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Thursday, February 4, 2010

Picking apart the commercials

If you're anything like me, you like the superbowl commercials almost as much as the game.  Some of them are just stupid and some are fantastic.  Here are some questions (from our friends at the Center for Parent and Youth Understanding) you can use with your son or daughter to help them think critically about the adds they see.

The Simple Seven


  • What product is this ad selling?
  • What, besides the product, does this ad sell? (ideas, lifestyle, worldview, behaviors, etc.)
  • What’s the bait, hook, and promise?
  • Complete this sentence: “This ad tells me, use_________ (the name of the product) and ____________ (the result the ad promises).
  • Does the ad tell the truth? What? How?
  • Does the ad tell a lie(s)? What? How?
  • How does this ad and its messages agree or disagree with God’s truth and what does that mean for me?

Additional Questions
  • Who made this ad?
  • Why was this ad made?
  • Who is this ad targeting?
  • What do the makers of this ad want me to do?
  • What’s the plot?
  • What are the ad’s themes and assumptions?
  • What techniques are being used to sell the product?
  • What does the camera say is most important? How are lighting, angles, focus, close-ups, etc. used?
  • How is the camera used to manipulate my emotions and create moods?
  • How is music used to manipulate my emotions and create moods?
  • How are the camera and music used to manipulate and distort reality?
  • What longing/need does this product promise to fulfill?
  • How are people treated and portrayed? Men? Women? Children? Parents? Authority figures? Etc.
  • If you use this product, what does the ad explicitly or implicitly say your life will be like?
  • If you don’t use this product, what does the ad explicitly or implicitly say your life will be like?
  • What inadequacies, anxieties, and aspirations does the ad exploit?
  • Who/what is the redeemer/messiah in this ad?
  • Is this ad exploitive or manipulative? How?
  • What role do you think this ad plays in shaping the lives of your peers?
  • Is this product necessary? Why? Why not?
  • How does this ad try to make me need the product?

posted by The Herd at 12:31 PM

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