I. Pre-Activity: New and Improved

Pre-research in the internet lab (Classes without access to a lab can use a collection of current magazines to adapt this exercise.)

• Advertising surrounds us with pictures of an idealized lifestyle. Television, radio, magazines, billboards, newspapers, and even our clothing provide messages about what to buy to live the good life. Take a look around your classroom right now and find any examples of advertising. (Hint: Take a look at what you have on.)

• The internet also markets items using new media. Let’s take a look at banner advertising (those small, moving, online billboards that entice us to "click and learn more.")  Go to a web site that you might enjoy (music, clothes, games, etc.) and find five examples of banner advertising. Print them out or save to a word processing program by
  •  right clicking the image
  • choosing "Save Image As"
  • save to your disk 
  • insert into your word processing program  

  With each ad, identify the appeal the ad makes to the consumer.  Examples: Does the advertiser tell you the product will make you more youthful, modern, sexy, traditional, family-oriented, convenient, distinctive, status, wise, relaxed, modest, natural, traditional, distinctive, mature, etc.?

   

• What might an internet banner ad designer do to encourage you to click on a site?

•  Go look at the site http://www.bannertips.com/infoseektips.shtml. and look at their banner design suggestions. Now, look at a few more ads and see if you can see evidence of these techniques.

• The internet markets with more than banner ads. Take a look at this Canadian web site Web Awareness: Knowing the Issues at http://www.media-awareness.ca/eng/webaware/teachesr/kids/tkids.htm. If time allows, look at the "Case studies: Pat and Jessica" and then return to this page.

• What did you learn? How is this type of advertising different from traditional media? How is it the same? If you were from another world, what might you be able to understand about our culture by looking at these ads? What in our culture is reflected here?  How might you picture America?