MEDIA LITERACY HANDOUTS--FALL 2002

Ms. Sandy Scragg

Page down to view text from each handout distributed in class...

HANDOUT #1--COMMERCIAL VIEWING GUIDE

When viewing advertisements on television or in print, keep these questions in mind. Answer them for yourself as you view ads.

• What is the product? Is it clear what is being advertised?
• Is the product shown in the ad?
• What is being portrayed?
• What images are being used?
• What music being used?
• Is there a corporate slogan or jingle being used?
• Is there a voice-over/narrator? What does this person sound like?
• What kinds of people are the actors/models portraying?
• How does this ad hope to sell the product?
• What group in society is this ad targeted toward?
• Is this ad trying to equate its product with something else that people consider to be desirable? If so, what is it?
• Is there some sort of hidden message?
• What does this ad tell us that we value in our society?
• Are there any subliminal message or images?
• Does this ad make you more interested in the product? Why/why not?
• During what program/magazine/newspaper was this ad placed?
• Besides the product it¹s designed to sell, what else is this ad selling to the American public?

MEDIA LITERACY QUIZ: CAN YOU DECIDE WHAT'S TRUE & WHAT'S FALSE???

• 1) True or False: In a magazine, the paid advertisements are the only commericial content.
• 2) T or F: Sylvester Stallone signed a deal with Brown & Williamson to feature cigarettes made by the company in his next 5 movies for a half a million dollars.
• 3) T or F: The Seattle School Board recently voted to pursue corporate sponsorship. They hope to gain a Nike concert series and Boeing class Valedictorians.
• 4) T or F: Most small children can¹t tell the difference between television shows and television commercials.
• 5) T or F: The Massachusetts Board of Education participated in the "Tattoo For You" program in 1999, which provided students with free tattoos of corporate logos in exchange for money to support social services in Massachusetts public schools.
• 6) T or F: One curriculum for kindergarten students includes a literacy program entitled: "Learn to Read through Recognizing Corporate Logos."
• 7) T or F: College students (most of whom are underage drinkers) spend $4 billion a year on alcohol, more than they spend on books.
• 8) T or F: There is a deal in the works with the Coca-Cola organization to sponsor next year (yes, the year itself). Starting in December, their new ad campaign will read: "2003: Brought to You by Your Friends at Coca-Cola." and "2003: The Year of Coke."
• 9) T or F: A survey of 8-to-12-year-olds in Washington, D.C., found that students could name more brands of beer than U.S. presidents.
• 10) T or F: The average American is exposed to at least 3,000 ads and will spend 3 years of his or her life watching TV commericials (just the commercials).
• 11) T or F: A 1999 study found that more than 2/3 of the 50 G-rated films released in the past 60 years portrayed alcohol or or tobacco use.
• 12) T or F: Diet Coke paid the makers of the TV series "Friends" to feature the product on the show and to have its characters drinking the soda on the series (and sales rose a lot!)
• 13) T or F: One study showed that 6-year-old children were more likely to correctly identify the cigarette ad character Joe Camel over Mickey Mouse.
• 14) T or F: When the Pope visited Mexico in 1999, ads around Mexico City featured the pontiff bowing next to a Pepsi logo with the tag line: "Mexico Always Faithful."
• 15) T or F: Product names are often associated with a postive feeling or quality, such as the Clinique perfume "Happy" or the cigarettes "Kool."
• 16) T or F: Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser, often features animals and cartoon characters in their ads. Just as many children knew that the Budweiser frogs say "Bud-wei-ser" as they knew that Bugs Bunny says "What¹s Up Doc?"
• 17) T or F: 90% of all adult smokers started smoking before age 18, and 60% started before they were in high school.
• 18) T or F: Most people feel that they are not influenced by advertising.

ANSWER KEY: ALL ANSWERS ARE TRUE EXCEPT FOR #5 AND #8

HANDOUT #2--MEDIA LITERACY BASICS

Media Literacy Primer

What is media literacy?

Media Literacy is an informed, critical understanding of the mass media. It is the process of understanding and using the mass media in an assertive and non-passive way. Media literacy involves an examination of the techniques, technologies and institutions that are involved in media production, the ability to critically analyze media messages and a recognition of the role that audiences play in making meaning from those messages. When a person is media-literate, that person moves from merely recognizing and comprehending information to higher order critical-thinking skills that enable them to question, analyze and evaluate that information. source: http://www.media-awareness.ca

Basic Principles of Media Literacy:

• 1) Seeing is not believing, or the camera does lie.
• 2) Media affects our perception of reality.
• 3) Media contains current values and idealogies held by the majority.
• 4) Mass media has commercial purposes.
• 5) Audiences are able to develop their own meaning with proper awareness.

When Analyzing an Advertisement:

Questions to Consider:

• 1) What¹s the purpose of this ad: what is being sold to whom?
• 2) What¹s the technique: what forms of persuasion are being used?
• 3) What else is being sold in this ad?

Questions to Answer:

• 1. In one clear, brief sentence, summarize the message of this advertisement.
• 2. Clearly state the behavior or belief that is being promoted by this ad.
• 3. Describe how you think the manipulation in this ad works.

HANDOUT #3--GIMMICKS USED BY ADVERTISERS TO ATTRACT YOUR ATTENTION

Consider these tricks that advertisers use when trying to appeal to an audience. What ads can you find that fall into one or more of these categories?

List of Gimmicks:

• 1) everyone is doing it‹You don¹t want to stand out from the crowd and be different. Do what everyone else is doing.
• 2) appeal to tradition‹The manufacturer has been making this product or providing this service well for a long time. The company knows their business well. Using this product is a long held tradition or practice.
• 3) something for nothing‹suggests a product is of equal or better quality than its higher-priced competitors.
• 4) snob appeal‹"only the best is good enough for me" The product appeals to us because it is expensive and it seems that only a special few can obtain it.
• 5) testimonial‹when a famous person is used to sell a product. We are attracted to the product because of our attraction to the famous person.
• 6) sex appeal‹use of sexual images to sell a product. Purchasing that product could make us sexy and attractive to others.
• 7) appeal to authority‹professionals in the field state their preference for the product. Using scientific names that actually mean little.
• 8) plain folks‹Reverse of snob appeal. Normal, everyday people use this product, customer interviews, taste tests, surveys
• 9) cool factor‹You will be cool and cutting edge if you purchase this product.
• 10) sensory overload‹Use of visuals and/or music to appeal to the audience.
• 11) convenience & service‹Use of this product may make your life easier and more enjoyable. Let others do your dirty work, increase your leisure time.
• 12) fear factor‹Great danger could come to you or members of your family if you do not purchase this product.
• 13) social pressure‹Comes with a threat: if you do not purchase this product, you could wind up being a social misfit and/or lonely.
• 14) quality‹This product stands up to hard use. It will not break or crash down.
• 15) heartstrings‹The product is associated with an emotional experience, children, animals, something cute or cuddly, the company makes charitable contributions to a good cause, or is associated with something heroic.
• 16) patriotism‹We¹ve been seeing this a lot lately: the product or manufacturer is providing a service or a product that benefits America and/or our values.
• 17) humor‹Makes us laugh and feel good about a product at the same time. We often find ourselves talking about these entertaining ads with others.
• 18) offbeat‹The commercial is so strange that it catches our attention. The commercial also may seem to have little to do with what it¹s selling.

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