The question
An advertisement that tells the truth, beautifully, in order to sell you something you do not need: craft, or manipulation?
Bring
The three advertisements you chose for The Media Deconstruction — the ones that work on you, not the ones you find stupid.
Positions to consider
| Position | The argument | The objection |
|---|---|---|
| It is craft | Persuasion is legitimate; every text wants something | Not every text hides what it wants |
| It is manipulation | Techniques designed to bypass thought are not honest, whatever the claim says | By that standard, so is a good essay |
| It depends on the audience | Advertising to adults differs from advertising to children | Where is the line, and who draws it? |
| It depends on the product | Selling shoes and selling vapes are not the same act | Then the ethics are about the product, not the technique |
The turn, halfway through
We watch one advertisement with the sound off, then the sound alone, then both. Almost everybody’s reading changes. Then we ask: if a technique works on you after you have named it, what does that tell you about the “just be aware of it” defence?
Afterwards
Write the standard you would actually apply, in three sentences: what advertising should be allowed to do, what it should not, and how you would tell the difference in a specific case.
Curriculum connection
D1.2
interpret media texts, including increasingly complex texts, identifying and explaining the overt and implied messages they convey (e.g., the use of talking animals as characters in a TV program or on a website often signals an intention to appeal to children; in a fashion feature, models’ facial expressions and body language, as well as the setting and lighting of the photographs, create a mood or attitude that is associated with the fashions themselves)
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D1.4
explain why the same media text might prompt different responses from different audiences (e.g., explain why seniors and teens might respond differently to a political speech; suggest reasons why not all their peers like the same type of music)
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A1.7
analyse oral texts, including increasingly complex texts, focusing on the ways in which they communicate information, ideas, issues, and themes and influence the listener’s/viewer’s response (e.g., explain how a fellow student has used a combination of personal anecdotes and research to support his or her opinion in a presentation; review a radio news broadcast and examine the effective use of “sound bites” to inform and engage the audience)
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D1.5
identify the perspectives and/or biases evident in media texts, including increasingly complex texts, and comment on any questions they may raise about beliefs, values, identity, and power (e.g., explain the perspectives evident in the covers of a selection of novels featured in the school’s English program; comment on the point of view evident in a television news story, identifying other possible points of view; analyse the text and images in a major department store’s website to identify groups and occupations that are represented and those that are nowhere evident)
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A1.9
evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of presentation strategies used in oral texts, including increasingly complex texts, and suggest other strategies that could be used effectively (e.g., examine how body language and vocal inflection enhance the delivery of a dramatic monologue; detect the use of emotionally laden language to persuade the audience to accept a point of view, and assess its effectiveness; evaluate the balance between the use of multimedia slides and the performance of the speaker in order to assess the effectiveness of the delivery of the message)
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