Resources for Teachers - Marketing & Consumerism

Looks Good Enough to Eat

This lesson looks at food photography and the different techniques used by food stylists to make foods look appealing in advertisements.

Watching the elections

Joe McGinniss’ book The Selling of the President had a shocking title for 1968, suggesting as it did that in the television age the presidency had become nothing more than another product to be packaged and sold. MediaSmarts’ resource, Watching the Elections (a lesson for Grades 8-12), shines a light on how the different aspects of an election – from the debates to political ads to the candidates themselves – are actually media products.

Kids, Alcohol and Advertising - Lesson 4: Interpreting Media Messages

In this lesson, students investigate the importance of branding and messaging, especially as they relate to parity products such as beer and alcohol.

Tobacco Labels

In this lesson, students debate the effectiveness of health warning labels on tobacco products.

Marketing to Teens: Gender Roles in Advertising - Lesson

In this lesson students explore gender roles in advertising by taking an ad campaign they have seen which is specifically directed to one gender, and redesigning the campaign to target the opposite gender.