'READING' ADVERTISEMENTS: A ThisWeek EXTRA! Written by Ingrid Porter Advertisers want to reach kids, for they know little consumers are a viable business in the U.S. -Jean Kilbourne WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF A MAGAZINE AD? JUST WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE? ARE ALL MAGAZINES CREATED EQUAL? HOW CAN OTHERS BECOME EDUCATED ABOUT ADVERTISING TECHNIQUES AND ISSUES? ARE YOUR BUYING IT? RESEARCH TOPICS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH "Reading" advertisements is valuable for students?and adults?so they can evaluate the appropriateness of an advertiser’s message. As part of a population that is constantly being presented with advertising, you need to become aware of who wants you to spend your money and how they would like you to spend it. Understanding how to "read" advertisements critically?that is, understanding how ads are functioning to persuade you?can make you more astute about how companies create their ads to encourage you to buy certain products. Knowing when and how you are being targeted will make you a more critical consumer. In this Extra!, you will practice analyzing advertisements in order to: identify marketing techniques; identify implied messages; evaluate what makes ads effective; create your own ads; develop a means to educate others about ads. [top] WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF A MAGAZINE AD? A magazine advertisement is very much like a persuasive essay. It begins with a thesis?something to be proved?and then uses visual images, techniques and persuasive words as supporting arguments. In ads, the "promise" (defined below) serves as the thesis, while the elements of the ad attempt to persuade consumers to buy the product. [top] The Promise The promise of an advertisement is what is implied or suggested that the product will do for the consumer. For example, suppose a toothpaste ad shows a lovely woman with shiny straight teeth. Her bathroom in the background is spotless and beautiful. The slogan for the toothpaste is "Kream toothpaste has made my life better." The ad promises that your teeth will be clean, straight and white, your bathroom will be immaculate and your life will be easier if you buy and use Kream. Consumers have the right to accept or reject the promise of an ad. Simply because the actor pictured in the Kream toothpaste ad is someone you’d like to know or like to be doesn’t mean you will become that person by using Kream. [top] Techniques A technique is a method ads use to persuade consumers to buy a product. Most techniques appeal to our need for a sense of belonging and acceptance. Some of the more common techniques used in advertising include the following: Bandwagon: the impression that everyone else is doing it, or of being left out of something if you don’t. An example of a bandwagon ad might be "Four out of five people interviewed said they preferred Kream to any other toothpaste. What do they know that you don’t know?" Sex appeal: other people will think that you are more attractive or desirable because you use that product. An attractive model may be used to gain your attention. Emotional words: specific words used to affect your emotions either positively or negatively (feelings of fear, power, success, being part of a group, excitement, etc.). Transfer: positive feelings about the people in the ad are transferred to the consumer; using the product will make you look or feel like the people in the ad. Visual imagery: use of people, settings or situations that appeal to consumers. What are the fun or interesting things being done by the beautiful people in the beautiful setting? Often the image has little to do with the product. An advertisement set on a gorgeous beach in the Bahamas has no connection to an air freshener or toothpaste, yet disconnected images are often used because they evoke positive feelings. [top] JUST WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE? Companies target specific groups in their advertising-groups defined by gender, ethnic group, income, occupation, region of the country and so on. A technique that works for one group may not appeal to another. If you know when and how teens are being targeted by an advertiser, you can view an ad more critically. Individually or in a small group, look through the full-page ads in a copy of Newsweek. Develop categories for the types of products advertised (automobile, service, pharmaceutical, computer, alcohol, tobacco, etc.) and keep a tally of the number of ads for each category. Based on your reading of the ads, who do you think is Newsweek’s target audience? Identify them by their age, gender, income, occupation and any other identifiable category. Do the same activity for a magazine more specifically aimed at teens. What are the product categories? Identify the target audience using similar criteria as above. How are the types of ads in the two magazines similar/different? [top] A closer look Before beginning the next activity, go to (www.big-idea.com/dec99.htm). This is an instructional site for businesses that wish to write successful advertisements. Read and discuss the advice given and the "power words" identified on the Web site. Choose a full-page advertisement from Newsweek. How does the ad work? Use your knowledge of advertising techniques to tackle reading the ad. Identify the promise the advertisement makes. List the techniques the ad uses to support the promise. Point out any persuasive or emotional words. Determine the target audience. Describe the different visual images and explain how they make the ad more appealing. Decide if the ad’s promise is one you accept or reject. Explain your reasoning. Even if you reject the ad’s promise (no matter how much you use the product you won’t be like the model), would you still use the product or service for other reasons? [top] ARE ALL MAGAZINES CREATED EQUAL? Choose Newsweek and one other magazine, and find several ads for different type of products, such as cigarettes and automobiles. Create a chart to organize your research on a product of your choice. On the vertical scale, list specific ads for cigarettes and automobiles. Are the approaches used to market cigarettes similar to those used to sell other products? Compare techniques promoting automobiles to those promoting tobacco. On the horizontal scale, list the techniques mentioned earlier. Place a check mark next to each technique used by each ad. What conclusions can you draw about cigarette-advertising techniques versus automobile-sales techniques? [top] Emotional word/image safari Using a magazine aimed specifically at teens, hunt for emotional words or images used by advertisers. Keep a list including a reference to where the ad was found. Create a collage or chart to compare and contrast the emotional words/images used by advertisers to market to teenagers versus adults. [top] Ad/Anti-ad Use your knowledge of advertising techniques to create an ad aimed at teens. Create a new brand name for a product such as an automobile, food item, etc. Now make the ultimate ad, complete with people, settings, situations, words and ideas meant to appeal to teens. Develop a slogan/wording that carries appropriate emotional messages to teenage consumers. To make your ad realistic, identify what magazines the ad will run in, and if possible, do a mock up of the magazine with your ad posted in it. Using the same techniques and images, create the ultimate youth "anti-ad" which depicts realistic consequences of smoking or drinking. For inspiration, consult (http://badvertising.org/main.html). As a class, develop a rating scale and evaluate the effectiveness of the ads students have made. Give feedback to each student regarding what works well and what could be changed to improve the ad. [top] HOW CAN OTHERS BECOME EDUCATED ABOUT ADVERTISING TECHNIQUES AND ISSUES? In a small group, create a pamphlet aimed at one of the following groups: teens, younger children (8–12) or adults. The purpose of the pamphlet is to inform individuals about specific advertising techniques used by companies to sell their products. Possible topics for the pamphlet include: targeting of youth by tobacco and alcohol companies, concerns about online advertising’s impact on young people, advertising activists, etc. Include useful Web sites for more information. Be sure to address which techniques are at use (i.e., bandwagon, sex appeal, emotional words, transfer, visual imagery or other techniques you may discover). [top] "Ads create quick cumulative and unconscious effects on people. Most people don’t even realize that they buy into an ad’s message." –Jean Kilbourne Are you buying it? What evidence would tell you about the effectiveness of an ad? Brainstorm a list of ideas, then create a research question about a specific product and its sales based on a well-known ad campaign. Alternate activity: Choose one room of your house (bathroom or kitchen could be appropriate) to use as a research lab. What products do your family members use and buy? Why do family members buy and use these specific products? Interview family members to determine if they respond to ads or if they believe the products they use are of superior quality. Censorship–The Debate Continues Because advertising can be so powerful, there are people who believe certain products–particularly those products that can be dangerous–should not be advertised. The Cigarette Act of 1971, for example, banned cigarette ads from radio and television. Such laws, however, are very controversial, since the United States values free speech so highly. The activities in this section ask you to consider both sides of the issue. Bibliography "Kilbourne decries tobacco, alcohol ads" http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily/1996/oct/10-23-96/news/news5.html [top] RESEARCH One way to become more familiar with information is to research a topic of interest and debate your opinion on it. In a small group, pick teams to research different sides to one of the following issues. Be sure to provide facts that helped you to formulate and defend your position. Prepare to debate your issue to the rest of the class. Poll the class to see who was most persuasive. 1. Should videogames, music and films that feature violent content face restrictions about where and how they are advertised? Look for examples on the news of violence committed by young people to see if part of the blame is directed at the film or entertainment industry. Review arguments being used to support or refute the claim to help you construct your argument. 2. Is it ethical to place advertisements for cigarettes and alcohol in publications that young people may read? You can use Web sites to conduct your research. Possible places to begin: www.hslib.washington.edu/nwcphp/news/arguments.html www.phonehelp.com/stattobadv.htm www.global2000.net/yph/document/smoke3.html www.reporternews.com/local/canc0922.html 3. Do companies that promote products that are potentially dangerous bear responsibility for the results of their use? For example, since alcohol is a factor in all leading causes of death for people ages 15 to 24, should alcohol companies be held accountable for those deaths? Similarly, despite the health risks associated with smoking, 90 percent of new smokers are children and teenagers. Should tobacco companies be held accountable for smoke-related illnesses? Interview friends, family and school officials, asking these questions. 4. In a country based on the precept of freedom of speech, should the government have any involvement in how or whether a product is advertised? Look at laws or court decisions defining the role of government. 5. Should limits be placed on what is advertised on the Web? Should a filter of some kind, similar to TV’s V-chip, be available on computers in order to limit the accessibility of certain ads to young people? What are the intended consequences of these restrictions? What are the unintended consequences (for example, things that might be accidentally filtered out or censored that you might want to see but will never even know you’re missing)? Be sure to address unintended consequences as part of the debate so those arguing the other side can’t use the information to undermine your position. Some possible research sites:(www.cme.org/execsum.html) (www.pta.org/programs/cyberad.htm) 6. Are there any advertising campaigns running that you believe go "too far"? Define what your mean by "too far" (violent, sexually explicit, understated health risks, etc.). If an ad does go "too far," list multiple suggestions to place limitations on such advertising. List these suggestions from least extreme (do nothing, ignore the ads) to most extreme (governmental censorship, banning the ads). Pick a suggestion that you believe serves the public good and present that position in the course of your debate. [top] TOPICS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Any investigation into a topic will breed more questions than answers. Use one of the broad topics below, or your own, to develop an independent study project. Work with your teacher to decide on an appropriate medium (e.g., poster, video, written report) to share your results. Ethics and advertising Advertising activists Impact of the use of cartoons and animals (Joe Camel, Budweiser frogs) on children’s consumer habits Response of advertisers to controversial advertisements Effects of advertising on consumer-buying habits History of Advertising Techniques to lobby companies to change an advertisement Children and tobacco use Statistics about money spent on advertising certain products Organizations that monitor advertising The constitutionality of banning certain types of advertisements Other types of advertising/propaganda techniques Impact, if any, of advertisers on editorial content Economics of advertising Advertising’s role, if any, upon reducing the cost of what consumers pay for information Newsweek is comitted to helping students and teachers develop media-literacy skills. As part of Newsweek's Education Program, look for our upcoming "Media Literacy Unit in the fall of 2000. Contact you regional manager for more information. 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