Download Advocacy Advertising: It*s Not Always a Product

Advocacy Advertising: It’s Not
Always a Product
When we think of advertising and marketing, we
often assume that they are used to sell us products.
Advertisers and marketers have a much larger role in
our society, being often called upon to promote
abstract concepts, ideas, information, places,
corporate and public images, and even social norms.
The following pieces feature media texts designed to
serve purposes beyond the sale of tangiblproducts.
#1
For each of the previous media texts, identify
what you perceive to be the intended audience
and purpose (e.g., to persuade, to sell, to
inform, etc.).
#2
Each of the selections focuses on an image or
concept as a controlling idea. What is the
central idea in each text? In what way(s) are
these ideas different from what we find in the
majority of advertisements and marketing texts
we encounter?
#3
Propaganda is defined as texts aimed at
“persuading people to support a particular
cause (political, social, or religious).” All of the
previous texts included some elements of
propaganda. What specific features of the
writing and visual texts persuade the viewer of a
particular point of view? Support your answers.
#4
a) Visual elements are often designed to set a
mood or tone for the written text. For each
selection, determine what mood the creators
were trying to evoke in the viewer? What visual
elements did they use to set this mood?
b) How does the form of the text (e.g. poster, print
advertisement, brochure) change the way in
which visual elements are used?