Perceptions of Advertising Student Version

LESSONS IN DIGITAL LITERACY

Perceptions of Advertising

By Nik Peachey

PEACHEYPUBLICATIONS.COM

The Influence of Advertising

Discussion Task

• Can you describe a very memorable TV advertisement you have seen?
• Which is your favorite advertisement?
• How much do you believe advertising influences what you buy?
• How do you feel it influences you?
• Which kind of advertising do you think is most effective for you?
• Have you ever bought a product because it was associated with someone famous?
• Do you ever buy unknown brands?
• Which of these unknown brand products would you buy?- : Breakfast cereal- : A car- : Shoes- : Clothes- : Perfume/cologne- : Coffee

Understanding Statistics

Reading Task

Study the infographic and find out what these numbers refer to.

• 500
• 80%
• 17%
• 31%
• 3%
• 31%
• 71%

Facts about Advertising

Reading Task - True or False?

• Most people think ads for beauty products are accurate.2. Most people say they prefer to buy products because of the advertising.3. The main reason people try a new product is because they recognize the brand.4. Most women think an advertisement should educate them.5. Humor is the most effective way to make an advertisement memorable.6. Advertisements generally portray men as being more intelligent than women.

Your Response

Discussion Task

• Which of the facts in the infographic surprised you most?
• Which of the facts would you like to share with someone? Who? Why?
• How do you feel about advertisements being exaggerated?
• What do you think an advertisement should do?
• What kind of advertisements do you remember most?
• Do you think men or women are more influenced by advertising? Why?
• How do you feel advertisers could be forced to be more honest?
• What do you think the main purpose of advertising should be?
• How do you think advertising could be harming people?
• How do you think people’s buying habits would change if advertising was illegal?

Your Response

Discussion Task

Which of these quotes most closely matches your own opinion?

“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need.” - Will Rogers

“The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.” - William Bernbach

“If advertisers spent the same amount of money on improving their products as they do on advertising then they wouldn't have to advertise them.” - Will Rogers

“The only people who care about advertising are the people who work in advertising.”– George Parker

“Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.” – Steuart Henderson Britt

Attitudes to Advertising

Create a Research Questionnaire

Think of ten questions you could ask to find out about people’s attitudes toward advertising.Use one of these tools to create your questionnaire:

• https://www.typeform.com/

• https://docs.google.com/forms

Share the questionnaire through social media and collect your results.

Create your own infographic to show the results of your research. Use one of these tools to create your infographic.

• https://genial.ly/

• https://www.draw.io/

• https://www.visme.co/

Checking Information

Online Research Task

Research some of the facts from the infographic and see if you can find sources which either support or contradict them.

Make notes of the information you find. Be sure to record:

• The URL
• The name of the publication
• The name of the author(s)
• The date of publication
• Your assessment of the credibility of the source.

Advertising Budgets

Online Research Task

Do some research into how companies do advertising. Think of ten big brand name companies.Try to find:

• How much each company spends on advertising
• How the money is spent (online ads, TV ads, newspaper, etc.)
• An example of an ad campaign one of the companies created

Make notes and keep a record of the sources of the information you find. Include:

• The URL
• The name of the publication
• The name of the author(s)
• The date of publication
• Your assessment of the credibility of the source.

Advertising Tips for Startups

Writing Task

Write an article for a blog aimed at people starting their own companies. Give it the title ‘Advertising tips for startups’. Structure the article in five sections:

• Why advertise
• Different media channels for advertising campaigns
• Ways to make advertisements memorable
• Some of the disadvantages of advertising
• Your five best tips for a marketing campaign.

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