Analyzing Advertising Messages
The goals of this exercise are 1) to help youth develop
critical thinking skills to better understand the influence of popular
media and 2) to help them understand that media images are designed to
create impressions or sell products.
Materials needed: newspapers and/or magazines, construction
or poster paper, paints, crayons, markers, scissors, glue
- Have your students scan any issue of the local paper,
a national paper, or magazine and cut out the advertising images they
find most appealing.
- Ask them to analyze the characteristics of the ads
and then talk about why they find this product attractive
- Help your students separate the ad's message from
the product by asking them the following questions:
- How is this product supposed to make them feel?
- Who creates advertisements?
- How do ads in the newspaper differ from commercials
on TV or radio? Ads on billboards? Web sites?
- Have your students design their own anti-drug advertisement
for a newspaper.
- Have them follow these steps: determine the target
audience they want to reach, decide on a specific message, write
the copy, and choose a headline and an image
- Finally, have them discuss how they want their
advertisement to make the viewer feel and what elements will help
them achieve that effect.
- Have your students post their advertisements around
the classroom or in the halls for other students to see!
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