LESSON PLAN
Exercises
Activities
Material needed
Exercise
Solutions
Theory
Interesting Websites
Presentations
Introduction
Purpose and objectives
Competences
Methodology
Teaching resources
Clothes, car insurance, computers, holidays... we have never had so much
choice as consumers. Advertisement is the tool which many companies and
enterprises use to inform customers about their products and services and is
contributing to the betterment of the standard of living in the society.
Advertising is for everybody including kids, young and old. It is done using
various media types, with different techniques and methods most suited.
An effective advertising has to accomplish four things:
• Attract a consumer’s attention
• Focus the attention onto the message
• Make the consumer remember the message
• Cause the consumer to take the desired action (this really determines the
effectiveness of an ad)
In addition, advertising is frequently used to manipulate consumer's needs and
wants, and although there are increasing efforts to protect the public interest by
regulating the content and the influence of advertising, consumers must be
careful and critical with the advertisement they see.
The purpose of this material is to look closely and analyse critically the
advertising strategies.
INTRODUCTION
ObjectivesThe general and specific objectives to be achieved are:
1. Knowing what advertising is and its purposea. Understand what an announcement is.b. Distinguish elements of advertising.
2. Detect the mechanisms and strategies of advertisinga. Understanding the influence of design and appearance in
consumption itself. b. Detect the advertising strategies and appeals that are used to
persuade.
3. Develop a subjective and personal view on the subjecta. Being aware of the influence of advertising on our consumption.b. Wake up a critical attitude of their own consumption.
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
Contents
•Advertising
•Purpose and function
•Definition and elements
•Design and appearance
•Hidden strategies – advertising appeals
Secondary Education, Higher Education, PCPI-s and groups with school origin
• Scientific, Technologic and Health Culture • Learning to learn• Linguistic Communication• Social and Citizenship• Autonomy and Personal Initiative
Other groups• Foreign Language Communication • Learning to Learn• Social and civic• Conscience and Cultural expression
COMPETENCES
This material is based on the meaningful learning principles, direct experience and
globality.
The lesson plans are developed with the purpose of students relating the contents
that are presented with previously acquired ones, so that they incorporate them into
their cognitive structure (meaningful learning).
Therefore, this material has two aspects: the informative and formative, since first
the contents are exposed and reported to subsequently be students who integrate
this new information in their cognitive structure through the realization of activities.
Furthermore, the principle of wholeness is expressed in the sequencing and
continuity of lesson plans, striking a right balance between the particular and general
aspects of knowledge. This allows the integration of content and isolated knowledge
in a structured and comprehensive manner.
METHODOLOGY
ParticipantsThis material is for students who are more than 12 years old. This material will be
worked in the big group and in small groups.
Timing of the activityIt lasts one session of 1 hour, depending on the previous knowledge of the group.
Place to carry out the activitiesIt will be held in a classroom with Smart Board.
Put the tables all together forming groups (create small groups of 4/5 people,
always depending on the amount of people in the class).
METHODOLOGY
RECOMMENDATION FOR THE TEACHER
1 –It is highly recommended to read the theory of the activity before starting with it.
2 - Preview and integrate the theory in the material to project.
TEACHING RESOURCES
The necessary resources for the development of this file are the following:
* Site to download the software that allows views and interact with SMART Notebook software files without a software license.SMART Notebook Interactive Viewer: http://smarttech.com/es/Solutions/Education+Solutions/Products+for+education/Software/SMART+Notebook+collaborative+learning+software/SMART+Notebook+Interactive+Viewer)
Technological equipment Teaching material Consumables
Computer or laptop This resource book Pen and pencils
Projector or Smart Board *
Material to projectBlackboard(optional)
Power Point presentattions for the
exposition)
Sheets of the exercises (printed)
ACTIVITIES RESOURCES TIMING
1) Advertising. Reality or fiction?
Power point 1: Advertising, reality or fiction?Presentation of the unitTEACHER CARRIES IT OUT 10 minutes
2) Advertisement and its elements
Power Point 2: Advertisement and its elementsAdvertisement elements. Colour’s activity.TEACHER CARRIES IT OUT 10 minutes
3) How they sell it?
Power point 3: How they sell it?Advertising and elements. Analysing a static advertisements and a spot all together. STUDENTS CARRY IT OUT
15 minutes
4) Advertising agency
Power Point 4: Analysing the advertisements in small groups. Material of the annex: Audio video and the tables (for students and for the teacher).STUDENTS CARRY IT OUT
15 minutes
5) Seven recommendations
Power Point 5: Seven recommendationsEnd of the unitTEACHER CARRIES IT OUT 5 minutes
EXERCISES
ActivityThe teacher introduces the topic by asking the students some questions to
find students knowledge of the topic. Then, it appears the definition,
purpose and process of the announcements.
The topic starts with the introduction of the material to project. Chapter 1:
Advertising, reality or fiction?
Materials neededThe material needed is:
Material to project. Chapter 1
Smart Board or a computer
1) PRESENTATION
Theory
1) PRESENTATION
DEFINITION AND ELEMENTS
Due to the amount of bibliography that exists, different definitions, concepts and ways of understanding advertising according to the perspective taken can be found. Some people describe it as information, others as communication or promotion ... but all opinions agree that it is a sequential system or process that uses the message as a mean to encourage the consumption.
According to the RAE advertising is a “massive communication system that pretends to spread and disseminate news, announcements and commercial contents in order to attract the attention of the individual to purchase a product or service”.
N. García Fernández (2000) states that it is “the process of information to the public aimed at increasing sales of a product” (García Fdez, “Educación del consumidor. La publicidad”, p. 9).
With this information, we can deduce that advertising is a PROCESS in which a poster entity engages the services of an advertising agency to design a message or advertisement that subsequently reach the recipient through the media.
Theory
1) PRESENTATION
MEDIAANNOUNCER
MESSAGEAdvertisement
RECEPTOR
OR
OBJECTIVE PUBLIC
ADVERTISING AGENCY
The process starts when an entity wants to advertise a product or service and hires an advertising agency for elaborating an advertisement to promote them.
The advertising agency designs a message that will be “printed” in the design and in the implicit strategies of the advertisement.
This message will reach the objective public through the media.
Thus, the elements forming that process are the following:
Theory
1) PRESENTATION
AIM AND PURPOSE N. García Fdez (2000) claims that the purpose is to “persuade the consumer”. Therefore, try to encourage and motivate the consumer to make he or she feel the need of the product o service that is being advertised. The real background is that advertising is a “factory” for creating needs because it is the tool that makes the consumption wheel turn.
Meanwhile, other authors emphasize that advertising tries to influence the attitudes and behaviors of the public to whom it is addressed.
Besides having an orientation or purpose, advertising has various functions or utilities, such as:
• Informative: it describes the product and its characteristics.• Economic: it regulates the relationship between the production and
consumption; it encourages the consumption to raise the production.
• Financial: it helps to promote economic resources (wage or fund) to the media.
• Persuasive: because it intends to incite, provoke interest and motivation towards the product.
All these functions are intertwined since the own information of the product is aimed at persuading and convincing. At the same time, provoking an interest is also due to the characteristics of both product and advertisement.
Therefore, in this unit, we focus on the informative (design and appearance) and persuasive (strategies and mechanisms) functions.
2) ADVERTISEMENT AND ITS ELEMENTS
ActivityThe teacher introduces the topic by asking the students some questions
included in chapter nº2 of the material to project, to find students
knowledge and make them think a bit about the topic. Then, it appears the
definition, purpose and process of the advertisements.
It continues with an analysis of the advertisement, where the teacher has to
explain all the elements of the advertisement. They are divided in two parts:
design and appearance (what can be seen) and strategies and mechanism
(what cannot be seen). In addition to the first part´s slide show (design and
appearance), there is also an exercise to do with all students together or in
small groups, (link the colours with its meaning). Teacher can choose
between printing the sheet or doing it in the Notebook for the Smart Board,
in the folder named “Activity 1-colours”).
Materials neededThe material needed is:
Material to project. Chapter 2
Smart Board or a computer
Printed sheets about colours (optional)
2) ADVERTISEMENT AND ITS ELEMENTS
ExerciseLink each colours with its right meaning.
Dynamism, passion, youth
Money, power, success
Freshness, lightness, calm
Strength, masculinity Temperance, clarity, cleanliness
Stimulation, sensual, erotic
Babies, maternity
Feminism
Calm, balance, nature
Sadness, elegance, darkness
2) ADVERTISEMENT AND ITS ELEMENTS
SolutionsLink each colour with its right meaning
Sadness, elegance, darkness
Calm, balance, nature
Money, power, success
Strength, masculinity
Freshness, lightness, calm
Babies, maternity
Stimulation, sensual, erotic
Temperance, clarity, cleanliness
Feminism
Dynamism, passion, youth
2) ADVERTISEMENT AND ITS ELEMENTS
TheoryAs it is previously said, advertising has a double function: informative and persuasive.
These functions are also influenced by the two sides of advertising, or both tools at its disposition.
This tools are the design and the appearance of the advertisement (what can be seen) and the strategies and mechanisms (what cannot be seen).
With both of them, the advertising agencies “play” to try to provide the necessary information about the product or service and persuade the consumer.
Therefore, to be in a position of analyzing publicity, it will be necessary to know these two faces and obtain a comprehensive and concrete vision of it.
A – DESIGN AND APPEARANCE
The design of an advertisement is all that is captured by the sense of sight and hearing; it refers to what we see when we are presented with an advertisement.
Especially, it gives information about the product or service, but it also persuades paying attention to every detail of the design.
The formal aspects in an advertisement are:
1- Type of image: it refers to the size and format, that it can be artistic (graphic design, paints…) or real photography.
2- Staging: it refers to the elements and the contest, place or scenery of the advertisement, the characters and their behaviour.
2) ADVERTISEMENT AND ITS ELEMENTS
Theory
3- Structure and composition: the compositional structure of the image (overlapping shots), and how the location of the elements in the
advertisement are designed (colour, characters, lines, frames, etc.)
4- Point of view: framing and shot of the image
5- Light: if it is artificial or natural, exact o diffuse, descriptive or dramatic…
6- Colour: the colour transmits a range of emotions and feelings in an unconscious level. Each colour transmits different sensations, such as:
- red: dynamism, passion, youth- orange: stimulation, sensual, erotic- yellow: money, power, success- green: calm, balance, nature- blue: freshness, lightness, calm- white: temperance, clarity, cleanliness- black: sadness, elegance, darkness- pink: babies, maternity- purple: feminism- brown: Strength, masculinity
2) ADVERTISEMENT AND ITS ELEMENTS
TheoryB – HIDDEN STRATEGIES- ADVERTISING MECHANISMS
From a legal point of view, the publicity has to be clear and cannot contain implicit and unconscious strategies for the recipient (illicit advertisement)
However, advertising appeals and talismans are used in all the ads, because through the design and appearance of the ad are “hidden” those seemingly positive feelings, that persuade and induce the consumer to a particular thought.
The appeals and talismans more used in advertising are those corresponding to the current values of the society. Some examples of habitual appeals are the followings:
• happiness, love, friendship, romanticism, tenderness, pleasure…
• tradition, family, historical memory, traditional values…
• eroticism, sensuality, masculinity, femininity…
• beauty, aesthetic, elegance, glamour…
• independence, freedom, youth, transgression, revolution…
• modernity, progress…
• social status, comfort…
• humanity, sensibility, kindness, solidarity…
The appeals are the values or ideals of the society, camouflaged in some images, persons or on the actual design and appearance, cause emotions and feelings in the receiver, persuading and captivating him or her.
Therefore, it can be said that advertising uses its two components (informative and persuasive) to “reach” the world of emotions (appeals) and cognition (design and appearance), mixing both to cause the desired effect.
3) HOW THEY SELL IT?
ActivityUsing all the elements for analysing an announcement that have been
explained in the previous activities, students have to analyse 2
advertisements.
The first one, (Heinz advertisement) it’s a static advertisement.
The second example it’s a spot (Pepsi).
Both of them appears in the material to project. Chapter 3.
This activity will be done all the group together and the teacher will guide
them.
Materials neededThe material needed is:
Material to project. Chapter 3
Smart Board or a computer
This exercise is helpful to review the theoretical aspects we have worked before with a practical exercise.
Theory
3) HOW THEY SELL IT?Static advisement. Solution
DESIGN AND APPEARANCE
Product: Ketchup HeinzSlogan: “No one grows Ketchup like Heinz”Type of image: artistic and photographicStaging:
• stage: red background• elements: slices of tomato
Light: central Colours: Red: dynamism, passion, youth, it brings to the mind the tomatoes. it wants to join the advertisement to the tomatoes and being healthy.
HIDDEN STRATEGIES
Type of image: The bottle of ketchup is made by slices of tomato this ketchup is healthy as it only made with tomatoStaging: The colour red leads to a tomato. The tomato slices that are making the ketchup bottle are disorganised fun
HOW DO YOU INTERPRET IT?
Public: young peopleModernity: designFun: it uses the tomato slices to make the ketchup bottle Explosion: explosion of movement, as the slices of tomato are disorganiced
DESIGN AND APPEARANCE
Product: Soda streamSlogan: Set the bubbles freeType of image: Realistic, no artisticStaging:
• stage: Street, a supermarket. • elements: Two trucks, 2 trolleys, the supermarket and the machine and
stuff to make the soft drink. Light: Natural and dark light in the street with light centred on Cola Cola and Pepsi drinks. Artificial light for the supermarket and the machine to make soft drinks.Colours: Neutral colours, stressing the red of Coca Cola and the blue of Pepsi. The brand has no characteristic colour.
HIDDEN STRATEGIES
Type of image: The soft drinks explode when somebody makes its own soft drink making “Soda stream”, other soft drinks become worthless.Staging: Less sophisticated background at the supermarket scenes and smart, modern and relaxed background inside the house contrast
HOW DO YOU INTERPRET IT
Public: Every type of public, Interpretation: Discredit of Coca Cola, Pepsi and industrially produced soft drinks, as anyone can get own self-made and homemade soft-drink.
Spot advisement (Stream soda). Solution
3) HOW THEY SELL IT?
4) ADVERTISING AGENCY
ActivityIn this activity, the students will be divided in two groups. Each group will
have an advertisement (spot or static advertising), and a table to analyse it.
It is recommendable to give the static advertising printed and to project the
spot in the board that is being used for the presentation. Students have to
complete the table in groups and then it will be corrected aloud.
Materials neededThe material needed is:
Material to project. Chapter 4
Smart Board or a computer.
Printed sheets of the static advertising.
Printed sheets of the exercise.
No complementary theory is needed.
Theory
4) ADVERTISING AGENCY
Exercise
STATIC ADVERTISING (ADIDAS)
WHAT CAN BE SEEN
Product
Slogan
Characters
Type of image
Staging
Light
Colour
WHAT CANNOT BE SEEN
Public
Interpretation
4) ADVERTISING AGENCY
Exercise
SPOT (BMW)
WHAT CAN BE SEEN
Product
Slogan
Characters
Type of image
Staging
Light
Colour
WHAT CANNOT BE SEEN
Public
Interpretation
4) ADVERTISING AGENCY
Solutions
MATERIAL FOR THE TEACHER
Spot
(BMW)Static advertising
(ADIDAS)
WHAT CAN BE SEEN
ProductBMW Adidas
SloganFeed your restless Impossible is nothing
Characters The rider of the motorbike a girl, and people in the bar
David Beckham
Type of imageRealistic Realistic
Staging The road and street and bur in the city
Black background
Light Natural light, mostly centred in the motorbike
Centred in David Beckham and in the slogan
ColourBlack, grey White, grey, black
WHAT CANNOT BE SEEN
Public Restless and freedom-loving motorbike riders
Sporty people, as it is a sport brand
Interpretation Those who own the BMW R nineT, know that it´s best to keep quiet and let the bike do the talking.
With Adidas, everything is possible; do not give up
5) SEVEN RECOMMENDATIONS
ActivityUsing the material to project, the teacher will explain seven advices,
leaving time for discussion and questions.
Materials neededThe material needed is:
Material to project. Chapter 5
Smart Board or a computer.
Theory
• NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS TO BE: The reality is a personal and subjective interpretation, far different from what they would have us believe.
• DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU SEE. inform yourself and think!• GET TO KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND YOUR OBLIGATIONS AS A CONSUMER…• DISTINGUISH BETWEEN REAL NEEDS AND NOT TO WHIMS, OSTENTATION,
OR URGES TO BE IN THE LIMELIGHT• DO NOT BUY BECAUSE OF ITS APPEARANCE, BUT BECAUSE OF BEING
USEFUL. The appearance does not show the truth nor the reality.• DO NOT FORGET TO READ THE FINE PRINT AND THE TERMS OF USE• DO NOT BE EASY TO CONVINCE. SHOW UP YOUR INTELLIGENCE!
INTERESTING LINKS
RELATED INFORMATION
Advertising Standards Authority, the UK’s independent regulator for advertising across all the media
http://www.asa.org.uk/
English for marketing/advertising.
http://www.businessenglishsite.com/esl-advertising-vocabulary-matching1.html
The influence of advertisements on consumption. Montreal Economic Institute
http://www.iedm.org/files/note0611_en.pdf
INTERESTING LINKS
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
Spot material. The guardian.
http://www.theguardian.com/media/advertising
Static Advertising material.
http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2008/07/11/20-brilliant-advertising-ideas/
Don´t buy it. Teaching guide and exercises
http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/teachersguide.html
Multimedia teaching materials
http://www.tv411.org/teachers
Watching the Watchers (New York Times)
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/07/27/watching-the-watchers/?_r=0