The media literacy unit focuses on teaching students to be critical observers of the advertisements they are being bombarded with each day. We spend several classes looking at ways that advertisers try to "persuade" us to purchase their products.
Many of the ideas that drive the lead up lessons to the culminating activity have been selected from the following web link (prepared by the Media Literacy Project):
https://medialiteracyproject.org/sites/default/files/resources/Intro_to_Media_Literacy.pdf
Lead up lessons include:
1) Introduction to Media Literacy and Media Literacy Concepts - Including "What does it mean to mislead?",
2) 4 Major Types of Commercials,
3) Types of Commercial Writing Styles,
4) Culminating Activity entitled "Ad Awareness" with example projects.
Many of the ideas that drive the lead up lessons to the culminating activity have been selected from the following web link (prepared by the Media Literacy Project):
https://medialiteracyproject.org/sites/default/files/resources/Intro_to_Media_Literacy.pdf
Lead up lessons include:
1) Introduction to Media Literacy and Media Literacy Concepts - Including "What does it mean to mislead?",
2) 4 Major Types of Commercials,
3) Types of Commercial Writing Styles,
4) Culminating Activity entitled "Ad Awareness" with example projects.
Introduction to Media Literacy
The following definitions of media literacy were taken from http://www.medialiteracyweek.ca/about/what-is-media-education/:
"Media literacy deals with the culture and lifestyle of students. They enjoy thinking and talking about what is going on in the media. For teachers, it is an opportunity to have students examine how they are influencing and being influenced by popular culture." –Atlantic Curriculum
"Media education is the process through which individuals become media literate – able to critically understand the nature, techniques and impacts of media messages and productions.
In Canadian schools, there is a growing awareness of the need to connect classroom learning to the real world and to bring media content into the classroom for analysis, evaluation and discovery.
Media education acknowledges and builds on the positive, creative and pleasurable dimensions of popular culture. It incorporates production of media texts and critical thinking – decoding, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating media – to help us navigate through an increasingly
complex media landscape. That landscape includes not only traditional and digital media, but also popular culture texts such as toys, fads, fashion, shopping malls and theme parks.Media education encourages an approach that is always probing, posing questions such as: Who is the audience of a media production and why? From whose perspective is a story being told? How do the unique elements and codes of a specific genre affect what we see, hear or read? How might different audiences interpret the same media production?
In the digital age, the principles of media education are the same as they’ve always been, but the existence of cyberspace is adding new and challenging questions. How, for instance, does technology affect how we relate to others? Is new technology enriching or undermining culture, learning and a sense of community? What roles do ownership, control and access play? What are the challenges in regulating a global, borderless medium like the Internet?
Media education isn’t about having the right answers: rather, it’s about asking the right questions. Because media issues are complex and often contradictory and controversial, the educator’s role isn’t to impart knowledge, but to facilitate the process of inquiry and dialogue."
What is Media? What Does it Mean to Mislead?
The following definitions of media literacy were taken from http://www.medialiteracyweek.ca/about/what-is-media-education/:
"Media literacy deals with the culture and lifestyle of students. They enjoy thinking and talking about what is going on in the media. For teachers, it is an opportunity to have students examine how they are influencing and being influenced by popular culture." –Atlantic Curriculum
"Media education is the process through which individuals become media literate – able to critically understand the nature, techniques and impacts of media messages and productions.
In Canadian schools, there is a growing awareness of the need to connect classroom learning to the real world and to bring media content into the classroom for analysis, evaluation and discovery.
Media education acknowledges and builds on the positive, creative and pleasurable dimensions of popular culture. It incorporates production of media texts and critical thinking – decoding, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating media – to help us navigate through an increasingly
complex media landscape. That landscape includes not only traditional and digital media, but also popular culture texts such as toys, fads, fashion, shopping malls and theme parks.Media education encourages an approach that is always probing, posing questions such as: Who is the audience of a media production and why? From whose perspective is a story being told? How do the unique elements and codes of a specific genre affect what we see, hear or read? How might different audiences interpret the same media production?
In the digital age, the principles of media education are the same as they’ve always been, but the existence of cyberspace is adding new and challenging questions. How, for instance, does technology affect how we relate to others? Is new technology enriching or undermining culture, learning and a sense of community? What roles do ownership, control and access play? What are the challenges in regulating a global, borderless medium like the Internet?
Media education isn’t about having the right answers: rather, it’s about asking the right questions. Because media issues are complex and often contradictory and controversial, the educator’s role isn’t to impart knowledge, but to facilitate the process of inquiry and dialogue."
What is Media? What Does it Mean to Mislead?
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Examples of Misleading Media Misinformation
Consider these questions as you watch the following media clips:
1. What was the main idea/message of the video?
2. Was it believable?
3. What elements of the video helped to make it seem authentic/truthful?
Consider these questions as you watch the following media clips:
1. What was the main idea/message of the video?
2. Was it believable?
3. What elements of the video helped to make it seem authentic/truthful?
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Types of Commericials
1. Public Service Announcement (PSA) are messages in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge, with the objective of raising awareness, changing public attitudes and behavior towards a social issue. See example video #1 and 2 below.
2. Political Advertising includes advertising or marketing communications about a political party, representative or candidate, advertising about political issues or issues of public interest, and advertising in relation to government policies. See example video #3 and 4 below.
3. Self Promoting Advertisements (or Promo) is a form of commercial advertising used in either television or radio, that are used to promote a program airing on a television or radio station/network to the viewing or listening audience. Promos typically run from 15 to 60 seconds, with 30-second spots being the most common. Most promos show select video or audio clips of scenes or segments from an upcoming program. See example video #5 and 6 below.
4. Product advertising is any method of communication about the promotion of a product in an attempt to induce potential customers to purchase the product. Advertisement usually requires payment to a communication channel. The general objective is to increase brand awareness or to demonstrate the differences between product and competing products in order to sell them. See example videos #7 and 8 below.
1. Public Service Announcement (PSA) are messages in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge, with the objective of raising awareness, changing public attitudes and behavior towards a social issue. See example video #1 and 2 below.
2. Political Advertising includes advertising or marketing communications about a political party, representative or candidate, advertising about political issues or issues of public interest, and advertising in relation to government policies. See example video #3 and 4 below.
3. Self Promoting Advertisements (or Promo) is a form of commercial advertising used in either television or radio, that are used to promote a program airing on a television or radio station/network to the viewing or listening audience. Promos typically run from 15 to 60 seconds, with 30-second spots being the most common. Most promos show select video or audio clips of scenes or segments from an upcoming program. See example video #5 and 6 below.
4. Product advertising is any method of communication about the promotion of a product in an attempt to induce potential customers to purchase the product. Advertisement usually requires payment to a communication channel. The general objective is to increase brand awareness or to demonstrate the differences between product and competing products in order to sell them. See example videos #7 and 8 below.
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Commercial Writing Styles
1. Testimonial Advertising
This type of TV ad is basically an expert or customer making a testimony on how amazing and incredible the product(s) being sold in the commercial are and why they never ever would buy from someone else other than this particular company.
See "Gamefly" video #1 below for an example of a testimonial commercial.
2. Hop on the Bandwagon/ Band-wagoning
If the product has recently gone "viral", the company may try entice “normal people” (the potential customers) that it’s become popular/normal to buy their product and that everyone else already has. Group pressure at its’ best. See "Evian Water" video #2 below for an example.
3. Transference/ Celebrity Endorsement
There are two reasons companies use celebrities in TV ads. The first one is trust, because if your company is big enough to use someone famous you must be doing something right. The second reason is most people want to live in an illusion, an illusion of having the perfect life. Nothing reflects a perfect life better than the idols you see on TV and hence everyone will want to own/use the same things as them.
See the Ashton Kutcher "Nikon Camera" video - #3 below.
4. Contains Magic Ingredient/ Emotional Appeal
If your product does something unique, has a patent or special formula it is possible to focus strongly on this. It really doesn't matter if your product really have a unique formula; your goal is to make your product almost synonym with a specific problem or use. You commonly see this in commercials for makeup, toothpaste or cleaning detergents.
See "Mott's Medley Juice" #4 below and Volkswagen "The Force" #5 commercials below for examples.
5. Informative Advertising/ Just Give Me the Facts and Figures
Informative advertising is advertising that is carried out in an informative manner. The idea is to give the ad the look of an official article to give it more credibility. Oftentimes, actors - portraying professionals - will be used to make the information seem more authentic.
See "Colgate" video #6 below for an example.
6. Comparative Advertising/We're Better
An advertisement in which a particular product, or service, specifically mentions a competitor by name for the express purpose of showing why the competitor is inferior to the product naming it. It is loosely defined as advertising where “the advertised brand is explicitly compared with one or more competing brands and the comparison is obvious to the audience.”
See "Mac Versus PC" video #7 below for an example.
7. For Plain Folks/ Snobs Appeal
A plain-folk pitch tries to associate a product with simplicity. They want to emphasis how this product can fit into everyday life for ordinary people. On the other hand, snob-appeal tries to persuade consumers that using this product will maintain or elevate their social status. Examples of this would be some jewelry companies, perfumes, or luxury cars such and BMW.
See "Shamwow" video #8 below for a Plain Folk example and "Old Spice" video #9 for an example of Snob Appeal.
8. Glittering Generality/Weasel Words
Glittering generalities occur when "... advertisers surround their products with attractive-and slippery-words and phrases” (McClintock 266). They take something ordinary and just smother it with words that are anything but ordinary in hopes that consumers will be drawn to the fabulous idea of the product. For example, the slogan for Macy’s department store is, “The Magic of Macy’s”. The word magic is used to create an expectation for the type of fashion and overall environment that Macy’s has to offer.
Weasel words are, “Small words that usually slip right past us, but that make the difference between reality and illusion” (McClintock). A weasel word is how advertisers get away with stretching the truth. By using these words consumers will think that not only will results definitely happen exactly as shown in the ad, but will happen fast. For example, Reebok Easytone collection of shoes and apparel claims their brand of athletic wear is proven to make the average person become 28% more toned. However, what does “28% more toned” really mean? More toned than what? Most people just assume that it means more toned than you would get by wearing another brand, but who really knows?
See video 10 below "Audi 2014 Super Bowl Prom Ad" for an example of a Glittering Generality and #11 "Reebok Easytone" for an example of Weasel Words.
9. Parody/ Ads Making Fun of Ads
A parody advertisement is a fictional advertisement for a non-existent product, either done within another advertisement for an actual product, or done simply as parody of advertisements—used either as a way of ridiculing or drawing negative attention towards a real advertisement or an advertisement's subject. Often used in PSA commercial.
See "Anti Cigarette Smoking Nico Breeze" video #12 below for an example.
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Advertising Standards in Canada
For a full scope of the regulation of advertising in Canada please visit the following weblink:
http://www.adstandards.com/en/standards/canCodeOfAdStandards.aspx
For a claim to be misleading in Canada it must "be proven that: (i) a representation has been made, (ii) to the public, (iii) to promote a product or business interest, (iv) that is literally false or misleading (or with a false or misleading general impression) and (v) that the claim is “material” (i.e., likely to influence a consumer into buying or using a product or otherwise altering their conduct)".
The first clip was created by the Advertising Standards of Canada called "Truth in Advertising." and it was intended to get the viewer of advertisements to take a critical approach to what they are being fed. The second and third clips, created by Dove Soap entitled "The Evolution of Beauty" shows how "beauty is just a click away thanks to photoshop technology." The final clip I suggest showing was created by WatchMojo.com entitled "Top Ten Misleading Marketing Tactics." They look at some of the outrageous claims made by companies in the past and the consequences of their deceptions.
For a full scope of the regulation of advertising in Canada please visit the following weblink:
http://www.adstandards.com/en/standards/canCodeOfAdStandards.aspx
For a claim to be misleading in Canada it must "be proven that: (i) a representation has been made, (ii) to the public, (iii) to promote a product or business interest, (iv) that is literally false or misleading (or with a false or misleading general impression) and (v) that the claim is “material” (i.e., likely to influence a consumer into buying or using a product or otherwise altering their conduct)".
The first clip was created by the Advertising Standards of Canada called "Truth in Advertising." and it was intended to get the viewer of advertisements to take a critical approach to what they are being fed. The second and third clips, created by Dove Soap entitled "The Evolution of Beauty" shows how "beauty is just a click away thanks to photoshop technology." The final clip I suggest showing was created by WatchMojo.com entitled "Top Ten Misleading Marketing Tactics." They look at some of the outrageous claims made by companies in the past and the consequences of their deceptions.
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Culminating Activity - Ad Awareness
The unit for media literacy wraps up with a project that the students may complete in partners or individually. A copy of the assignment and rubric can be found here:
The unit for media literacy wraps up with a project that the students may complete in partners or individually. A copy of the assignment and rubric can be found here:
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A) Product Testing Examples
Below are two examples of the Product Testing task that students had the option of completing on Power Point Presentation software (they then presented their findings in front of their classmates).
First, I have also included a "Consumer Reports" investigation into the product called "Flex Seal", the claims made during the Flex Seal informercial and the findings after the product was tested.
Flex Seal
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/06/flex-seal-claim-check/index.htm
Below are two examples of the Product Testing task that students had the option of completing on Power Point Presentation software (they then presented their findings in front of their classmates).
First, I have also included a "Consumer Reports" investigation into the product called "Flex Seal", the claims made during the Flex Seal informercial and the findings after the product was tested.
Flex Seal
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/06/flex-seal-claim-check/index.htm
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The students also had the option of videoing their Product Testing and showing us the results of their tests. Here is an example (done by an adult) that was similar to the types of testing the students were doing:
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B) Reality (Parody) Commercial/ Counter Ads Examples
Below is an example of the Reality Commercial task where the students used the original commercial format and dubbed over the narration of the main actor to more closely resemble the actual performance of the product that is being sold:
Below is an example of the Reality Commercial task where the students used the original commercial format and dubbed over the narration of the main actor to more closely resemble the actual performance of the product that is being sold:
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The students also had the option of filming the commercial with them taking on the role of the performer from the original commercial and pinpointing some of the "realities" experienced with using the product (copy and paste the url below into the address bar and/or watch the subsequent video for examples ):
http://www.schooltube.com/video/7dddf3116414562c5750/ShamWow%20Parody%20Info-Commercial
http://www.schooltube.com/video/7dddf3116414562c5750/ShamWow%20Parody%20Info-Commercial
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C) Claims Collage - For the Claims Collage task, students had the option of selecting a variety of print advertisements (magazine, newspaper, on line etc.) that make claims where the validity can be questioned. They are then asked to cut these advertisements out (approximately 15-20 in total), arrange them neatly in a collage on a poster board and analyze the top 5 claims from their collage that they feel are the most outrageous. They then explain - in an adjoining write up - why the claims are particularly outrageous. They are encouraged to do some research about the validity of these claims to help support their opinions. They then present their project to their classmates. ABC News did an article called "Shoppers Beware: Misleading Advertisements and Shady Sales Tactics" that shows how companies intentionally try to mislead consumers with the claims that they make both in words and in pictures. Watch this article here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/shoppers-beware-misleading-advertisements-shady-sales-tactics-34216834
Below are some examples of the types of print advertisements that we looked at in class that make "outrageous" claims about their products. We examined the text and subtext of these ads and analyzed the language that was used to try and persuade us to purchase their products.
Below are some examples of the types of print advertisements that we looked at in class that make "outrageous" claims about their products. We examined the text and subtext of these ads and analyzed the language that was used to try and persuade us to purchase their products.