A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR
By Dick Weber
INTRODUCTIONDid you know that the average American is bombarded by over 500 selling messages (advertisements and commercials) per day? That amounts to over 182,500 selling messages per year. How do we handle all these messages? How do we separate fact from fiction, information from emotion? One way to come to grips with all of these messages is to understand the devices and techniques that advertisers use to persuade us to buy their products. If we understand just what is going on in the advertisement or commercial, we can make some intelligent decisions, some informed choices.
Probably the most important and most commonly used selling technique or persuasive device used in advertising is the concept of repetition. Not only are ads and commercials frequently repeated, but repetition is also used within the ads or commercials themselves. The name of the product may be repeated throughout the advertisement, and we all know that slogans, jingles and advertising characters are used over and over again. The use of repetition as a persuasive device has its foundation in the theory of conditioned reflex, the idea that learning involves the association of a response with a stimulus. A response to the specific stimulus is learned if the stimulus is repeated often enough. In the 1920's Pavlov demonstrated this concept by showing that a dog learned to lift its paw at the sound of a bell if the dog was repeatedly rewarded for doing so. The idea behind the use of repetition in advertising is that we, like Pavlov's dog, will become conditioned to behave in a certain manner; namely, we will respond by buying the product.
This lesson will examine the technique of repetition in advertising by concentrating on the use of slogans, those catchy little phrases that advertisers use to help identify their products.
TASKIn order to fulfill the requirements for this lesson, you will accomplish the following:
· You will be able to use the Internet to gather information.
· You will test your knowledge of and ability to recall advertising slogans.
· You will work individually on activities.
· You will work in small groups to share your ideas and information.
· You will answer questions by going to specific web sites.
· You will be able to use a keyword search to obtain answers to specific questions.
· You will create slogans for specific products and explain why your slogans are appropriate for the products.
· You will use email to communicate with a company and gather additional information.
· You will demonstrate what you have learned by writing journal entries.PROCESS
In order to accomplish the tasks and fulfill the requirements for this lesson, you will need to complete the following steps.
STEP 1. Individual Exercise (Handout A). This handout contains a list of slogans
from past and present: however, the names of the products have been omitted.
Your task is to supply the names of the products or companies from memory.
Fill in all that you can recall
STEP 2. Small Group Exercise (Handout A). You will need to divide into groups of
three for this activity. Using handout A, share your answers and brainstorm
with the members of your group. See how many more of the slogans you can
recall.STEP 3. Internet Activity. To check your answers and to supply the still missing
products, you will need to use the Internet. Go to "Advertising Slogans" at
http://advweb.cocomm.utexas.edu/research/slogans/
STEP 4. Internet Activity. Using the Internet, you will need to do the following tasks.
a) List five slogans that Coca Cola used in 1934. HINT: Try going to Guy
Gagnon's Coca Cola Web Page at http://www.synapse.net/~ggagnon/welcome.html1. 4.
2. 5.
3.
b) List five of the top 10 Volkswagen advertising slogans. HINT:
Go to EXCITE at http://excite.com/ and do a keyword search.1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
STEP 5. Create Some Slogans of Your Own. Select five of the following products and
create an appropriate slogan for each one. Give a name to your product if you need
to do so.a) Motorcycle
b) Tires
c) Candy bar
d) Car wax
e) Roller Blades
f) Shampoo
g) Jeans
h) Chewing Gum
i) Automobile
j) Athletic Shoes
STEP 6. Journal Entry. Explain your rationale for creating each slogan. Why are your
slogans appropriate for your product? How difficult was this task?
STEP 7. Communication via the Internet. To complete this step, you will need to select a
company that has an interesting slogan. Next, send an email to the company to find
out additional information about the slogan. You might ask: 1)Why was the slogan
selected? 2) Who created the slogan? 3) How long has the slogan been in use?
4) Has the slogan been successful? 5) Any other questions you have. To find an
email address for your company, go to http://www.excite.com/ and use "Email
Lookup."
STEP 8. Evaluate a Web Site. (Handout B). Select one of the web sites that you used for
this lesson. Next, evaluate the effectiveness of that web site by completing the
"Critical Evaluation of a Web Site" form (Handout B).
EVALUATION
You will demonstrate what you have learned in this lesson through your journal entries.
JOURNAL ENTRY. In a one page journal entry, reflect on what you have learned from this lesson about using the Internet to gather information. You might want to consider the usefulness of the information you found, the ease with which you found the information, and the comfort level you are at in using the Internet.
JOURNAL ENTRY. In a one page journal entry, reflect on what you have learned from this lesson about advertising and slogans. You might want to consider the following questions:
1. What makes a good slogan?2. Why are some slogans memorable and others not?
3. Are slogans effective? Explain.
4. Do you purchase products based on slogans? Why or why not?
CONCLUSIONBy completing the tasks involved in this lesson, you should have gained some experience using the Internet and email as information gathering instruments. You should also have a good solid background in the use of the slogan as a persuasive device commonly used in advertising.
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