Media Awareness Web Activity

Visit the following web resources to learn more about marketing. Take notes and answer questions, as appropriate on a piece of paper entitled “Media Awareness”.

Explore some advertising “tricks of the trade”!

Click here to learn about “Food Advertising Tricks”

1. What is the advertising trick to a:

a. “perfect hamburger”?

b. “roasted chicken”?

c. “scoop of ice cream”?

2. See if you can spot the ways that television commercials try to convince you to buy and do things. Look for catchy slogans, funny jokes and famous people. Click here and see “What’s In An Ad?”

Watch the Pepsi Ad.

a. Who is this ad targeted at?

b. What advertising techniques are they using to attract customers?

Watch the Levi’s Ad

c. Who is this ad targeted at?

d. What advertising techniques are they using to attract customers?

Watch the Phillips-Morris Ad.

e. Who is this ad targeted at?

f. What advertising techniques are they using to attract customers?

3. Click here and view the presentation entitled “Be An Ad Detective”. Click on the black arrow in the bottom right corner that is marked “get started”. Examine the pictures and find where the ads are hidden. Some are obvious but, some are not. Use your Ad Detective skills to find out where companies place their ads and why.

a. Who is the first advertiser shown in the illustration?

b. What form of advertising are they using and what are they paying for it?

c. Who is the second advertiser shown in the illustration?

d. What form of advertising are they using and what are they paying for it?

e. Who is the third advertiser shown in the illustration?

f. What form of advertising are they using?

g. Who is the fourth advertiser shown in the illustration?

h. What form of advertising are they using? Is this effective? Why or why not?

4. Click here to see “Question The Commercial”.

a. What do they presenters suggest we ask ourselves about the commercial?

b. What should we ask ourselves after we make a purchase?

5. Click here and do the activity entitled “What Is In The Shopping Bag”?

a. What is the item being sold here, in the first illustration?

b. What should we be cautious of, as savvy consumers?

c. In example #2, what ingredient would we assume is in this product? Is it?

d. How do we know what is found in the product?

e. What ingredient is found in the pizza rolls (illustration #3)? Where else is this ingredient found?

f. Who is the advertiser in example #4? How does the packing mislead us?

g. Who is the advertiser in example #5? How does the packing mislead us?

h. Who is the advertiser in example #6? How does the packing mislead us?

6. Through the years, advertisers have convinced us to buy all kinds of stuff. Why are some products hot sellers while others become sales flops? Click here to explore more on this topic “Hot or Snot”.

a. Who is the advertiser in example #1? Were they successful? Why or why not?

b. Who is the advertiser in example #2? Were they successful? Why or why not?

c. Who is the advertiser in example #3? Were they successful? Why or why not?

d. Who is the advertiser in example #4? Were they successful? Why or why not? What have we seen change in this product through the years? Why?

e. Who is the advertiser in example #5? Were they successful? Why or why not?

f. Who is the advertiser in example #1? Were they successful? Why or why not?

7. What role does music play in advertising? Click here to explore more on this topic. “Money & Music”

a. What advertiser created one of the first jingles? What dictates the type of music advertisers use? Click here for the answers “Music In Commercials”.

b. Take the “Jingle Quiz”. List your answers below.

8. Click here to read Selling Out Or Paid Publicity? Why will some musicians sell to advertisers and others won’t? Explain your personal opinion on this topic.

9. These days, becoming a pop star takes more than talent and good looks. Big record companies spend a ton of money advertising and promoting their artists. Click here to read “Making Mu$ic”.

a. Who decides what music gets played on the radio?

b. How did this happen?

c. How do these big companies decide what music to play on the radio?

d. How do bands and artists become popular?

e. Where can you learn about different kinds of music, the good stuff that doesn't get much promotion from the record companies?