How to Create an Advertising Unit for the Classroom
An understanding of advertising is an integral part of consumer education. Kids today not only have to contend with print and media advertising, they also are bombarded with promotions for every conceivable product and service on their computers. By becoming aware of the advertising happening all around them and trying their hand at creating ads, students will have a better understanding of the role of advertising in their lives. The advertising unit which follows can be trimmed down for younger students and expanded for older ones.
Instructions
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Start by asking students to keep an advertisement log. Assign the task of writing down a list of 50 products or services they see advertised and where they saw or heard those advertisements. Remind them that those ads might be found anywhere from TV commercials to pop-ups on their computers to ads in the school newspaper.
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Use the advertising log as the basis for the next assignment in which students use highlighters to mark ads for the following: ads which they consider effective should be marked in green, those which were ineffective in pink and those which made no impression in yellow. Ask students to contribute to a class list of effective ads.
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Brainstorm together common qualities which make these ads effective. Then discuss whether or not the effectiveness of the ads is representative of the quality of the product. For example, you might use the series of ads which pit Mac users against PC users and ask students what actual information the viewer comes away with.
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Ask students to bring to class one advertising symbol or icon, such as the Keebler Elf or Tony the Tiger. Talk about how these icons serve to enhance customer interest in the product regardless of how little the icon has to do with the product. Ask students to search the advertising icon museum site (see link at the end of this article) and read and take notes on a half-dozen icons. Then ask them to create their own icon for a new cereal which they are to name.
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Assign students the task of creating a print and media campaign for their new cereal. Provide students with a budget and a simple chart of how much each form of advertising might cost. As a part of the assignment, students will write a justification for how they are spending their advertising dollars. Before undertaking the assignment, send students to a few sites for advertising advice such as the one listed in Resources.
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Tips & Warnings
Find a member of an advertising firm to come and speak to students about how ad campaigns are created.
Monitor products for which students choose to analyze advertising.
