ADVERTISING UNCUT

PROGRAMME 1: ADVERTISING – WHAT'S THE POINT?

ACTIVITIES

Guidance

These activities support a variety of individual, paired and group work and can be chosen and adapted to suit the needs of the students involved.

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Before viewing

Discuss these questions in groups:

• What do you think advertising is all about?
• Do you think adverts can change people's views on a product or an idea? Think of an advert that might have done this.
• Do you think that advertising to children is wrong?

Programme-related activities

To view 4Learning video clips you will need Windows Media Player for PC or Mac, which is free to download from Microsoft:
www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/
player/download/download.aspx

Look at the section about the successful new Sony Ericsson phone that plays music (09:09 – 13:02). How did they launch it?

If you were to show four things that summed you up what would they be and why (13:16 – 14:40)?

How do you think the ads for Coca-Cola and McCain oven chips might influence people you know (17:38 – 22:05)?

Look again at this clip:

An overview of advertising
Clip: 01:10 – 02:40

• In (narrator): 'Every time we read a newspaper…'
• Out (narrator): '…their target audience.'

Why is advertising so important? List the different places you can see adverts.

Can an advert change your mind about a product or change your opinion about an issue?

After viewing

Discuss these questions in groups:

Read this article, 'Doctors call for alcohol advertising ban to curb bingeing':
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/
uk.cfm?id=722962003

Do you think that a ban on alcohol advertising would curb the British binge-drinking culture?

Do you think advertising aimed at children is harmful? Should the UK have tougher laws in this respect? See the Background information on advertising laws before discussing this.