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Bright Ideas Lesson Plans

The Power of Advertising

Resources Utilized for Unit: Daytona Beach News-Journal, Newspapers In Education, Design-An-Ad Contest, Interact - Learning Through Involvement Agency Simulation Unit

Objective of Unit: To analyze messages found in advertising; To practice persuasive techniques to influence consumers´ choices; To apply concepts of page layout (proportions, word choice, graphic and word placements); To recognize the realities of unexpected business expenses; To realize the financial effects of completing or not completing job tasks.

Summary of Unit: Students were first divided into "advertising agencies" of four and given a folder containing unit description and an "income sheet". Responsibilities were assigned, included an accountant to manage the income form, a marketing director, and two brainstormers. After reviewing the various advertising gimmicks and persuasive techniques, students viewed a video of current advertisements and searched the newspaper for written ads. As the advertisements played and students read them, they determined which gimmicks and techniques were being used.

At the beginning of each day, agencies drew "fate cards", which could lose or gain money for the team based on various real-life obstacles and/or opportunities. These cards contained situations such as, "Your agency´s contract for No More Frizz shampoo has been renewed. Your agency will earn an additional profit of $500. Or "Your agency is being sued by Gilroy Products because it claims you substituted another billboard advertisement for the one it originally approved. You lose #13,000 in lawyer´s fees. If you roll an even number on a pair of dice, you lose the case and another $10,000". Students also earned or lost money for completing assignments, being "late to work", or going beyond the call of duty.

Once students had acquired the knowledge of advertising techniques, each team member received an assignment to design an advertisement for a local business. These accounts were provided by The News-Journal and were submitted for completion in their annual publication. Through this opportunity, students learned the importance of deadlines and accountability.

As students developed their slogans and persuasive techniques for the assigned ads, they learned how to lay out the advertisement using proportions, measurement, geometry, and graphic/word placement in their math class.

I determined that the activity and strategies were successful, for 92% of students were able to get their advertisements in by the deadline. Due to the team contingency, students felt a personal responsibility to their team to complete the work and finish it well.

Students Response to the Unit: Overall, students responded positively to this simulation. The fate cards were by far the favorite part of each day, but students also enjoyed creating their slogans for the ads to which they were assigned. Overall, students indicated interest in each step of the unit.

Marsha Evans
Holly Hill Middle School

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