Junk Food Jungle

This lesson familiarizes children with how and why “junk food” is advertised to kids. The lesson starts with an introduction to advertising and a discussion of the gimmicks involved in food advertising to kids. Students discuss the various foods they see advertised in their daily lives versus the ones they don’t see, drawing important points from this data. With this information in mind, students complete an advertising log and also choose an advertisement and analyzing its subject matter in relation to what they have just learned.

Food Marketing, Marketing & Consumerism, Television

Favourite Sports and Athletes: Introduction to Sports Media - Lesson

This lesson develops a beginning awareness by students of how they feel towards, and respond to, different sports, and how the media represents athletics.

Diversity in Media, Gender Representation, Marketing & Consumerism, Sports, Television, Violence

Advertising All Around Us - Lesson

This teaching unit helps students to become more aware of the language and techniques used in print advertising, as well as the impact of advertising on their daily lives.

Marketing & Consumerism, Movies, Television

Marketing to Teens: Alternate Ads

In this lesson students look at less obvious methods used by advertisers to reach consumers. Students first learn about “soft sell” ads that don’t make specific claims about a product. They then consider reasons why companies choose to use them over hard sell techniques. They will then focus specifically on why various companies might choose to use soft sell techniques as subtle forms of advertising in groups.

Marketing & Consumerism

Advertising and Male Violence

To make students aware of the ways in which male violence is used and promoted in advertising.

Body Image, Gender Representation, Marketing & Consumerism, Online Marketing, Violence

Body Positive Ads

This lesson helps students understand the relationship between body image and marketing by exploring Aerie and Dove’s body positive advertising campaigns. Students begin by reading about the impact that body positive advertising campaigns have on companies, as well as on their consumers. Students will then look at body positive ads aimed towards men and read research about how there is a lack of representation in this field. They will then deconstruct a series of traditional ads compared to body positive ones and discuss how marketers target "ideal beauty" messages to both men and women and whether they are effective. Finally, students will evaluate whether body positive ads are effective in general or not through discussion.

Body Image, Marketing & Consumerism

Online Marketing to Kids: Strategies and Techniques

This lesson introduces students to the online marketing techniques that are used to target children on the Internet. It begins with a guided discussion about the similarities and differences between traditional marketing methods and online advertising and why the Internet is such a desirable medium for advertisers to reach young people. Student activities include a survey of the marketing techniques used on several commercial websites for children; the creation of a commercial website for kids that incorporates common marketing strategies; and an analysis of case studies about online marketing to young people.

Digital Citizenship, Internet & Mobile, Marketing & Consumerism, Online Marketing

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.

Alcohol Marketing, Marketing & Consumerism

Mirror Image - Lesson

In this lesson, students analyze their own body image and consider what they wish they could change.

Body Image, Gender Representation, Marketing & Consumerism, Tobacco Marketing

Eating Under the Rainbow

Studies have found that fast-food ads dominate children’s programming. In order to give children a perspective on the lure of snack-food advertisements, it’s important that they understand where snacks can fit into a healthy diet. Once they have an understanding of where snack food fits into their lives, they can begin to deconstruct the ads themselves.

Food Marketing, Marketing & Consumerism