Resource+3

‘Think. Don’t Smoke’ 90’s Advertisement

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** Explanation of Resource **

This visual resource is an American anti-smoking television advertisement from the 1990’s. During the fifth lesson of the unit, students identify and explore the various aspects of advertising campaigns by drawing on a number of campaigns including this one. Through visual grammar, they identify what they believe to be successful or unsuccessful about the advertisement and the ways it has tried to send its anti smoking message to young people. Being a dated clip from over ten years ago, students are hence able to draw comparisons between it and current anti-smoking campaigns. Although a corny and comedic clip, this advertisement shows great contrast to more current graphic and visual anti-smoking advertisements we might find on television today.

** Relevance to the Outcome **

 This visual resource is used within a visual literacy lesson, exploring aspects of successful and effective advertising campaigns, preparing students to plan and film their own campaign in the following lesson. During this lesson, students identify the features of a successful advertising campaign by analysing examples of advertisements, such as this one, and explore its effectiveness of selling a message to the audience. This directly relates to the NSW K-6 English Syllabus (2007) and the following outcome:

// RS2.7 Discusses how writers relate to their readers in different ways, how they create a variety of worlds through language and how they use language to achieve a wide range of purposes. //

By viewing this clip, students are hence able to identify what they believe to be the effective aspects of the advertisement, whilst forming an opinion of whether it successfully sells a message of anti-smoking. Personally, I find this clip quite humorous and distracting from the actual anti-smoking message, however I believe it makes a good comparison to use when comparing its features to a more current anti-smoking advertisement. Students are able to identify the effect of the music and language used, the “catchy” slogan, and the obvious comparison of the teenager to a monkey. This allows for clear comparisons to the current anti-smoking campaigns, which attempt to reach their audience through confronting yet memorable images. After watching both clips, students are then able to make their own minds up of which advertising strategy and approach was more effective in discouraging smoking.

** Aspects of Literacy to be Explored **

Winch (2006) recognises that “technology has changed our literacy habits” (p.433). Hence it is evident that multiliteracies are becoming much more popular within the school setting through the rapid advancement of interactive whiteboards and the internet.

The Board of Studies (2007) similarly states that reading and viewing both involve decoding and interpreting texts, that is, they are both based on understanding codes (p.8). Students are therefore able to interpret and analyse this text, addressing its purpose and effectiveness of sending a message to its audience.

__ References __

Board of Studies NSW. (2007). English K-6 Syllabus. Sydney: Author.

Winch, J. (2006). Literacy: Reading, Writing and Children's Literature. Oxford, University Press.

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