Advertising: Commercials and PSAs

Introduction

Advertising is a massive industry. According to a report released by WPP, a multinational advertising and marking services corporation,

[the report] predicted that globally 2011 advertising spending in measured media would hit $90 billion, a 5 percent increase over 2010 spending of $467 billion. The 70-country forecast also predicted that global ad spending in 2012 would reach $522 billion, a 6.4 percent increase of 2011 spending.For the U.S. market, the report predicted 2011 ad spending of $147 billion, a 3.3 percent increase over 2010 spending of $142.5 billion. For 2012, U.S. ad spending should reach $153 billion, representing a 4 percent increase over 2011.

Advertising: Learning Quests:

Advertising Quest 1:

• Click on the link above to see the Quest #1. Here is a brief overview:
  • Complete the strand selection document
  • Listen to a speech about the role of advertising in a person's life. (2:20)
  • Skim a long article, "The Rise of Sadvertising" to understand one recent trend in advertising (2014) -- the effort to tie a company to an emotional feeling. Watch about 10 advertisements embedded in the article as you read it.
  • Output: to demonstrate your understanding of "Sadvertising," pick two 'sadvertisements' you know (but that were not referenced in the article) and write a short blog post discussing the emotions that the marketer wants viewers to associate with the product/service. If possible, link to the commercial in your blog post.

Advertising Quest 2:

• Click on the link above to see Quest #2. Here is a brief overview:
  • Read about the seven steps advertisers use to create effective marketing for their clients' brands.
  • Create a post where you link to a sample commercial for each of the first six steps. After providing the link, explain why and how the commercial demonstrates Van Praet's description.

Advertising Quest 3: planning & creating YOUR commercial/ PSA

Learning in Production

• Creating / Planning
• Producing
• Self-Assessment & Aligning to Standards

Advertising Quest 4: (Optional) Revision and re-release

• If your original commercial submitted on the deadline does not meet the expectations, you will be required to complete the fourth quest in this strand.
  • Creating/Planning
  • Producting
  • Responding
  • Connecting

Advertising Additional Content: This is here in case a student is interested in reading/learning more about this subject. Fairness and Accuracy in Advertising:

• Read the Federal Bureau of Consumer Protection's webpage describing the requirements for truth-in-advertising. http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus35-advertising-faqs-guide-small-business Please pay special attention to the section about the kinds of claims that you can make about your product without being categorized as deceptive.
• Also use this webpage to look at the product placements (a.k.a. embedded marketing) in your favorite films: http://www.brandchannel.com/brandcameo_films.asp?movie_year=2014#movie_list
• Overview for design of your advertisement:
  • Television is terrific at storytelling, and humor is an effective device for getting people's attention. Television is very effective in generating feelings and illustrating actions and behaviors, and not so strong in communicating specific facts.
    1. Find a way to get the viewer's attention within the first 2-5 seconds.
    2. Make your ad visually exciting. Viewers watch TV for the visual stimulation.
    3. Condensing your message into such a short message will likely make it necessary to use stereotypes and metaphors drawn from the world of everyday life.
    4. Use no more than 65 words for a 30-second ad. A 30-second ad has only 28 seconds of audio.
    5. Without a script, individuals may interpret your plan for visuals differently. Prepare a storyboard for your ad before going into production. Use a 4 x 3 rectangle for your frames and use as many frames as needed to convey the main visual ideas of the ad.
    6. The number of scenes should be planned carefully. You don't want too many scenes because this tends to confuse the viewer.
    7. The techniques of advertising:
       • develop characters.
       • realize a voice that will engage the target audience.
       • capitalize on the parts of a story.
       • know what makes a story interesting
       • create headlines that capture attention.
       • craft body copy that persuades.
       • write appropriately for the media.
       • engineer strategies that meet the brand objectives.
       • master grammar and sentence structure.
       • find answers to unasked questions.
• Public Service Announcements (PSA)
  • Watch some examples of famous (and effective!) PSAs. http://www.adcouncil.org/Our-Campaigns/The-Classics
• Creation of a Logo
  • http://teachadvertising.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/10-things-to-look-for-in-a-great-logo/
• Digital Marketing
  • Read this article about how marketers (advertisers) are using the information you share via Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sources to target advertising toward you.