Download money matters lesson 8: advertisements

MONEY MATTERS
LESSON 8: ADVERTISEMENTS
"The only remaining sanctuary from ads is inside a church."
Deborah Baldwin
I.
Literacy Objective: The students will be able to identify marketing strategies used in
advertising.
II.
Materials for lesson:
Magazines and newspapers - brought by
instructor
"Ad Grabbers" - handout
III.
Suggested Readings:
Guide to Wise Buying
by the Better Business Bureau
The Benjamin Company, Inc.
485 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022
IV.
Additional Activities:
"Deceptive Advertising Techniques" - optional
handout
V.
Notes to Instructor: This lesson is designed to expose students to techniques used by
businesses to promote consumer spending. Stress the idea that wise consumers use
advertising; they are not manipulated by it. Talk about the various medians used by
advertisers. Bring in as many examples as you can. You will also need to bring in a
variety of magazines and newspapers for today's lesson.
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Journal Entry:
Review:
What are things you like and dislike seeing in advertisements? Describe
what catches your eye in ads you see regularly.
Ask the students to share the five step decision-making activity they did with their
children.
INITIAL INQUIRY
Use the following questions to begin today's lesson on advertising:
1.
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How often do you pay attention to advertising on television?
How often do you read the ads in newspapers and magazines?
Have you ever bought something simply because it was on sale?
Have you ever bought a product because it was endorsed by a superstar?
What are some of your favorite ads? Why?
What sort of ads do not appeal to you? Why?
Do you think advertising is important? Why or why not?
How can advertisements be helpful?
How can they be harmful?
Besides TV, magazines, and newspapers, what other places do you see
advertisements?
How else can you find out about a product or service besides through
advertising?
Record student responses on the chalkboard or overhead projector.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Discuss the following points on advertising. Write key words and concepts on the board so the
students can refer back to the information when they start critiquing magazine ads.
Ask the class "What costs $50,000 or more, lasts 30 seconds, and reaches hundred of
thousands of people at one time?" Most will know the answer - a TV commercial.
In 1992, corporations spent $130 billion on advertising in the United States alone. That is the
equivalent of $6 a week - or $312 a year - for every man, woman, and child in the country.
That's 50 percent more per capita than is spent in any other nation. One of the fastest growing
target audiences is America's youth. Companies spend about $500 million a year to reach
children age 2 to 12 - five times what they spent in the early 80's.
The average American consumer gets bombarded with close to 1,000 advertising messages
each day. Any medium can carry the message - TV; radio; magazines; newspapers; billboards;
transportation posters; direct mail; skywriting; bus benches; store circulars; hang tags on
appliances, furniture, and clothing; packaging and labeling materials; coupons; and catalogs.
Ads can be seen on giant screens at sport events, projected from subway monitors, pumped into
doctors' reception rooms, posted in public restrooms, inscribed on clothing, embedded in arcade
games, zapped through fax machines and even emblazoned on hot dogs.
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The post office delivered 63 billion pieces of junk mail last year, much of it aimed at selling
something. Product manufacturers stick ads on videotapes and in movie theaters, and they
spend millions to plant their products in Hollywood movies. Automated dialing systems deliver
canned messages at a rate of seven million a day. There is a firm that sells space at the bottom
of golf cups and the British Boy Scouts even auction off space on their merit badges to corporate
sponsors.
Demonstrate as many examples as you can. Ask the students to note all of the ads they see
during the day and see if they think the "1,000" advertising messages a day is an exaggerated
figure. Discuss or ask the students to write down what a family would have to do to escape all
forms of advertising for one day.
In today's complex economy, advertising is essential. Through the use of advertising, we are
provided with information on the wide variety of products and services available from a large
number of sellers. Whether the ads are found in newspapers, magazines, television, radio,
shopping guides, or the Yellow Pages, here are some ways advertising can help.
1.
They provide information on new and unknown items, creating a demand for
newer and, in some cases, better products and services.
2.
They give details on performance or special characteristics of existing products,
especially those that change from time to time.
3.
They supply daily price information of vital interest to the inflation-conscious
consumer, including timely information on legitimate and money-saving "specials"
and sales.
4.
They also tell consumers the location of specific sellers, thereby saving them time
and money in finding certain products and services.
Advertising is communication from a vendor, usually a manufacturer or retailer, directed to
potential buyers of goods and services. It is aimed at consumers. Advertising is effective, at
least part of the time, because people do buy products they have seen advertised.
As a consumer, there are many things you need to know about the products you buy. Here are
some of the things you can learn from ads:
o What an item costs
o How long it can be gotten
o What it looks like
o Who makes it
o What features it has
o How it compares to other brands
o Where you can get it
o Whether it's guaranteed
Distribute the newspapers and magazines to the class. Ask the students to choose an ad from
the material and describe why the ad appeals to them. Then ask them to identify which of the
above information can be found in the ad. Ask them to and write responses to these questions:
1.
What is this ad telling me about the good or service?
2.
Do I believe the ad?
3.
Do I really need what the ad is trying to make me buy?
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Advertising can help consumers make wise buying decisions but many times advertising tries to
"grab" our attention without offering useful information about the product. Read and discuss the
"Ad Grabbers" handout, then ask the students to select ads that demonstrate each of the adgrabbing techniques or ask them to select 3 ads and critique them according to the information
discussed above.
Self-paced Activities
Activity 1:
Ask these students to write information about a TV commercial but not the name
of the product. Other students must try to guess the ad from the clues given.
Activity 2:
Ask these students to review ads in a magazine and divide the words they use
into categories, such as "scare words", "good words", "humorous words", "use of
famous names", and "statistical words".
Activity 3:
Ask these students to re-write an ad using the antonyms (opposites) of all the
words they can and read the new ad to the class.
LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE
Group the class into teams of two or three. Ask each team to select a different type of product,
i.e., paper towels, hand lotion, perfume, potato chips, cake mixes. Ask them to collect ads for
different brands from newspapers and magazine magazines, or to take notes from TV or radio
commercials. Ask each team to prepare a report on the ad claims to report to the class. The
reports should include:
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the ways the ads grabbed their attention;
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a list of the claims made about the products;
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alternative approaches for claims they felt might be unfair or untrue;
*
an original ad for their product that is designed by the team.
Self-paced Activities
Activity 1:
Ask these students to write their opinion on whether or not they believe that the
underlying message of much of today's marketing is "I buy, therefore I am."
Activity 2:
Ask these students to write about the "mood" being sold in an magazine ad that
contains few words.
Activity 3:
Ask these students to write down all the commercials they remember seeing the
last time they watched television. (One study shows that a mere 12% of the
viewers of prime-time television shows remember the next morning the
commercials they must have seen the night before.)
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READING IN CONTEXT
The following story has certain words left out. One person, the Reader (you or a student), is the
only one to see the story before it is completed. The Reader then calls on others in the class to
give her a "plural noun" or an "adjective" or whatever the space calls for. The Reader then
writes the word in the blank spaces in the story. When the spaces are all filled in the result is a
MAD LIB. The Reader then reads the Mad Lib to the class. The results are usually funny.
Be sure to review the parts of speech if needed:
ADJECTIVE - describes something or somebody
ADVERB - tells how something is done. It modifies a verb and usually ends in "ly".
NOUN - is a person, place, or thing.
PROPER NOUN - is a particular person, place, or thing and is capitalized.
VERB - expresses action, existence, or occurrence.
Ladies and ______________ of the TV audience. Before we return to our late, late
(plural noun)
__________________, I want to tell you about an ___________________ musical offer.
(noun)
(adjective)
For only _________________ dollars and forty-two ________________ you can get all of
the
(number)
(plural noun)
_____________________ hits that have made ______________________ a singing
legend in
(adjective)
(name of person in room)
her own time. Listen to her sing ______________________ the tunes you grew up with,
(adverb)
including "_________________ Keep Falling on My ___________________" and
(plural noun)
(noun)
"_________________________May Be Dangerous to Your _________________."
(verb ending in "ing")
(noun)
The album was recorded at the famous ___________________ studio by the
_____________
(proper noun)
(adjective)
___________________ Rock Band and their_________________ backup
__________________.
(name of person in room)
(adjective)
(plural noun)
Call now and charge it to your ___________________. This offer
expires________________.
(noun)
(date)
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(Adapted from Mad Libs by Roger Price and Leonard Stern )
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Divide the class into small groups and ask them to write more Mad Libs for their classmates to
fill in. They might choose to do "proverbs", such as "The was to a man's ___________ is
through his ________________."
(noun)
(noun)
PERSONAL DICTIONARY
Compile a group list of adjectives commonly used in advertising. Challenge the students to
substitute words that are similar in meaning but fall at the opposite end of the positive/negative
scale, i.e.
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*
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if the ad uses "thrifty", substitute "miserly";
if the ad uses "eloquent", substitute "gabby";
if the ad uses "gallant", substitute "reckless".
Discuss how the meanings are altered by the substitutions.
HOME ASSIGNMENT
Ask the students to watch at least one hour of TV with one of their family members. Ask them to
count the number of commercials that are broadcast during that hour. With the help of the
family member(s), ask them to write down what the product is and to complete the rest of the
following sentence for each commercial:
"BUY ME!!! Because if you do....."
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES:
1.
Compile a class list of commercial slogans, "jingles," tunes, key words, or phrases that
they hear people using in conversations during the next week.
2.
Read and discuss "Deceptive Advertising Techniques" handout. Ask the students to
provide examples.
3.
Ask the students to write their opinion on the following statement by Ronald K. L. Collins
and Michael F. Jacobson.
"Our system of advertising purposefully promotes envy, creates anxiety, and
fosters insecurity. The tragic end product of this is kids killing kids for $100
name-brand sneakers."
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4.
Help the students organize a poll for testing some products. Divide the class into teams
of 2-4 students and help them:
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SOURCE:
Decide on the products they want to test. (Corn chips, peanut butter, colas)
Choose one characteristic to test for each product. (Corn chips could be tested
for crunchiness, saltiness, or corn flavor, but not all three.)
Establish an hypothesis. ("The most expensive brand is always best" or
"advertising claims are true".)
Decide on the number of people to poll and then invite people to participate in the
test. (Students and teachers from other classes, family, other personnel at the
class site.)
Develop a form for recording results. (Identification of each brand, it's size, price,
and unit price; the hypothesis; testing procedure; number of people in poll; test
results stated in terms of numbers and percentage of participants' preferences for
each brand; and conclusions.)
Set up testing booth.
Bring 3 brands of the product they are testing, including a generic brand when
possible.
Keep labels hidden; vary order in which tested.
Instruct participants to travel from booth to booth to react to all the products.
Ask the teams to review the data; convert results into percentages; make graphs
of the data obtained; present findings to the class including whether or not the
hypothesis was confirmed.
Discuss the experience with polls.
"And Now A Word From OUr Sponsor..." by Barbara M. Adams in Learning
Magazine, October 1989.
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AD GRABBERS
Whether you're watching TV, listening to the radio, driving by a billboard, or looking
through a newspaper or magazine, advertisers want to grab your attention. Here are
some advertising techniques to watch for:
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EYE APPEAL: Buy this product because it looks, smells, or tastes great.
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SNOB APPEAL: Buy this product because it will make you a little better
than everyone else.
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HAPPY FAMILY: Buy this product because it shows how much you care
about your family.
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CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT: Buy this product because a famous person
uses it.
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BANDWAGON: Buy this product because everyone has it and you don't
want to feel left out.
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HUMOR: Buy this product because the jokes or cartoons make you feel
good.
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ROMANCE: Buy this product because an attractive person uses it.
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TESTIMONIALS: Buy this product because an expert recommends it.
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JUST PLAIN FOLKS: Buy this product because people just like you are
satisfied with it.
SOURCE:
"And Now A Word From Our Sponsor..." by Barbara M. Adams in Learning
Magazine, October 1989.
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DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING TECHNIQUES
1.
SOME ADS LIE. The seller or maker of a product simply does not tell the truth about the
product.
2.
SOME ADS TELL HALF THE TRUTH. This type of advertising misleads the buyer. The
ad will SUGGEST that something is true. An ad may say just enough to make you say
the rest. Sometimes the ad may tell you only half of what you need to know.
3.
SOME ADS WILL APPEAL TO YOUR EMOTIONS:
a.
desire to look and feel younger (or older), sexy, handsome
b.
identification with family, friend, country, a TV star
c.
memories of "down home" and "the good ol' days"
d.
your need to be part of the crowd
4.
SOME ADS ARE FILLED WITH GLOWING GENERALITIES. These ads tell you that a
product is WONDERFUL, GREAT, FANTASTIC, SUPER, BETTER THAN EVER! but
they give no proof or specific information.
5.
SOME ADS APPEAL TO YOUR SENSES, especially touch and taste. "Cotton Cloud"
Soap makes your towels feel soft and fluffy. "Lemon-Lime Lemonade" tastes "lemony,"
"limey," and delicious!
6.
SOME ADS USE BANDWAGON APPEAL. These ads suggest that you should not miss
out on something that lots of other people are doing or buying.
7.
SOME ADS IMPLY. They suggest something that is not said. They imply that if you use
their product you will get the man, woman, job, etc. of your dreams.
8.
SOME ADS USE SUPERLATIVE CLAIMS. These express opinions not facts. They
usually refer to taste, beauty, aroma, or style and they cannot be proved or disproved.
Statements include "the most effective", "the greatest ever", or "the best taste".
9.
SOME ADS USE MEANINGLESS PHRASES. These include the no-promise promises
as "may help" or "may actually reduce" which do not promise anything.
10.
SOME ADS USE GUILT. These suggest that if you are not using their products
you are not living up to proper standards for keeping your bathroom clean, your
children well-fed, and your husband's collars perfectly white.
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