Q&A Thread for Claire Carmichael, LIVEbrary #5

Today begins our fifth program, BE THE AD: The Future of Advertising is YOU! The Lesson Plan is now posted on the blog, with a reading, an assignment, a quiz, and discussion questions. You can also download a PDF version of the Lesson Plan here.

This Thursday, you'll have a chance to chat live with Claire Carmichael, author of the novel, Leaving Simplicity, a near-future look at a school where the advertising has gone berserk. In order to chat with Claire on Thursday, you need to install Skype software and send us your Skype username.

But you don't have to wait until Thursday to start asking questions. Go ahead, add your questions or ideas to this blog post using the "comments" button at the bottom of this post.

Thanks for Trying the LIVEbrary!
STEVE O'KEEFE
Producer, The Annick LIVEbrary

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #5: Be The Ad

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #5:
BE THE AD: The Future of Advertising is YOU!

(for a colorful, downloadable PDF version, click here)

Topic/Subject: Media Awareness
Age Range: 9-13
Grade Level: 4-8

Contents:
- Reading
- Assignment
- Quiz
- Discussion Questions
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READING:

"Barrett's First Day of Class"
an excerpt from the novel
Leaving Simplicity
by Claire Carmichael
Published by Annick Press
Reprinted here with permission.

~ Introduction to the Reading ~

In Leaving Simplicity, teenager Barrett Trent is forced to leave the isolated farming community he grew up in and join his cousin, Taylor Trent, in the big city where she lives. Set in the not-so-distant future, Leaving Simplicity takes technology and advertising one step beyond anything you've seen. After his cousin Taylor gets suspended, Barrett faces his first day of class alone. He's assigned to Acantha Brown, an unpopular girl whose job it is to show Barrett around.

~ Barrett's First Day of Class ~

When a siren sounded, everyone was galvanized into action. Obviously the siren was an indication that lessons were about to begin, so like everyone else, I picked up speed. Reaching Block Five, I joined a mass of students in the corridors. Room Eighteen was rapidly filling.

I hesitated at the doorway, looking for Acantha Brown. There she was, near the back. It was a help I'd caught a glimpse of her when registering yesterday, otherwise I would have had to ask someone to point her out to me.

"Acantha?" I said, looking over her. She was rather plump, and had frizzy hair, but I couldn't see why she thought she might need a total makeover to transform her into somebody else when she was a perfectly pleasant-looking person.

"You're Barrett Trent? I've saved a seat for you."

"Hello," I said. "I saw you yesterday, when I was with Mr. Platt."

I slid into the desk beside her. I had a glowing screen set into its surface. Along the top edge of the screen were the words, "Your desk is underwritten by Begone! Pain Relief."

I looked around. Almost every place was taken, and the room was filled with the buzz of conversation. I became aware that people were looking at me with open curiosity, which made me feel as if I were on display.

"You have to identify yourself." Acantha showed me how to wave my bracelet over the screen. It gave a soft burp, then "Welcome, Barrett Trent" appeared. Then the words, "Reminder: no student may use a personal electronic device in class."

"The teacher has a master screen," Acantha said. "Each desk shows details of the person sitting there. Results, reports -- everything can be called up."

"There won't be anything on me, yet," I said.

"Acantha was amused. "When you enrolled yesterday, you did a set of assessment tools. All those results, plus a full background search, will already be in the central data bank."

It was somehow appalling to realize that strangers had access to all this information about me. "I can understand why the test results are useful," I said, "but what's the background search for?"

Acantha seemed surprised I'd asked. "To tailor advertising to meet your personal needs."

I could see what personal needs I had that advertising could meet, but before I could comment on this, a hush fell as the teacher came into the room. He was a brawny man with very little neck, and as he walked to the front podium he was putting on a loose top over the shirt he was already wearing. It proclaimed: "This science period is brought to you by Blissjoy Mood Lighteners -- Make Life Shine Again!"

When a siren signaled the end of the period, which had been fairly basic physics, the teacher actually said, "And remember, students, this science period has been brought to you by Blissjoy Mood Lighteners. Don't be blue, don't be sad. Blissjoy Mood Lighteners will make your life shine again."

"We have Corporations & Culture next," said Acantha, standing up. She was taller than I realized.

# # #

Copyright 2007 by Claire Carmichael. Excerpted from the book, Leaving Simplicity. Published by Annick Press. ISBN 9781554510900 (library binding), ISBN 9781554510894 (paperback). Reprinted with permission. For more information, please visit http://www.annickpress.com. Thank you.
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ASSIGNMENT

Ad Bingo!

Everyone in your class makes an Ad List of every place they see an ad on school property in one day. Starting now, write down all the ads you see, and where you see them, up until class tomorrow. Try to find at least 5 ads. A logo by itself doesn't count. It has to be an ad. Here's an example of an Ad List:

AD LIST
1. Ad for gardening web site on the calendar in Ms. Jones' room.
2. Ad for newspaper subscription on Ms. Jones' coffee cup.
3. Ad for dry cleaner on pencil I found in the hall.
4. Ad for diet program on the granola bar I had at lunch.
5. Ad for Homecoming Dance over the door to the cafeteria.

The next day, your teacher asks each student to tell about one ad they found. The teacher writes the ad on the board. If you have that ad on your list, put a star next to it. When the next person tells about an ad, if you have it on your list, put a star next to it.

Each student takes a turn describing an ad they saw that is different from any listed on the board so far. If a student doesn't have any original ads on their list, he or she "passes" to the next person.

Keep going like this, writing ads on the board, while each student checks them against their own list. The first person to get 5 matches with the list written on the board shouts, "BINGO!" Check the winning student's list against the list on the board to make sure all five are matches. You can continue the game if you want until there are more winners or you run out of original ads.

Variation: If you enjoyed Ad Bingo at school, try it at home. Ask each student to write down the ad messages they are exposed to at home in one night. Then bring the list to school the next day and play another round of Ad Bingo!
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QUIZ:

NOTE: Quiz answers are available to teachers upon request from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com. Quiz answers will be revealed during the live Skype Chats and made a part of the Skype Chat Transcripts.

1) Multiple Choice. How many TV advertisements is the typical teenager exposed to each day?
A. 100
B. 300
C. 500
D. 700

2) Multiple Choice. In 1983, how much did businesses spend on television advertising to kids?
A. $1 million
B. $5 million
C. $50 million
D. $100 million

3) Multiple Choice. In 2008, how much will businesses spend marketing to kids in all mediums: TV, radio, newspapers, print, online?
A. $1 billion
B. $5 billion
C. $10 billion
D. $15 billion

4) Multiple Choice. What percentage of U.S. schools have contracts with soft drink companies involving "pouring rights," whereby a company gets exclusive rights to sell soft drinks in a school?
A. 25 percent
B. 45 percent
C. 65 percent
D. 95 percent

5) Multiple Choice. What percentage of United States "tweens" (8-12 years old) have their own TV set?
A. 15 percent
B. 25 percent
C. 45 percent
D. 65 percent
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Do you think advertising belongs in school? Is it okay to have ads on school book covers? What about advertising for school events? How about political advertising for school elections? What about the lunch menu -- is it an ad?
  
  
• Do you think advertising in schools is okay if the money it generates leads to better equipment and supplies for the school? Is it okay to wear a company's logo on your team uniforms if that company pays for the uniforms and/or other sporting equipment?
  
  
• Would you be upset if you found out that your best friend was getting "rewards" for mentioning certain products in his or her emails or text messages to you? If you could get free stuff by mentioning products or web sites to your friends, would you do it?
  


• Think up some questions for guest author Claire Carmichael. You might ask her what "OmniDrives" are, or "physiopara" scans, or "nons." Post your questions on the LIVEbrary Blog at <http://annickpress.blogspot.com> or send them by email to LIVEbrary@annickpress.com or ask them yourself during the Live Skype Chat with Claire Carmichael on Thursday, November 15, at 2:00-3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. (Was that an ad for the chat?)

__________________________________________________

Copyright ©2007 by Annick Press. All rights reserved. Printed here with permission of the publisher. Please request permission from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com before posting this lesson plan in any public place. Thank you.

Week 4 Transcript Online

The transcript from this week's live Skype chat with Made You Look author Shari Graydon is now online. You can view it at:

http://www.authorviews.com/authors/annick/transcript_week4.html

Caution: Answers to the accompanying quiz are included in the transcript!

Thanks to Meg, Azi, and Resa for joining us again and being great participants!

Q&A Thread for Shari Graydon, LIVEbrary #4

Today begins our fourth program, Made You Look. The Lesson Plan is now posted on the blog, with a reading, an assignment, a quiz, and discussion questions. You can also download a PDF version of the Lesson Plan here.

This Thursday, you'll have another chance to chat live with Shari Graydon, author of Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know from Annick Press, when she returns as a guest to the LIVEbrary program. In order to chat with Shari on Thursday, you need to install Skype software and send us your Skype username.

But you don't have to wait until Thursday to start asking questions. Go ahead, add your questions or ideas to this blog post using the "comments" button at the bottom of this post.

Thanks for Trying the LIVEbrary!
RACHELLE MATHERNE

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #4: Made You Look

LIVEbrary Lesson Plan #4:
MADE YOU LOOK: Tricks and Tactics of the Ad Trade
(for a colorful, downloadable PDF version, click here)

Topic/Subject: Media Awareness
Age Range: 9-13
Grade Level: 4-8

Contents:
- Reading
- Assignment
- Quiz
- Discussion Questions
__________________________________________________

READING:

"You're the Target"
an excerpt from the book
MADE YOU LOOK:
How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know
by Shari Graydon
Published by Annick Press
Reprinted here with permission.

~ You're the Bull's-eye ~

Once upon a time, advertisers didn't pay much attention to kids. They aimed their sales pitches at adults.

But things have certainly changed. Starting in the 1950s, advertisers began to realize that kids not only had money of their own to spend, but they also influenced a lot of their parents' shopping decisions.

Imagine a dartboard with a picture of you and your friends in the center of the board. You're now an important "target," and many advertisers think about *your* interests when designing their products and ads. In fact, advertisers in North America spend more than $12 billion a year trying to convince you to spend your money -- or your parents' money! -- on the stuff they're selling.

How can they afford to do this? Because the dollars they invest in advertising amount to a drop in the ocean compared to the dollars they get back when you respond to their sales pitches. In fact, some marketers estimate that kids in North America spend more than $100 billion every year on clothes, candy, games, videos, music, movies, and food.

~ Harnessing "Pester Power"~

Then there's what the advertisers call the "nag factor" or "pester power": they deliberately try to dream up ads that will help you to convince your parents to buy one kind of pizza instead of another, or rent this movie over that one. They conduct research to find out what kinds of commercials are most effective -- for example, which jingle or special meal deal is most likely to help you drag your mom or dad to the fast-food restaurant.

They also know that kids influence adults' decisions about much more expensive items, like computer equipment and family vacations. Car manufacturers have a name for this: they refer to 8- to 14-year-olds as "back-seat customers," recognizing that kids may even cast the deciding vote about which car their parents should buy. In fact, one kid's magazine -- meant to be read by people too young to have a driver's licence -- carried ads for minivans!

Some marketers estimate that kids have a say in close to $300 billion worth of their parents' spending. So some advertisers target *you* in order to get to adults.

~ Cradle to Grave Customers ~

Research also tells advertisers that if they hook you when you're young, chances are better that you'll keep buying their products as you get older. This is called "brand loyalty."

Shopping experts have figured out that a customer who regularly buys from the same store, from childhood until he or she dies, is worth as much as $100,000 to the store. So advertisers try to come up with what they call "cradle to grave" marketing strategies that will help them turn you into lifetime customers.

~ New & Unusual Places to See Ads ~

Advertising is inescapable. Here are some of the new (but not necessarily improved!) locations where advertising has cropped up just in the past few years:

• Big stickers on supermarket floors promoting grocery items.



• City buses painted from top to bottom and front to back with advertisers' sales pitches.



• Ads inside bathroom stalls or above urinals in washrooms in schools, movie theaters and other public and private places.



• Elevators with small TV monitors that play nothing but commercials.



• Perfume samples attached to the back of Ticketmaster concert ticket envelopes.



• Stickers promoting a TV program placed on fruit in grocery stores.



• Cows or other livestock painted with an advertiser's logo or brand name.



• Pepsi and Coke soft-drink ads painted on the Himalayan Mountains in India. (But the companies got in trouble and had to take them down!)

# # #

Copyright ©2007 by Shari Graydon. Excerpted from the book, MADE YOU LOOK: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know. Published by Annick Press. ISBN 9781550378153 (library binding), ISBN 9781550378146 (paperback). Reprinted with permission. For more information, please visit http://www.annickpress.com. Thank you.
__________________________________________________

ASSIGNMENT

Freeze Frame Five

Freeze Frame 1: Your Computer Screen

Have the students gather around the teacher's computer or view a computer projected on a screen. Now open an application, such as Microsoft Word. How many logos or brand names are visible on the screen? On my screen right now, I can see an Apple Computer logo, a Microsoft Word logo, a Google search logo, and the logos for about 20 software programs available in my dock. What can you see? Let the students identify all the logos or brand names on the teacher's screen or on a projected screen until no one can find anymore logos. How many did you find?

Freeze Frame 2: The Internet

Gather the students around the teacher's computer or a computer projected on a screen for the whole class to see. Now go to a popular commercial web page such as Discovery Kids, Scholastic Kids, MySpace, MSNBC, and freeze the frame. It's hard to freeze the frame when the ads keep moving, isn't it? Sometimes the STOP button on your web browser will freeze the frame. Count how many logos, brand names, and ads you see until no one can find any more. How many did you get? Now try a noncommercial site such as NASA.gov or PBS.org. Do you see commercials, logos, or brands? How many?

Freeze Frame 3: Your Cell Phone

Divide the classroom into teams, each team gathering around one student's cell phone. Turn the phone all the way off (it should be off in class, right?). Now with everyone watching, turn the phone on and count how many ads, brands, or logos you see while the phone is powering up. How many did you get? Are there other ways advertisers can get ads into your phone? Talk about some of them.

Freeze Frame 4: Your Television

If you have a way to record and playback TV in your classroom, you can record a few minutes of a daytime sporting event. You might be able to record this at home at night and bring the tape to class the next day, or let the kids do this project at home if they have a way to "freeze frame" a TV program. Playback and freeze frame the tape and have the kids identify all the logos or brands they see on the screen at once. Does the station project a logo? Does the show have a logo? Do the teams have logos? Are there ads on the walls of the stadium? Are people wearing hats or clothes with visible logos? Is there a logo on the scoreboard? Is there a logo in the scores crawling across the bottom of the screen? How many ads, logos, and brand names did you find?

Freeze Frame 5: Your Classroom

Places everyone! Let's find out how many logos, brand names, or ads are visible in the classroom right now. Students, raise your hand when you see one. Teacher, get ready to write them all down on the board or a piece of paper. The rules: 1. the logo, brand, or ad has to be visible, not inside of a closed book or closed closet and, 2. don't include brands or logos on people's clothing -- you would be counting all day long!

Variations:

Freeze Frame Fridge: Open the refrigerator, look for 10 seconds, close the refrigerator. Write down all the brands, logos, or ads you saw. Freeze Frame Family Room: Sit down in your favorite spot in the family room, take a deep breath, look around and count all the logos, brands, and ads you see (even without the TV on). Freeze Frame Friends: Get together with some friends and count how many logos, brands, and ads are visible on the clothing in your group.
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QUIZ:

NOTE: Quiz answers are available to teachers upon request from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com. Quiz answers will be revealed during the live Skype Chats and made a part of the Skype Chat Transcripts.

1) Matching. Many people say advertising doesn't affect them. Which slogan goes with which company? Match the letter of the slogan to the number of the company.

A. Live in Your World. Play in Ours.
B. Mm, mm good. Mm, mm good.
C. Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's...
D. Just do it.
E. They're GRRRRRRRRREAT!

1. Kellogg's Frosted Flakes cereal.
2. Sony Playstation
3. Nike shoes
4. Maybelline cosmetics
5. Campbell's Soup


2) Multiple choice. What does the word "logo" mean? Pick the best definition from the list below.
A. Crazy or insane.
B. Another name for the dance called "The Limbo."
C. A holy book, such as a Bible, Torah or Koran.
D. A symbol or design representing a company's brand.


3) Multiple choice. Which of the following is NOT an example of "cradle to grave marketing"?
A. Birthday clubs with free birthday rewards in exchange for registering your name, age, and contact information with a business or organization.
B. Warranty cards that make it sound like your rights are not activated unless you send in your registration (even though your rights are often protected by law whether you register or not).
C. A company that manufactures cribs and coffins.
D. Using a modern cartoon character to pitch breakfast cereal to kids on morning television programs and a "retro" cartoon character to pitch the same cereal to adults on evening programs.


4) Matching. How many ads can you legally cram into a 60-minute broadcast television program intended for children under the age of 12? Match the letter of the location to the limit on TV advertising. Note: The same ad limit may apply to more than one country.

A. United States
B. Canada
C. Belgium
D. Greece
E. Province of Quebec

1. Zero -- no advertising allowed.
2. Limited to 5 minutes.
3. Limited to 8 minutes.
4. Limited to 12 minutes.
5. No limit -- 60 minutes possible.


5. Multiple Choice. What is the definition of the term "nag factor" in advertising? Select the best answer from the list below.
A. Likelihood that a horse race will be won by a long shot.
B. Attempt by an advertiser to get you to bug your parents to buy something.
C. The average number of times you must be asked before cleaning your room.
D. A new kind of perfume that's supposed to repel parents and teachers.

__________________________________________________

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• What is the most unusual place you have seen an advertisement? Advertisers are very good at hiding their ads; how good are you at finding them? Talk about the strange places you've seen ads. Do you think people should be allowed to put ads there?



• If your favorite magazine did not have any ads in it at all, do you think you would like it more or less? Why?



• Do the media reflect your community? Chances are, when you look around your classroom, neighborhood, city, or country, you see some mixture of white, black, Hispanic, Asian and/or Native people. Next time you're watching TV or flipping through a magazine, compare the people you know to the ones you see in the media. Does one "community" bear any resemblance to the other? If not, who's missing from the ads? Why do you think that is?



• Do you have questions for media literacy activist and author, Shari Graydon, like maybe what's the strangest place she has ever seen an ad? Post your questions on the LIVEbrary Blog at <http://annickpress.blogspot.com> or send them by email to LIVEbrary@annickpress.com or ask them in the Live Skype Chat with Shari Graydon on Thursday, November 8, from 2-3 p.m. Eastern Time.

__________________________________________________

Copyright ©2007 by Annick Press. All rights reserved. Printed here with permission of the publisher. Please request permission from LIVEbrary@annickpress.com before posting this lesson plan in any public place. Thank you.