MEDIA LITERACY Raising Students’ Awareness of Advertising Strategies

MEDIA LITERACY

5. Raising Students’ Awareness of Advertising Strategies

The first part of the project begs the questions of what advertising is, where we encounter it, why people advertise, and how we recognize a particular brand. The second part deals with the design and arrangement of an advertisement. The importance of colours and pictures and their connotations is highlighted, subsequently, the following terms such as title, slogan and body copy and terms of language devices typically used in advertising are discussed. In the third part of the project, students are given several existing advertisement and analyse it on the basis of the previous learning. The last section is creative, students are asked to design an advertisement of a product of their choice.

The project is primarily compiled for ESL students-level B1/B2, nevertheless the activities can be modified and adjust as necessary depending on materials a teacher chooses to bring to the classroom.

5.1 Advertising Strategies – Activities-based Project

PART ONE

1. 
   Where do we encounter advertising?
   

1. 
   In pairs, students are asked to think about and write down advertisements they have been exposed to up to this point of time today. (Magazine, newspaper, computer, posters, billboards, bus, shop, etc.) Afterwards they try to create different categories for these advertisements and divide them accordingly.
   

2. 
   The whole class then discuss the categories they have suggested; teacher collates the information and writes them on the board. Students are given blank posters, and are asked to make notes of what is being discussed; they are also admonished to add anything connected with advertising that comes into their minds. The ‘working posters’ filled with important information will serve as guides later on when the students are asked to create their own piece of advertising.
   

3. 
   Teacher explains that the focal point of their attention will be the print advertisements. Different magazines and newspapers are distributed, in pairs, students are supposed to browse through their allocated materials and write down the number of advertisements found alongside with the types of products advertised. Are there any differences and similarities in these adverts? Whole class discussion to find the answer to the begged question follows; teacher makes notes on the board.
   

4. 
   In pairs, building on what was previously discussed; students are asked to devise a definition of what advertising is. The students then read their definitions out loud and with teacher’s help, the whole class creates a single definition.
   

2. 
   Why is it Necessary to Advertise?
   

In this section, students are firstly invited to explore the purpose of advertising, which is connected with the question why and when a company should advertise its product. Secondly, they become aware of the importance of logos and their quality of indicating the reputation and success of different companies.

(Materials: blank sheets of paper, pencils, dictionaries, ‘working posters’)

1. 
   Teacher outlines a situation and writes the two following questions on the board, students work individually and try to list possible answers.
   

• 
  Why might you want to advertise?
  
• 
  On which occasion might you want to advertise?
  

The whole class compare and discuss their ideas; teacher writes them on the board, students take notes.

2. 
   Teacher sticks different companies’ logos on the board. Students are asked to suggest the names of the companies presented by their logos and say with which product they associate a particular logo (see examples: Appendix C1)
   

3. 
   In the next step, student are supposed to create own logo for a company of their choice. They should think carefully what the image might suggest. They are not allowed to write any text to their logo just the name of the brand. Afterwards, in small groups, students present their logos and justify their ideas.
   

1. 
   How do pictures and colours contribute to the message of advertising?
   

1. 
   Teacher writes the following names of colours on the board: White, black, green, blue, red, and yellow. Students should write down of what they envision or feel when thinking of a particular colour. Whole class shares their ideas, teacher writes them on the board.
   

2. 
   Students are provided with different dictionaries to look up the possible definitions of the word connotation, building on the experience of the first activity and definitions found, they are given several adverts and are supposed to discuss them focusing on connotations. They work in small groups, each group is given a print advertisement, after they have discussed it and written down a list of possible connotations, they swop the piece of advert they were assessing with the people from a different group. After all the advertisements were swopped and considered, each group present their last picture and the connotations they have assigned to it. Other groups add their ideas.
   

3. 
   Last activity dealing with connotations is product-based. Students brainstorm about products that the following categories of people – babies, women or men – use on daily basis, teacher writes them on the board. Next step is to think of colours and pictures which would be the most appropriate for each product and why. Students should justify their suggestions.
   

2. 
   How many adverts can you recall?
   

1. 
   Working in small groups, students are asked to brainstorm advertisements (newspaper, internet, television), produced in their mother tongue, that they can recall. They should discuss and write down the name of the product advertised and anything else they can remember such as an attention arousing illustration, a catchphrase, what the story of the advertisement is about, etc. Before proceeding to another activity, teacher sets homework. Students’ task is to choose one of the advertisements they have suggested, try to find the advertisement online, in a magazine or watch it on TV again, and create a short slogan for it in English. They are invited to employ information and language devices which will be covered in today’s lesson.
   

2. 
   Teacher sticks several advertising posters (in target language) on the board, students are asked to come to the board, look at the adverts and contemplate individually what their main features are – both visual and verbal. Back at their desks students are given a table of Key Advertising Words (see Appendix C2) and cut-up slips of paper with their definitions. Working in pairs, their task is to match the words with their meanings. Teacher then goes through the terms one by one giving examples, and discusses them with the students. Students are supposed to write the terms and their examples down in their ‘working posters’.
   

3. 
   In the next activity, the students come to the board again and consider the advertising posters once more, they are asked to concentrate on the previously discussed terms and find examples. Back at their desks, the whole class check their findings.
   

PART THREE

1. 
   How do you write an advert analysis?
   

1. 
   Students are given time to go through different kinds of magazine, then they should choose one advert each for their further analyses. They work with the piece of advert they have chosen individually, they can use their ‘working posters’, Advert Analysis Plan guidelines and dictionaries. They should produce a paper of 300 words at least.
   

PART FOUR

1. 
   Design your own advert
   

On the basis of their learning, compiled materials and existing experience, the students are asked to design an advert of their own. They can choose from working individually or in pairs. (Materials: ‘working posters’, Design Your Own Advert guideline (see Appendix C4), dictionaries, blank posters, pencils, scissors, old magazines, etc.)

1. 
   Students work in pairs or individually, their task is to design an advertising poster for a product of their choice. They use their ‘working posters’ with notes, Design Your Own Advert guideline and dictionaries.
   

5.2 Conclusion – Media Literacy

As we live in a media-saturated environment under constant information attack from various sources, it is important to learn how to filter out what we do not need or want, or what could be harmful to believe. Therefore, I decided to include a chapter focusing on raising student’s awareness of advertising strategies. By dismantling an advertisement into pieces and by putting these pieces under thorough examination, the students will develop their critical thinking skills and become aware of strategies which might lack credibility and reliability sometimes. Consequently, building on their experience of advertisement analyses, they can use their acquired knowledge in other areas of the media world.

Download 316.84 Kb.

Share with your friends: