Media Project.

 

Your task is to critically evaluate the approaches used by advertisers.  This in-depth task can take one of many forms, but your success depends on starting as soon as possible.

This project has a modified scoring system that rewards those who take risks.  You will be given a base score, then it will be multiplied by a "degree of difficulty".  This makes scoring tricky - it is entirely possible that you get a better mark for an adequate attempt at a very difficult project than someone who completes an "easy" project very well.  Similarly, if you do an excellent job on a medium level project, you may get a better mark than someone who passes in a poor assignment for a very difficult task.

 

All assignments are marked out of 20 and then multiplied by the degree of difficulty.

NOTE: “About” means plus or minus 75 words.

 

I will expect students to declare their topic of choice during classes on ______________.  THIS DECLARATION CONTRIBUTES TO YOUR FINAL MARK. 

 

A ROUGH COPY OF YOUR assignment is due for assessment on ________________

 

The DUE DATE FOR THIS PROJECT IS ________________________________.

Remember, we are moving on in English 9.  Budget your time so you can meet both the day to day and long-term expectations of this course.

 

Potential tasks:

 

 

Difficulty level 4 (highest possible mark – 80%) (500 word assignments)

 

  1. Reading the small print – Critically evaluate the use of small print in advertising.  For each advertisement, decide if the small print is essential information that is necessary to develop a clear opinion of the product.  If so, does the company give the viewer a legitimate chance to take in this information?  (About 500 words + sample ads).

 

  1. General interest outlets (magazines, television stations) vs. Special interest outlets.  Assess the type of advertiser and the nature of advertising approach based on the environment.  This research could be done with magazines or television stations. You will have to look at a variety of GIO and SIO – about five each – in order to get a good feel for advertising approaches.

 

  1. Research how a company tries to market itself to different audiences. Consider the approach taken to decide what the opinion of the company is toward each of the groups it targets.

 

  1. Empty language in advertising.  Research and expose companies that like to use important sounding language that actually has little relevance to the product in question.  For example, Gillette sells a “Mach 3 Turbo” razor.  There is noting about the razor that connects to the definition of “turbo”.   “Professional” is another favourite word of those who try to develop associations with unrelated concepts and products.

 

Difficulty level 5 (highest possible mark – 100%) (750 word assignments)

 

  1. Compare actual critiques with quoted claims made by book / move ads.  Research some of the claims movies or critic-driven industries claim, and compare them to the context critics actually created to describe the product in question.

 

6.      History / evaluation of advertising today vs. yesteryear.  Compare the design, approach and tactics of present day ad with ads for similar products when your parents and grandparents (if possible) were your age. NOTE: This type of comparison research works much better if you compare ads for similar products – i.e. car ads of 1960 with car ads of 2003 (about 750 words + sample ads).

 

7.  Ad-busting: Create your own spoof website and explain the approaches and techniques used by advertisers that you're exploiting. You can spoof an established company or make up one for the project.

 

8. Make your own ad campaign.  Create a print and a video advertisement for a fictional product.

 

NOTE:  All multimedia projects must be accompanied by a 3-400 word written component where they explain all the decisions they made and approaches they used (or spoofed) during the project.

 

9. Case study - Develop a comprehensive report on the attempts one company has made to brand themselves.

 

10.  Gender and age in advertising. Study the issue of how are different groups targeted, and how are different groups exploited.

 

A few notes –

  • Any time you are performing a research-based assignment, it is a good idea to follow the scientific method – thesis, hypothesis, procedure, observations, and conclusion.  Make sure you document everything and provide it in an organized, visually appealing format.

 

  • Even if your project is more an opinion essay, you cannot make claims without supporting them.

 

  • I am open to alternative projects and presentation models, but students MUST clear them with me before investing a lot of time into them.  Make sure you come with a clear vision and written explanation of what you plan to do so we can assess its level of difficulty.

 

  • Video responses to any of the challenges listed above are welcome, and I am willing to assist you with the editing process during lunch hours.  If you choose this route, you MUST give advance notice and be willing to start editing no later than TWO WEEKS before the due date.