Mass Media: Trade Show/Ad Creation Project

Overview: Students will create an advertisement or ad series for a product, real or imagined. In class we will set aside a day to have a “trade show” of sorts where students show off their advertisements. A requirement will be at least one ad for a magazine, but students can create ads for television, the Internet, or any other media as well. This project will be accompanied by a written explanation of how the ad is designed to “work” or appeal to its intended audience.

Procedure:

1. Decide whether you will create an ad for a product that already exists, or if you will create an imagined product. If you will create an imagined product, you need a product name and tag line/slogan.
2. Brainstorm your specific target audience. Who would or should use the product? (Be as specific/narrow as you can in your choice of target audience – it will make creating your ad easier.)
3. Make a list of the values of this target audience. What ideals or goals are usually associated with this target audience? (This will help you know what to “sell” beyond the product in your ad.)
4. Brainstorm ad strategies that may work to sell this product – review the specific strategies in your notes and explore which strategies would work to grab your target audience. (Do not assume that sex appeal will work. Depending on your product, it may backfire.)
5. Decide which medium to use for your ad. You must create at least one magazine advertisement, but you may create more if you so desire. Therefore, an ad series is appropriate.
6. Brainstorm and finalize the specific text you will have in the ad, including tag lines/slogans, plus any other text. (If you’re advertising a pharmaceutical drug, then you need to mention the potential side effects.)
7. Assemble the visual portions of the ad. You may use the computer, draw by hand, videotape, audio tape, or use any combination of these elements. Your only requirement is at least one ad the size of a full magazine page. It can be drawn, colored, use bits of ads or photos, whatever. The end product must LOOK GOOD!

WARNING: Do not make an ad that looks like one we would already recognize. The purpose of this assignment isn’t to make a variation on a theme – it is to come up with something new and unique.

Write-up: Answer the following questions about the main magazine ad:

1. Product name
2. Tag line/slogan
3. Other relevant text
4. Ad strategies used
5. Explanation of where the ad strategies appear in the ad
6. Target audience
7. How you are reaching the target audience through their values/goals/ideals

Grading:

(Coming soon!)