‘The public are swine; advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill-bucket.’
from ‘Keep the Aspidistra Flying’ by George Orwell
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What does this have to do with fashion?
On this page will be posted materials that we will study as examples of advertising, its purposes and its uses. Make sure you view these documents (as told in class and posted on iCal) before the lesson in which they will be discussed.
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Corporate Image in Advertising
We will begin this unit by looking at how advertisements create impressions in our minds: impressions of brands as well as products. Products, brands and companies all project a certain image in our minds (iPhone or Ningbo Bird, anyone?). How does this work? First, take a look at this document.
Now, look at two more Benetton ads. What’s going on here?
Task 1
Presentation
Oral presentations will be a major part of your assessment in Grade 11. Let’s start practicing them now.
Bring in your own advertisement. This should be an advertisement that is concerned not only with a product but also with corporate image, i.e. one that generates a certain positive image of the ad sponsor.
Your ad could be from a newspaper or magazine, or an online ad (either a still, a pop-up or a short commercial).
Present your ad to the class and explain how it works as a persuasive tool. You will have some time to work on your presentation in class first. See Veracross for details.
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Further Resources
The following links investigate the links between creators and consumers by looking at what is ‘acceptable’, what is not, and why. They focus on the messages conveyed by advertisements and the effect those messages have on the receiver (i.e.the person who sees or reads the ad).
When we discuss these issues in class you will need to have access to the educational website (ASA), which is here, and to download the pdf document below.
Wanna be cool? Watch this! *
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“In the nurseries, the Elementary Class Consciousness lesson was over, the voices were adapting future demand to future industrial supply. ‘I do love flying,’ they whispered, ‘I do love flying, I do love having new clothes …’”
from ‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley
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* Many thanks to the leaders and participants at the IB workshop for DP Language & Literature at Canadian International School, Hong Kong (September 2013) for sharing these materials.
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