ADVERTISING^397
- According to a 2005 study at a Texas university, one out of four
young women in the United States had an eating disorder. A sur-
vey of one group of fourth-grade girls revealed that 80 percent
of them had already been on a diet. Find examples of ads that
encourage young women to “think thin.” In light of the fact that the
diet industry spends a fortune each year on advertising, what do
you think high school journalists should do, if anything? - The editors of Time annually choose what they consider to be the
year’s best ads. Here is a description of one of their favorites. The
boy-chases-girl theme has a bearded twentysomething arrive in
his car as a ferryboat is about to depart. His license plate reads
OHIO. As he breathlessly runs up to a beautiful young woman
in Lee jeans, he hands her a necklace. “Excuse me,” he says,
“you dropped this back there.” She smiles and asks, “Where?” He
responds, “Nebraska.”
Have each member of your class nominate one ad that war-
rants the honor of being named best ad for the current year. - Choose an everyday object or product (for example, a pen, tooth-
pick, piece of paper or air). Write two print advertisements for it.
Each ad should be aimed at a different audience (one for teens
and one for older women, for example). Make sure you include
each product’s features and benefits, and choose an appropriate
advertising appeal for each. - Interview or shadow a person who works in advertising. Find out
how the person selected this career, how he or she prepared for
it and what the career requires. Prepare a one- or two-page paper
on your findings, and present it to the class. Also, send a copy of it
to the person you interviewed. - As a class, come up with a list of local businesses that currently do
not advertise in your publication but should. Each student should
choose one of the businesses and create two mock-up or spec ads
for the business. Be sure to pick appropriate design styles and for-
mats, as well as good type fonts.
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