss in groups whether what the author of the article says is true in relation to the ads featured in the
room.
5. Before reading the next article — “Politically Correct Barbie” — have students activate their prior
knowledge by thinking about the toys they had growing up. Which toys do they feel were “boy” or “girl”
toys? Do they feel that they were affected by these toys in any way? What about Barbie dolls? What
does a Barbie doll represent? You may want to discuss the term “politically correct” with your students
prior to reading the article.
6. As they read, ask students to underline the name of a toy and to write — in the margin — what negative
effect that toy might have on a child.
7. After they read, ask students to complete a SOAPSTone for this article and to write a paragraph that
analyzes the tone and purpose of the article.
8. Next, have students craft a quickwrite about how the media portrays teenagers. How are they represented
on TV, in commercials, and in other media? How do they feel about this representation? Is it accurate?
9. Have students read the title of the piece “To Be Real? A Young Woman Walks the Media’s Invisible
Fence,” and make a prediction about the piece.
24
10. Students will chunk the text prior to reading by numbering the paragraphs of the text: 10 paragraphs.
11. Ask students to paraphrase what the author is saying at various places:

After the fourth paragraph

After the fifth paragraph

After the seventh paragraph

At the end of the piece
12. The final step in this series is to ask students to write a frame poem in the voice of the author of “To Be
Real?” and then to write one for themselves about their portrayal in the media.
25
Representations in Advertisements
As you look at each of the advertisements, write down words and phrases that describe how men
and women are portrayed in the ads.
Men
Women
As you read “The Price of Happiness,” summarize what the author is saying about the
representations in advertising and the effect of them. Be sure to find a quote from the article that
supports your summary.
How Represented?
Females
Males
Teenagers
Americans
26
Effect
Quote
The Price of Happiness: Advertising and Image
Center for the Study of Commercialism
Do advertisements influence our self-image and our self-esteem?
Some critics accuse marketers of systematically creating anxiety, promoting envy, and fostering
feelings of inadequacy and insecurity to sell us their products. Marketers respond that advertising
does nothing more than mirror society’s values, alert people to new products and bargains, or motivate
people to switch brands. At the very worst, they say, it bores or annoys.
Of course, some ads provide information useful to consumers. And advertising clearly plays a valid
role in an economy based on a system of free enterprise. The question is not whether advertising is
valid; clearly, it is.
The concern discussed here is the relationship between the images presented in ads and our sense of
self. Can ads influence what we perceive as valid roles for ourselves in our society? And can our
self-image and self-esteem be influenced by advertising?
What are the images that ads present? Everywhere we turn, advertisements tell us what it means to be
a desirable man or woman. Ads paint limited images of what men and women can be. Because ads
are everywhere in our society, these limited images sink into our conscious and unconscious minds.
In this way, ads help limit our understanding of our worth and our full potential.
Ads tend to present women in limited roles. Girls and women in ads show concern about their bodies,
their clothes, their homes and the need to attract a boy or man. Seldom are women shown in work
settings, business roles, or positions of responsibility and authority. Our society recognizes many
valid roles for women, but this isn’t always reflected in ads.
Also, the girls and women in ads are presented as “beautiful.” But ads offer a very limited, narrow
image of beauty. The advertising industry favors models with facial features that look Anglo, even if
the model is Black or Hispanic.
Ads also present a very thin body type as though it were the most common or most desirable body
type. Researchers have found that girls and women who work as models weigh 23% less than the
average female their age. And the hips of an average department store mannequin measure six inches
less than that of the average young woman.
Girls, women, boys, and men seeing these commercial images may be influenced to think of an ultrathin female body as more normal or desirable than one of average weight. The extreme preoccupation
with weight fostered by advertising images is reflected in the fact that 80% of 10-year-old girls report
having dieted and that eight million American women suffer from anorexia or bulimia, two potentially
life-threatening eating disorders.
In reality, many different kinds of facial features and body types are beautiful. Besides, the flawless
appearance of women in ads isn’t even real. It’s an illusion created by makeup artists, photographers,
and photo retouchers. Each image is carefully worked over. Blemishes, wrinkles, and stray hairs are
airbrushed away. Teeth and eyeballs are bleached white. In some cases, the picture you see is
actually made of several photos. The face of one model may be combined with the body of a second
model and the legs of a third.
So many of the pictures we see are artificial, manufactured images. What happens when a girl or
27
woman compares her real self with this narrow, unreal image of “perfection?” She may feel
unattractive. When her self-image suffers, often her self-esteem is damaged too. She then looks for
ways to improve her image and self-esteem.
Ads also present an image of the “ideal” male. Although ads targeting boys and men do not present as
narrow an imaginary physical ideal as do ads targeting girls and women, they still present a very
limited view of masculinity. For girls and women, body image is emphasized in most ads. For boys
and men, the image emphasized is an image of attitude. Boys and young men in ads tend to have an
aura of power, physical strength, confidence, dominance, and detachment. The implied message for
the viewer is that this is the way to be cool, this is the way a young man should act.
The male image shown in ads almost never includes such traits as sensitivity, vulnerability, or
compassion. This may discourage boys and men from displaying these natural and desirable human
traits. Ads may thus limit a boy or man’s sense of what he can or should be.
The actors in ads tend to be handsome, with clear complexions and hair that is perfectly combed or
perfectly windblown. They are also almost always athletic. Physical or even sexual prowess is
suggested in scenes of physically challenging, dangerous, or aggressive sports. The self-image of
boys and men who do not exhibit these traits for example, who have normal complexions, are not
athletic, and don’t feel cool and confident may suffer when they watch these ads. Negative feelings
about oneself, whether related to appearance or anything else, can be followed by lower self-esteem.
Ads offer to see a new self-image.
Of course, the ads that injure our self-image and self-esteem don’t stop there. They conveniently offer
to sell a product that will solve our newly imagined “problem.”
Consider this quote from Nancy Shalek, president of an advertising agency: “Advertising at its best is
making people feel that without their product, you’re a loser. Kids are very sensitive to that. If you
tell them to buy something, they are resistant. But if you tell them they’ll be a dork if they don’t,
you’ve got their attention. You open up emotional vulnerabilities and it’s very easy to do with kids
because they’re the most emotionally vulnerable.” Another person involved in marketing, Charles
Kettering, said that selling new products is about “the organized creation of dissatisfaction.”
Many commonly accepted ideas about appearance — for example, that skin should be blemish free
and teeth bright white — are not absolute truths. These expectations were artificially created over a
period of years by those who wanted to sell certain kinds of products and promoted the idea that we
needed those products if our physical appearance was to be acceptable.
Let’s take a closer look at this emphasis on appearance.
Ads tend to convey the idea that appearance is all-important. They teach us to be self-conscious about
how we look. When we grow up surrounded by ads, intense self-scrutiny may seem normal.
Of course, all cultures have their own ideas about the traits that make a boy or man and a girl or
woman attractive. Often these ideas are very, very different than our own. Rather, it is the level of
concern with physical appearance that makes modern Americans unique. The intense concern with
appearance that is so common in our culture has not been the norm in most cultures. It is an artificial
concern that we have acquired from living immersed in a society dominated by commercialism.
After you have read this article, complete the following SOAPSTone.
28
Speaker: ________________________________________________
Occasion: ______________________________________________
Audience: ______________________________________________
Purpose: _______________________________________________
Subject: ________________________________________________
Tone: __________________________________________________
Now, choose either Purpose or Tone and write a strong topic sentence that identifies the purpose
or tone of the article. Then, write a paragraph that supports that statement and which uses at least
two direct quotations from the article.
29
Politically Correct Barbie: She Stops Saying “Math Class Is Tough”
as Toys Get More Sensitive
by Lynn Smith
Los Angeles Times
We’ve seen games like “The Dinosaur’s Journey to High Self-Esteem.” Black action figures with super
powers derived from the melanin in their skin. Ballerina dolls with hearing aids. Mommy dolls with
briefcases.
But few would have guessed that the new leader in the toy correctness movement would be that bottle-blond
bombshell in a box, that icon of frilly femininity, that silver-gowned, high heeled recreational shopper — that
Barbie.
Mattel toys surprised many observers recently by caving in to the American Association of University
Women, whose members complained that a new version of Barbie was limiting girls’ future options by
saying, “Math class is tough.”
Not only did Mattel, the nation’s second-largest toymaker, change the talking computer chip, it also invited
the AAUW to approve any further words spoken by the world’s best-selling doll.
The episode marks a new plateau for political correctness, bringing it from the shadows of small interest
groups to the toy shelves of little girls everywhere.
“Mattel’s decision says if political correctness had previously been considered marginalized, it’s no longer in
the margins. It’s in the mainstream,” according to columnist M. G. Lord, who is writing a book on Barbie.
“Barbie never leads; she always follows. If Barbie does something, that means people in America are
comfortable with it.”
The decision also represents a victory for those who view toys as powerful tools in shaping sensitive young
psyches.
In other words, says Santa Monica psychotherapist Sandy Plone, “Toys are not playthings for children.”
According to this philosophy, “negative” messages in toys can lead to serious mental and physical problems.
“It’s almost a form of brainwashing,” says Cathy Meredig, president of High-Esteem Toys, a company in
Woodbury, Minn., that has designed a “realistically proportioned” fashion doll, Happy to be Me, to compete
with Barbie’s “tyranny of thinness.”
Her new Math consciousness notwithstanding, Barbie has many critics. Beverly Hills psychiatrist Carole
Lieberman said that Barbie should be sold with a warning label. Some of her patients with eating and
shopping disorders played with Barbies and have talked about wanting to be like Barbie, she said.
Barbie’s defenders point out that the fantasy doll has done her part for girls’ positive images by appearing in
astronaut and business personas. Last year, the Year of the Woman, a Barbie ran for president — albeit in a
sparkling red, white, and blue ball gown.
In the last few years, major manufacturers have joined independent toymakers in trying to infuse children’s
toys with “positive” messages, notably about the environment and ethnic heritage: Crayola repackaged and
renamed some of its crayons to represent various skin tones. GI Joes came out with “Eco Warriors” who
30
wage war against polluters. Mattel and others have produced lines of ethnically correct dolls, in various
shades with more realistic facial features.
Tyco last year came out with a doll dressed in traditional African “kente” cloth. Her hair can be plaited in
corn rows or straightened.
“Dolls are one big area where political correctness can be in,” said Diane Cardinale of Toy Manufacturers of
America.
More to the point, these manufacturers also hope to tap into the spending power of growing African
American and Latino populations. “By the year 2000, there will be nearly 9 million African American and
Hispanic children under 10. If you ignore a market that size, I think you’re being unwise,” Cardinale said.
The toy correctness movement has had a mixed history of success. Although some protestors have persuaded
manufacturers to pull a few offending dolls from the market, toys with messages haven’t been the biggest
sellers.
For the most part, message toys are geared to parents, not to children, and most environmental and gendercorrect toys haven’t made much of a dent. Cardinale said, “While I won’t say they’ve bombed, you don’t
find them in the top 100 toys.”
Meredig, the creator of ‘Happy To Be Me,’ said she has been waging an uphill battle to sell the doll for a
year. It is not because the doll is unpopular, she insists, nor because Mattel has a larger advertising budget.
“Mattel has a stranglehold on the distribution channels,” she said. Now she is pursuing direct mail.
“I am absolutely determined,” Meredig added. “The course of the universe is not to raise children to believe
they are not valuable unless they have an 18-inch waist.”
On the other hand, outraged customers have had some victories. Protestors, for example, convinced toy
manufacturers to pull the Tramp, a homeless man who appeared in a line of Dick Tracy dolls, and Nomad,
the Enemy of Rambo, an Arab guerilla later described as “devious, traitorous, and desperate.”
Meanwhile, now that she has access to Mattel, AAUW’s president, Sharon Schuster, dreams of what she
might accomplish in its boardrooms.
She envisions Barbie as a spokesmodel to encourage girls to achieve. “If Barbie were able to say, ‘I can be
pretty. I can dress well and it’s also important that I achieve in school and look to having a good future,’ that
would be a powerful message.
“Perhaps Barbie could talk about nutrition and try to deal with the terrible problem of anorexia in girls.”
One thing that will never change is Barbie’s shape, said Donna Gibbs, a Mattel spokeswoman. “Why mess
with good formula?”
31
To Be Real?
A Young Woman Walks the Media’s Invisible Fence
Gabrielle Turner
At times I feel as if I am walking an invisible fence. At any moment I might fall off to one side or the
other and lose my personality forever. Right now I am unsure of what it is to be a woman. And it
seems I have nowhere to turn for answers.
When I look at the television, I see images of women too beautiful to touch. These women are
delicate and feminine and don’t seem to have a care in the world. Their legs look so thin that I
wonder how they support their bodies. Yet their smiles earn them thousands of dollars. I never see
these women with a frown or a worried look on their faces. I wonder if they have any problems.
At the other end of the spectrum I see the women of my own culture, the women I grew up with. I
admire these tough, determined women, many of whom are single parents and sole providers, for
keeping themselves and their families together. I am in love with the image of the strong woman who
takes care of her own.
This woman does not look dainty or feminine, but has the signs of hard work and worry etched on her
face. I don’t admire her pain, but rather the living proof that she has made it through hardship.
The only problem is that I am an American, part of a society that does not value these women. While
a model who is killed makes the front page of the newspaper, a poor woman or working mother
doesn’t even merit a mention in the obituary column, and the death of a prostitute doesn’t even raise
an eyebrow. In a society where celebrities and models rule, those who don’t fit that image are thought
of as discardable. This makes me even more confused, because I don’t want to be forgotten or
dismissed when I die. I want people to remember me.
Why do I take all of this so personally? I am fat — or heavy, or overweight, or whatever the hell you
want to call it. Because of this I have been treated like I was nothing, unworthy of kindness or care.
I’ve had friends who loved my personality and sought my advice, but couldn’t get over the fact that I
was fat. There were always the seemingly innocent remarks about losing weight, the little putdowns
here and there. And then there were the times I was told I was an embarrassment to be seen with.
When I realize that my physical appearance is keeping people from really listening to me or taking me
seriously, I start to feel oppressed. Then I start thinking about the larger forms of this oppression. As
a woman, I make less than my male counterpart in a white or blue collar job. With the exception of a
few company vice presidents here and there, I see that the average American woman can make more
modeling or stripping than she could in a job where she uses her mind instead of her body.
Everywhere I turn I hear that a woman is only as good as she looks. Everywhere I turn I see more
young girls hurting or even killing themselves in an effort to starve themselves into the “ideal”
woman.
Then I want to run back to the safety of my own culture — a culture where strong women are revered
and appreciated. But this culture is disappearing as it gives in to the American ideal. No longer is the
African American woman with the few extra pounds considered a pretty lady — now she’s seen as
lazy and ignorant. Even a culture that used to pride itself on its full-hipped women can fall victim to
the American ideal of skin and bones.
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The sad thing is, I don’t know how to resolve this in my own life. I can rant and rave all day about the
oppression of women, but at the end of the day, people will still judge me. They will criticize my
weight and my face. They will look at my braces and laugh. And I will keep trying to change myself
to fit their standards. I don’t condone my own efforts to conform, but there are too many closed doors
when I look the way I do.
By focusing on how women look instead of how we feel and think, so much of the media, and in turn
society, belittle our problems and silence our voices. By making us objects of beauty, our spines and
our souls are taken away.
Gabrielle Turner is a first-year college student from San Francisco who writes for YO! (Youth
Outlook), a newspaper by and about young people produced by Pacific News Service.
33
After reading the essay “To Be Real?” look at the words and phrases that you underlined. With
lines from the text, create a “found poem” that accurately depicts the author’s feelings about her
subject. A few sentence starters have been provided for you. Be sure that the majority of your
lines come directly from the text.
“To Be Real?”
I am walking an invisible fence____________________________________________
I am like _____________________________________________________________
I believe _____________________________________________________________
I see ________________________________________________________________
The media ___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
I am ________________________________________________________________
How do you feel that that your age group is represented in the media? What are some words or
phrases that describe your feelings about your representation?
Take some of the words that you used above and reconstruct them into a poem about your
feelings concerning the media. Use the template above if you find it helpful.
34
The Audience of an Ad
Materials
 Various print and TV ads
Purpose
 To identify the main audience of an ad by looking at
its elements
 To recognize how an ad targets a particular audience
Steps
1. Ask students to look back at an ad that they examined in the previous activity and ask them to identify the
target audience for the product being advertised. Ask students how we determine the audience for an ad.
2. Next, hand out one print ad to each pair of students (if you have a TV/VCR, one group could look at a TV
ad) and direct them to do a close reading of the ad and complete the questions about audience on the
Student Page.
3. Afterward, students should be able to write a strong topic sentence that identifies the audience for their ad.
4. Ask students to imagine a different audience for their product. The product must remain the same but since
the audience changes, what else in the ad would change? What would remain the same?
35
The Audience of an Ad
One of the most important elements of an advertisement is that it needs to reach its target
audience; if it does not, it has failed in its goal. The goal of a media-literate person is to be able to
identify that intended audience.
Part 1: Look at the advertisement that your teacher has provided and answer the following
questions in order to determine the audience for this ad:
1. What is the product that is being advertised? __________________________
2. In general, this product is mainly used by
male
female
either.
3. The average age of people who use this product is probably ____________.
4. The apparent age of the people in the ad (if they are present) ___________.
5. The gender of those in the ad (if they are present) is male
female
both.
6. Identify the setting of this ad (outdoors, office, classroom, etc.). ____________________
7. Briefly describe the action in the ad. ____________________________
8. Describe people you know who do the actions identified above.
_________________________________________________________________.
9. Read the written part of the ad. Describe the language used as
easy
medium difficulty
complex.
10. What is the racial or cultural group shown in this ad? ___________________________
Part 2: Write a statement about the audience for this advertisement.
Part 3: Imagine that this ad were created for a different audience. Describe the new audience.
What would be different about this ad? What would remain the same? Why?
36
How to Read an Ad
Materials
 Various ads
Purpose
 To identify the main elements of an advertisement
 To explain the role that each element plays in
persuading an audience
Steps
1. Provide groups of students with a sample print advertisement from a newspaper, magazine, or TV. They
should describe their initial reaction to the ad in Part 1. Then, in Part 2, students should look over the
procedures for reading advertisements from “How To Read an Ad.” In the spaces between each step,
students should be directed to think of examples they recall.
2. Students should return to their ad and do a close reading of the ad. One member of the group should keep
track of the group’s answers as they follow the procedure for reading a print advertisement. Ask each
group to assign a reader to share their analysis.
3. As a follow-up activity, students may be asked to locate their own examples and record their individual
responses to the procedure for reading a print advertisement.
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How to Read an Ad
Part 1: Look over the advertisement that your teacher has provided.
1. What are some of the first things that you notice about it? Is it funny, clever, creative?
2. Where is your eye drawn first?
3. Would you buy this product based on this ad? Why or why not?
Part 2: Put your ad aside for a few moments. Read through the following descriptions of the
main elements that you should think about when looking at an advertisement. There is space
between descriptions for you to write what you recall from ads you have seen recently.

Read the ad’s slogan carefully. Does it relate to the product at all or is it promoting a
lifestyle that can come from this product?

Find the product itself in the advertisement. Is it there at all? How prominently is it featured?
Is the product actually being used?

Read the copy (the text) of the ad. What is it discussing? Is it relevant to the product?
38

Locate the corporate logo, slogan, or other designation that lets you know what company sells
this product. How prominently is it featured? Why?

Try to determine the plot of the scene depicted in the ad. Who are the characters, what are
they doing, and what is probably going to happen next?

Identify the audience for this ad. How do you know this?

What is the representation of males, females, and/or cultural or age groups? What evidence
leads you to this conclusion?

Look at the ad’s layout and design. Is the placement of lines, actor’s gestures, colors, or other
attributes meant to force your eye to look at certain parts of the ad? Why? How are lighting,
framing, angles, or other cinematic techniques used? What is their effect?
39
Part 3: Look closely at an ad for the various elements listed.
Product: ______________________
Slogan
Product
Copy
Logo
“Plot”
Audience
Representations
Layout/Cinematic
Elements
Part 4: Write a paragraph with a clear topic sentence that explains two of the elements listed
above. Be sure to have evidence from the ad itself for what you say.
40
Techniques of Persuasion and Advertising Claims
Materials
 Various ads
 “Techniques of Persuasion of Advertisers”
Purpose
 To identify and recognize elements of persuasion and
claims made by advertisers
 To understand the effects of persuasive techniques on
an audience
Steps
1. As a way of accessing prior knowledge, have students brainstorm ways that advertisers try to influence
consumer choices.
2. Direct students to chunk the article “Techniques of Persuasion of Advertisers” by drawing horizontal lines
after every two paragraphs. As they read, students should answer the following question in the margin:
How do advertisers persuade us to buy?
3. Students should then read about the most common persuasive techniques and claims that advertisers use to
persuade us. After each type of technique or claim, there is space for students to write an example from an
ad they have seen recently. It would be helpful to place students into small groups and allow them to
collaborate as they complete this section of the activity.
4. Next, select an object for students to sell in a commercial. Choose a non-glamorous object such as garbage
bags, garden hose, lint-remover, or something similar.
5. Allow students to work in small groups to create a two- to three-minute dramatization of a commercial
utilizing three or more of the persuasive techniques and advertising claims discussed in these activities.
41
Techniques of Persuasion and Advertising Claims
Techniques of Persuasion of Advertisers
While experts argue about new methods, they still rely mainly on basic appeals that have proved
successful over the years. These appeals offer the hope of more money and better jobs, security
against the hazards of old age and illness, popularity and personal prestige, praise from others, more
comfort, increased enjoyment, social advancement, improved appearance, and better health. The
modern advertiser stresses not the product but the benefits that may be enjoyed by purchasers. Thus,
the advertiser purveys not cosmetics but the expectation of new beauty, allure, and hope. To attract the
prospective buyer of automobiles, the manufacturer may stress not only the mechanical attributes of
the car but also the excitement, comfort, and prestige it may bring the buyer.
The many techniques of persuasion are circumscribed only by the ingenuity of the creative mind, by
the limits of the various channels of communications, by certain legal restrictions, and by standards
self-imposed by the advertising industry. One fundamental technique, apparent in the earliest
applications of advertising and still basic in the most modern procedures, is repetition. A typical
national advertiser captures the attention of prospective customers by repeated appeals to buy. It is not
unusual for a person to hear sales talks on radio and television, see advertisements for the same
product in a local newspaper, receive additional reminders in various national magazines, and be
confronted with a poster, counter card, or display on entering a store.
Another basic persuader is the trademark. Manufacturers have spent millions to establish their
trademarks as symbols of reliability and value. A trademark is useless unless the manufacturer sets
and maintains high standards of quality, but once consumers gain confidence in it, the owner can use
it as a persuader, that is, as a device to reassure customers that all products bearing this symbol are
reliable. The trademark is especially useful when the manufacturer introduces a new item to an
existing line of goods.
Price appeal probably motivates more decisions to buy than any other appeal, and the magic words
sale and bargain are directed at consumers with great frequency. Closely allied to these plain and
simple discount offers are the “something for nothing” lures, such as “buy one package and get a
second one free,” “send for free sample,” and “trial offer at half price,” and the big-money contest, for
example, “finish this sentence and win $10,000 in cash, an automobile, or a trip to Bermuda for two.”
“No money down” is also a successful inducement.
One cannot overlook the role that sex and sexuality plays in all advertising.
Consumers — male and female — are drawn to images of beauty, perhaps
unconsciously equating themselves with the sexualized model or actress. We cannot,
of course, measure up to them in beauty or sexiness, but maybe we could if we buy
the same product as they use. Women in various stages of undress appear in advertisements in
sometimes incongruous places: bikinis on a ski slope, for instance. Sex sells, of course.
Modern advertising employs an astonishing variety of persuaders. Among these are humorous and
entertaining television and radio commercials, appeals to the sense of smell by the use of perfumed
ink on paper, endorsements of products by celebrities, appeals to parents to give their children a better
life and future, appeals to children to “ask mommy” to buy certain breakfast cereals, and the
controversial use of “scare copy.”
42
Because fear is a principal human frailty, this last-mentioned motivation is applied to the advertising
of thousands of commodities, sometimes boldly, sometimes subtly. Fear of poverty, sickness, and loss
of social standing, and the specter of possible disasters, great and small, sometimes move previously
unexcitable consumers to buy anything from insurance and fire extinguishers to cosmetics and vitamin
capsules.
From “Advertising,” Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000
http://encarta.msn.com
© 1997–2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
43
Techniques of Persuasion
There are a lot of ways advertisers try to get you to purchase their products. While we may think
that advertisers tell lies, they rarely do; they just say things in a way to persuade us to buy.
Part 1
Read through the descriptions of various techniques below: In the spaces between, try to think of
an ad you have seen recently that might use that technique.
Bandwagon: Advertisers make it seem as if everyone is buying this product, so you better buy it
too: “The best, most-exciting board game is sweeping the nation. All your friends and neighbors
are playing.” This makes you feel left out if you are not buying.
Avant-garde: This technique works almost as the reverse of bandwagon by making it seem as if
the product is so new and so cool that you will be the first on the block to have it. Only supercool people like you will even know about this product.
Testimonials: Advertisers use celebrities or just regular people to endorse the product. Pay close
attention; sometimes the celebrity does actually say that he or she uses the product.
Facts and Figures: Statistics, percentages, and numbers are used to convince you that this
product is better or more effective than another product. But, be aware of what the numbers are
actually saying. What does “30 percent more effective than the leading brand” really mean?
Transfer: This is a rather complicated technique for persuasion. To recognize it, you really need
to pay attention to the background of the ad or to the story of the commercial. Transfer gets you
to associate the good feelings shown in the ad with the product itself. This then transfers the good
feelings to you when you buy the product. A commercial that shows a happy family gathered
around a bowl of macaroni and cheese wants you to think of yourself like that happy family if
you buy the macaroni and cheese.
44
Part 2
Imagine that you are an advertiser. Your job is to try to sell a paper clip. Your teacher will assign
or you will choose one of the above advertising techniques; write a headline for an advertisement
that uses that technique. Now, write a different headline for the same product, but for a different
audience.
45
Techniques of Persuasion and Advertising Claims
As you look at various print and television advertisements, jot down where you see some of the
persuasive techniques. Keep in mind that you might not see all of them, and you may see others
that were not described on the previous pages.
Bandwagon
Avant-garde
Testimonials
Facts and Figures
Transfer
Other Techniques
By examining only the persuasive techniques used, who do you suppose is the audience for one
of the ads? How do you know this?
How would you imagine the persuasive techniques used would have to change if the audience
were to change? Explain.
46
Techniques of Persuasion and Advertising Claims
As stated in an earlier activity, advertisers rarely lie because they could be sued for making false
claims. This does not mean, however, that they do not stretch the truth and create language to
make the best possible — and legal — claims that they can.
Part 1
Read through the description of various advertiser claims. Add an example of your own in the
spaces between.
Weasel Words: This is when advertisers use words or phrases that at first glance appear to be
significant and important, but on closer inspection, they are empty and meaningless. When a
toothpaste claims to “help the prevention of cavities,” what does it really mean? It does not claim
to prevent them, only to help prevent. Anything that does not hurt can be said to help. Other
weasel words or phrases are virtually, looks like, fights, best. You have to look closely and think
about these words carefully.
The Unfinished Claim: Normally, when you make a comparison, you state the two things that
are being compared. For instance, “I am taller than Pat.” Advertisers, however, sometimes
intentionally do not finish the comparison and leave the consumer believing that they did. “This
battery has more power to get the job done right.” More power than what? “Twice as many active
ingredients to get you feeling your best.”
The Unique Claim: Many products on the market today are nearly identical, so advertisers try to
make theirs seem special; legally, however, they cannot make false claims. So they focus on a
single element that is found only in their product. They hope that consumers think this means that
the product is better. “You’ll find that only our cars have the Deluxe Air-flow system.” Or,
“Hypoglicia can be found only in our product.” Do these factors make the products better?
The Rhetorical Claim: A rhetorical question is the kind of question to which there really is not
an answer or to which an answer is not expected. When your teacher asks, “Will you please take
your seats?” he or she is not really asking. You are expected to do it. Advertisers use rhetorical
questions to make claims all the time. “Don’t you owe it to yourself to buy a Mercedes?”
“Shouldn’t you buy the best?” “What do you want out of life?” The advertisers hope you will
answer yes to their questions, though they have made no real claims that their products will
deliver on any promises.
47
Part 2
Think back to the paper clip headlines that you wrote for the Persuasive Techniques earlier. Now,
write a claim for selling your paper clip by using one of the claims above. Be sure not to lie, but
use language carefully to sell your product.
48
Techniques of Persuasion and Advertising Claims
As you look at various print and television advertisements, jot down where you see some of the
claims made. Keep in mind that you might not see all of them, and you may see others that were
not described on the previous page.
Weasel Words
Unfinished Claims
Unique Claim
Rhetorical Claims
Which advertisement do you think gave the most outrageous — but legal — claim? Would you
buy this product?
Do you believe that certain claims work better for certain audiences? Give an example.
49
Analysis of an Advertisement
Materials
 Various advertisements
Purpose
 To understand the main elements that make up an
advertisement
 To demonstrate that knowledge through an analysis of
an advertisement
Steps
1. Think-Pair-Share: Locate and collect a variety of types of ads — magazine, newspaper, TV, radio, Internet
pop ups, etc. — that are targeted to a variety of audiences. Allow time for students to examine one or
more of the ads and to complete the chart on the following page independently.
2. Pair students and allow time for each pair to discuss and compare their charts and add information gained
from their discussion.
3. After they have done a close reading of their ad, together they should write a paragraph that analyzes the
ad for one or more of the following elements: audience, persuasive techniques, and cinematic elements.
4. Students should present their analyses to their peers in larger groups or to the whole class.
50
Analysis of an Advertisement
You have been looking at various advertisements in a variety of ways. Now, you will put all these
tools together in order to try to figure exactly how the advertiser is trying to influence your
choice. Look back through some of the print or TV ads that you looked at earlier in this unit and
find one that strikes you as particularly effective.
Part 1
Before writing your analysis, complete the chart below:
Product: ________________
Persuasive Techniques Used
Claims Made
Audience/Representations
Cinematic Elements/Layout
Part 2
Write a strong topic sentence that states the product name and what the advertiser uses to
influence its audience. Then, write a paragraph that supports that topic sentence with specific
examples from the ad itself. Be sure to explain the target audience of the ad. Write a clincher
statement about the successfulness of the advertiser with this ad.
51
Culminating Assessment: Analyzing and Creating Ads
Assignment
Your assignment is to write an analysis of a print advertisement for its persuasive
techniques, use of language, claims made, and effectiveness at influencing its audience.
Then, you will create a new advertisement for that same product that is targeted to a
different audience. Last, you will write a reflection on the differences between the two
advertisements.
Steps
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Look through magazines and newspapers to locate effective print advertisements. Select
two that you think might work well for this project.
Complete the Prewriting Form that asks you to examine the persuasive language, claims
made, persuasive techniques, and targeted audience for each advertisement. After
completing the Prewriting Form, you should select one of the two advertisements.
Show your selected advertisement to several people representing a variety of ages. Ask
each person whether he or she would buy the product based on this advertisement.
Record their responses on separate paper; you may want to refer to these responses in
your analysis.
Begin writing your analysis of the selected advertisement by writing on each of the
following topics:
 The advertisement’s use of persuasive techniques
 The specific claims made by the advertisement
 The advertisement’s use of persuasive language
 The intended audience of the advertisement and how the choices used are
appropriate for that audience
Be sure that you have an introduction with a thesis statement and context about the ad
and the product. Your conclusion should address The overall effectiveness of the
advertisement: why it is persuasive. Also, consider and explain if the ad makes any
unfair representations of gender, social class, people, or places.
Ask a peer to look at your advertisement and your analysis. Incorporate any appropriate
suggestions into your final copy of your analysis.
Begin designing your new advertisement by using the Prewriting Form that asks you to
consider the text, images, claims, and language that would be appropriate to persuade the
new audience to buy the product. Create a rough draft of your new advertisement and
show it to as many people as possible that are in your targeted audience; ask them if your
advertisement seems to relate to them and whether it is persuasive.
Create a final copy of your advertisement. You can draw the final images, take
photographs, or locate images on line or in magazines.
Compare the original advertisement with the new one that you have created by using the
Venn diagram. Write an analysis of what changes were made and why the changes were
made to fit the new audience. Focus on the specific language you used and the claims
made. Also, be sure to consider any unfair representations you – or the original ad –
make about individuals and/or groups of people or places.
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Culminating Assessment: Analyzing and Creating a New Advertisement
Priority
Standard
6-5
Exceeds
4-3
Meets
2-1
Does Not Yet Meet
9.05 Infer an
author’s unstated
ideas, analyzing
evidence that
supports those
unstated ideas
and make
reasonable
generalizations
about text.
Makes an
exceptionally clear
analysis about how
the advertisement
achieves its purpose
by thoroughly
explaining visual
choices, as well as
the persuasive
techniques and
claims made.
Identifies that the
inferred purpose of
the advertisement is
to persuade, and
there are some
references to the
visual and text
choices, though some
significant elements
may go unexamined.
At this point the
response is mainly a
description of the ad.
There is not an
analysis yet nor is
there a reasonable
inference made about
the ad.
9.11. Provide
details/examples
to support ideas
developed into
separate
paragraphs.
Numerous, relevant,
and effective
examples from the ad
are offered to support
the ideas. The
examples are fully
explained.
The response
includes appropriate,
if somewhat limited,
examples from the
ad. A few of the
examples may not be
fully explained or
may not be relevant.
The response does
not include many
relevant or specific
examples from the ad
to support the
writer’s ideas.
9.17. Analyze
advertisements,
entertainment
and news
programs for
how they affect
targeted
audiences
The targeted
audience of the ad is
clearly identified and
thoroughly analyzed
by examining
language and visual
choices made in the
ad with a convincing
explanation of how
the audience is
affected.
The audience of the
advertisement of the
ad is identified,
though the analysis
of the language and
visual choices may
be somewhat limited
or inaccurate in
places. The effect on
the audience is
mentioned, though
not fully examined.
There is little or no
mention of the
intended audience of
the advertisement
and only limited
analysis of the
language or visual
choices.
9.17.
Demonstrate
how
advertisements
affect targeted
audiences
through the new
advertisement
The chosen language
and visuals are
varied, original, and
extremely effective
in persuading the
targeted audience.
The chosen language
and visuals make the
new audience clear
to the viewer and is
generally persuasive
to the targeted
audience.
The audience of the
new ad may not be
clear and/or the
persuasive
techniques may not
be appropriate for the
intended audience.
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Analyzing Advertisements: Prewriting
Once you have selected two advertisements, complete the following chart for each:
Product #1: _________________________
Examples of Persuasive Techniques
Claims Made
Examples of Persuasive Language
Intended Audience: How do you
know?
Product #2: _________________________
Examples of Persuasive Techniques
Claims Made
Intended Audience:
you know?
Examples of Persuasive Language
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How do
Before you decide which advertisement you will analyze for this project, brainstorm
other intended audiences for both products and what persuasive techniques might be
appropriate for the new audiences:
New Audiences
Product One:
Product Two:
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Persuasive Techniques
Creating a New Advertisement: Prewriting
Product: _____________________ New Audience: __________________________
New Advertisement
Key Image(s)
Persuasive
Techniques
Slogan/Key Text
Additional
Text/Key
Persuasive Words
Claims Made
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Why would this be
effective for the new
audience?
After you have drafted your new advertisement, complete the Venn Diagram below to
help you write your comparison between the original and the new advertisement.
Original
New
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Taking Action
Materials
 “The Importance of Youth-Produced Media”
Purpose
 To recognize the power and need for student-centered
and -produced media
Steps
1. Ask students to think-pair-share about their feelings about how teenagers are represented in the media
and about the consumerism culture in general. What can or should be done about this representation?
2. Ask students to read the article either as a whole class, as individuals, or in groups.
3. Ask students to make a list of five actions that they will make as individuals to combat media
manipulation. For example, students may decide to buy clothes without a designer name or buy pre-owned
clothes from a store such as Goodwill. Have students share and discuss their ideas.
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The Importance of Youth-Produced Media: Youth Who Don’t Like the Media and
Make Their Own
Samir B. Vural
We always hear the lip service: “The children are the future; teach them well, and let them lead the
way.” But then we’re told to hold our tongues, to wait our turn to be heard. We are told our time will
come, but are blamed today for society’s ills. When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. told his fellow clergy
in 1963, in a letter from Birmingham jail, “‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘never,’” he spoke a great
truth that lives in the hearts of many kids today.
We cannot wait. We’ve grown up in front of the television set watching people die between
commercial breaks. We’ve grown up as people feared by the woman clutching her purse every time
we pass by. We’ve grown up knowing a nuclear bomb or a bullet could wipe us out at any time.
We’ve grown up in fear in our own neighborhoods, yet we’ve glamorized the power of the gun, the
“ruffneck,” and we’re ready to throw down at any sniff of disrespect.
Today’s society wastes young people. Much more money goes into the juvenile justice system than
into after-school and weekend programs for children, leadership development programs, or
educational enrichment programs. Youth are mainly valued as consumers that advertisers seduce.
We are also stereotyped and feared. We are portrayed in the media as criminals, irresponsible, often
suicidal. And what’s scariest is that many of us have bought into these images and become caricatures
of ourselves. And so the cycle continues.
How do we stop the cycle? As a youth producer for Rise & Shine Productions’ award-winning youthproduced cable TV show, The Real Deal, I have seen some hope. Since 1991, when I was 14 years
old, I have worked with scores of other teenagers researching, writing, storyboarding, directing and
editing videos where we get a chance to manipulate media from our point of view, with images that
counter the stereotypes of youth, race, class and gender.
At Rise & Shine, we not only learn about cameras, editing and all the technical stuff, we also learn
about society, our diverse history and cultures. We learn how to deconstruct the media, and how to
develop our individual artistry through poetry and visual experimentation so we don’t just copy what
the mainstream does. We also give workshops to other youth, show our videos, discuss the issues,
and strategize on how to act in our communities and how to critique and use mainstream media for
ourselves.
Working on The Real Deal for the past three years, I have been able to produce videos on a wide
variety of issues: “Blind Alley” is a drama about a young man who “gay bashes” one of his
girlfriend’s friends, and has to face his homophobia and figure out how to stop his friends from
attacking other gays. “Daddy’s Home,” about a husband who beats his wife and child, dramatizes the
cycle of domestic violence. “Media Zone: Gulf War Crisis” is a critique of the media’s portrayal of
Saddam Hussein and the Arab community during the Persian Gulf War. “What Is Police Brutality?”
explains the legal rights of young people in the wake of the Rodney King beating. I’ve learned how to
create poetry videos and public service announcements on any issue or feeling you can think of.
But a lot of people do not take us seriously. They may think our videos are “cute” or “unprofessional”
or “depressing.” Some folks may even be frightened. But whether you take our work seriously or
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not, making our own media is definitely the best way for young people to understand how traditional
media affect our lives. It’s the best way to learn to think for ourselves and become activists, taking a
stand, not just observing the world as passive spectators. I can no longer watch a film, commercial,
newscast, drama, sitcom, soap opera or anything without taking it apart. I watch actively. When
people become media literate, they can’t be fooled.
What youth-produced television programs like The Real Deal and youth-written newspapers like New
Youth Connections (NYC) do is help youth find their voices. I’ve seen some of my friends go from
feeling worthless, from being a step away from falling through the cracks, to gaining confidence in
themselves, their history and their futures. They’ve turned from being self-perceived “menaces to
society” to becoming society’s future leaders. What caused this transformation? Being active with
the media.
When we create our own pieces for The Real Deal, we are inspiring others. Whether media groups
like ours, NYC or the Education Video Center, or some kids from a school or community center, or
individual teens, the more the youth-produced media that’s out there, the better. Each time we’re
saying, “Look at me. I’m not stabbing, stealing, or killing. I’m not confused. I’m intelligent. I have
ideas. I may even have some solutions.”
There are adults and organizations that are willing to help us. At Rise & Shine Productions, young
people are respected intellectually and artistically. We’re encouraged to challenge the media and the
status quo. There are many other youth organizations out there that you can hook up with. The
important thing for any young person is not to be alone. Whether it’s one other friend, or your social
studies class, or a local community group, you can create your own media. Print media is cheap and
easy. Low-budget video can be very powerful. You can show it in school, at home, or on your
personal access station. Write an article or letter to the editor of your local paper. Use the media to
speak your mind. You’re not alone. You can make a difference.
Imagine youth, empowered with voices loud and clear as the morning air. Imagine us as active
positive forces in our communities, making the world a better place. Let this generation shout as the
last one did, “the whole world is watching the show and we must have a say in decisions that affect
our present as well as our future.” As Dr. King said in his letter from Birmingham jail, “The deep fog
of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant
tomorrow the radiant stars of light and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all of their
scintillating beauty.”
Samir B. Vural, a youth producer at Rise & Shine Productions, is a sophomore at Bard College.
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Differentiation
This is a perfect unit to work on the flexible grouping differentiation strategy because
students are in and out of various pairs and small and large groups as they examine
advertisements. Based on the students’ prior knowledge of persuasive techniques as
determined by the pres=assessment, you can create a variety of different group structures.
You can also differentiate by process and by product because even though much of the
unit focuses on print advertisements, you could easily adapt the groups to student interest
in radio advertisements, TV, even internet pop-up ads.
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Resources
Adapted from Web English Teacher http://www.webenglishteacher.com/media-ads.html
Ad*Access
Images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements
printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and
1955. Five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and
Hygiene, and World War II.
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adaccess/
Adbusters Culture Jammers
From the folks who bring us "Buy Nothing Day,"
ads against ads, or, more properly, against the materialistic mindset. A good
site for showing students a contrasting point of view. (Some material may
not be appropriate for the classroom.) https://www.adbusters.org/
Advertisement Ave.
Top 50-rated television ads, browsable by category or
searchable. http://www.advertisementave.com/
The Advertising Century
In 1999 the magazine Advertising Age published a
special edition called "The Advertising Century." This online version includes
top ad campaigns, jingles, and slogans, and a timeline of the century's most
important advertising-related events. http://adage.com/century/
Campaign Ads
An interactive learning environment where presidential
campaign ads are entry points to learn about campaign issues and their
historical context, as well as the persuasive techniques and strategies that
are part of political campaigns. http://www.easehistory.org/index2.html
Girlpower: Retouch
This interactive site reveals how a model's photograph
is retouched before it appears on a magazine cover. Every teen girl
concerned about her body image should visit this site.
http://demo.fb.se/e/girlpower/retouch/retouch/index.html
The Merchants of Cool
The Frontline documentary has been broken into 6
segments for easier online viewing. Follow the link to find a teacher guide.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/
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