1. Homework assignment: "Any questions about ads, advertising?"
2. In-Class: 1st meeting: Open Discussion (random, unguided- but recorded);
2nd meet: Analyze 1st.
3. Homework or In-Class: "What's in it for Me?" (focused on
Benefit-Seeking & Target Audience).
Any or all of these three can act as a prelude to introducing the predictable 1-2-3-4-5 pattern of the "Pitch" as presented in the one-page passout: "The 30-Second-Spot Quiz" -- or the extensive online presentation.
Homework Assignment:
Bring to class 5 Questions or Comments about TV ads: Each written on a separate 3x5 card or paper.
In Class:
Using blackboard, or in piles on a table, sort out the incoming questions/comments into these 7 categories:
1. LEGALITY -- "Can they?"
e.g. questions about legal limits, deceptive ads (ranging from hard core fraud to borderline cases). Resources: FTC, FDA, Consumer, Ad Age (current news), or google.com -- try search terms: (product name) + fraud, deception, deceptive advertising,
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2. MORALITY -- "Should they?"
e.g. questions about ethics, morality; social norms (civility, vulgarity - i.e. legal, but rude, offensive)
(In Common Complaints, note:
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3. EFFICIENCY -- "Is the ad effective?"
e.g. "Does that ad really work? Really sell the product? Create good will?"
4. TECHNICAL MATTERS -- " How did they do that?"
e.g. questions about sophisticated TV production techniques (graphics, editing, computer imagery), often as the attention-getters.
5. BUSINESS MATTERS --
e.g. "How much does it cost to make a 30-second ad?" "How much do TV stations charge for the airtime?" "How much do celebrities get paid for endorsements?" "How many times does an ad run?"
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For current answers to #3, #4, #5 and specific ads, try:
google.com | adage.com | adcritic.com | see the big list of advertising links
at: www.advertising.utexas.edu/world
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6. LANGUAGE & RHETORIC --
e.g. questions about diction (word choice); figures of speech (see: rhetorica.com) syntax (patterns within sentences), and larger structures (the pitch). Be aware that you are not likely to get many student questions here; Teachers may want to note this omission.
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7. MISC.
"Other" questions which do not seem to fit in this system. First, see if these questions can be rephrased, but still retain their meaning. Will this pattern apply to all? Probably not. But, many, Perhaps most.
Problem questions sometimes are about ads which are unrelated to consumer products, such as corporate "image-building" ads and "issue" ads. These are tough for anyone to analyze or explain, unless you uncover (google.com) the background and reasons for this kind of subtle persuasion.
Assure your students that all of these questions (or approaches) can be reasonable and co-exist. But, then identify your focus. For example, as an English composition teacher, I usually start with the basics of structure (the 1-2-3-4-5 pattern of the Pitch). Although students have a great deal of residual knowledge about the specific surface details of ads, they have seldom (or never) simply analyzed ads as units of persuasion.
Prepare Yourself: Get an overview of the site so that you can answer some common student questions. Make sure you read (and, later, use) the 7 predictable kinds of questions above in #1.
Plan for a two-part discussion (with prep time in between)
Part One: a totally open, free, unguided discussion. (All must contribute. Encourage the shy or silent.)
Tell students, however, that you want to take notes as an observer. (Do not answer their questions, guide nor comment during this open discussion.) Take quick shorthand notes, or perhaps use an audio taperecorder because these free-flowing responses are fast and confusing.
Kids already know a lot about the surface details of ads; have many opinions, subjective feelings, and personal experiences; and a wide array of questions and comment (often bragging, venting, or criticizing).
Part Two: Afterwards (at home, or office) review notes or audiotape; then, using a shorthand, type a one page overview list, and print out copies for all (instead of vague memory). Use any useful shorthand: e.g.
Key words or useful identifiers to assist a quick recall: e.g. Product, Brand Name, Celebrity, Actions, Scenery, Music, etc.
0- = Opinions, negative subjective feelings (" I hate that ad... that's so annoying... so stupid...") or: neg/opin
0+ = Opinions, positive subjective feelings (" I really like that ad... that's my favorite... so cool...") or: pos/opin
PN = Personal narrative told by student, or experiences with product.
Q? = Question -- e.g. Should they? (ethical); Can they ? (legal); How did they? (technical); see list of 7 above.
Mary: O- "I hate that ad..."
Bob: O+ "I really like Jason Kidd. He's the best the NBAs got!"
Ellen: Q? "Can they say 'booger' on TV?"
Jim: O- "That Chevy ad stinks. It insults my intelligence."
Hannah: PN "I had one of those toys and it broke so easily."
Kathi: Q? "Why do they keep showing the same ads over and over?"
Pass out copies of the shorthand list. On blackboard, put up the same categories. Sort out the various possible approaches and focus in on yours.
Useful Analogy: TV Sports Commentators
Someone might go to a football game, enjoy the experience, but not really understand it as well as someone who already knows about the basic patterns (run, pass) and their common variations (quarterback keeper, screen pass) and differing situations (1st and 10, 3rd and long) and the rules (fair catch, false start), and so on.
We learn a lot of these things from TV sports commentators who constantly talk about what we are seeing. So also, teachers can add to an understanding of ads by pointing out basic patterns, common variations, differing situations, rules, and so on.
Back to Home
3. Start with using "What's in
it for me?"
Several options:
1. Pre-record a videotape with ads for in-class.
2. Assign homework for students to analyze 30-60 minutes of TV ads, from opening to closing clusters surrounding various programs, various times, various channels.
3. If Channel One is in your schools, these ads are targeted at kids, usually with presenters ("cool kid" actors, pop culture stars) a little older (not younger!) than the target audience. (Elsewhere note my opposition to Channel One.)
4. Use magazine ads targeting diverse audiences (Seventeen,
Family Circle, Nickelodeon, Readers Digest). Do basic counting the number of
pages (including half & quarter pages) of ads; broken down by general categories
(cosmetics, clothes, videogames, foods) appropriate to the magazine.
Try to stay focused on benefits and target audiences if you
use this approach.
Wait until after the students are introduced to the "30-Second-Spot Quiz"
(or The Pitch) before dealing with #1 attention-getting humor, or #2 confidence-building.
or #3 the association technique, or variations in #4 (urgency) "soft sell"
& # 5 (response) "corporate image."
Analyze easy ads first: common consumer products, not corporate image ads or financial services. Some products and services are intrinsically harder to understand.
Even when advertising asks us to spend money, "Sale" ads emphasize that we are really saving money, a paradox explained by other implied factors, such as value, investment, or comparisons ("all things considered").
Financial ads are often difficult for kids to analyze: credit card ads usually offer Acquisition benefits. On the surface they stress "convenience" or "safety," but the banks make their money from the interest payments of debt-ridden customers who want to acquire more, now -- "instant gratification." Conservative financial investments (bonds, CDs, savings accounts) and banks offer Protection benefits. Banks also do a lot of "image building" ads to appear friendly and concerned, counteracting the reality that they charge very high interest rates (about 20%) and often repossess cars and houses when the bills aren't paid. Ads for "Debt Consolidation" "Refinancing" and "Pay Day Loans" -- basically offer Relief benefits ("get your bills down to manageable size"), usually means emergency borrowing for relief of existing debts due.
For a collection of my raw data about: Ads Kids Hate
Be prepared to mention "promos" - those brief promotions luring audiences to other programs on the network -- and PSAs (Public Service Announcements) but delay attention to them until later.
Later, teachers may want to discuss other ways to categorize ads. Students may notice certain products and services have the most ads. For example, networks with extensive systems already built (airline, phone services, hotel chains, fast food restaurants) seek to fill empty existing spaces: seats, rooms; high repeat usage, consumables (not only food and drink, but pet foods, disposable disposals); mass produced items, even expensive automobiles try to persuade us to renew our love with new cars every few years. (Cars pass on a high ad cost -- $500+ -- to buyers)
Do you have a classroom idea to share? Send it to me: hughrank@verizon.net