The three separate tasks you need to complete for this mini-unit on advertising are located on this page. You should find all the information you need to complete the tasks here, but if you should have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask them.

Task #1: For this task you will be taking on the role of a scientist as you figuratively dissect and examine ads to discover the various ways consumers are manipulated. Here you will learn a simple process for deciphering the meaning of an ad. As you learn how to read an ad, you will be asked to practice what you learn. Use the worksheet given to you entitled "How to Read an Ad" to record your responses as you work through the activity. You will be handing this worksheet in for a grade, so don't lose it! Simply click on the scientist to the left to begin.

Task #2: Here you will discover the different advertising claims and appeals advertisers use to entice us to purchase their products. As with the first task, you will be asked to practice as you learn. Use the worksheet entitled "Advertising Appeals and Claims" to record your responses as you work through the activity. You will also be handing this worksheet in for a grade. Simply click on the scientist to the left to begin.

Task #3: For your final task, you will work as a media consultant to design an ad which parodies another ad, or you will create an advertisement which helps consumers recognize how they are being manipulated. In order to complete this final task, you will need to recall what you learned during the first two tasks. Click on the media consultant to the left to begin.

Thought to ponder: "Often advertising is not about keeping up with the Jones, but about separating you from them. That's especially true of advertising directed at a particular group, such as adolescents or young-adults--it's called 'dog-whistle' advertising because it goes out at frequencies only dogs can hear." Dr. James Twichell, Smithsonian, April 2000

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