TEACHING CHILDREN TO ANALYSE ADVERTISEMENTS

I’m a teacher, and I am very interested in how we can teach children how to deal with advertisements – we   get bombarded with them every day.  What effect does it have on impressionable children? How can children learn how to withstand the constant pressure, and get to understand the tricks that are used?

I found five very good sites, with lesson materials. The third one has over 30 links to lessons.

Analysing Television Advertisements

http://www.bishopdavidbrown.surrey.sch.uk/docs/3.pdf

Analysing Political TV Spot Ads

http://www.frankwbaker.com/tvspots.htm

30 links to lessons and lesson materials regarding advertising

http://www.teachit.co.uk/index.asp?CurrMenu=11&T=411

Analysing a Levis Advertisement -  Lesson Plan

http://www.teachers.tv/videos/ks3-ks4-english-and-media-teaching-media-analysing-an-advert

Analyzing Media: Cutthroat Competition-Comparing TV Commercials

http://www.classzone.com/books/lnetwork_gr11/page_build.cfm?content=analyz_media_pt3&ch=26

An Arabic McDonalds advert

Of course, how can I leave out Saudi Arabia. This advertisement was played in some Arabic countries at the time of the Beijing Olympics.  Notice that it hardly mentions McDonalds. It just has graphics of Olympic sports. It is trying to identify McDonalds with the Olympics. This advert could be from anywhere in the world - the only identifying sign that it is Arabic, is the song in the background is sung in Arabic.

And here's a link to a McDonalds Restaurant in Saudi Arabia
http://shahiya.com/english/restaurant.aspx?restaurant_id=1911

Japanes McDonalds

In the last post I showed you a Japanese McDonalds advert.... showing a female Ronald McDonald. Here's  a male version of the ad.

CURRENT MARKETING INNOVATIONS FOR MACDONALDS

McDonalds has always been an innovator, and it is moving beyond advertising into four areas of promotion - sports, music, fashion and entertainment – all popular areas with young people.

McDonalds has had a variety of “characters” Ronald McDonald, Hamburglar, Grimace and Mayor McCheese. These continue.

Possibly with an eye on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, they made Yao Ming of the NBA's Houston Rockets, a spokesman for McDonalds.

Justin Timberlake was  recruited to launch McDonald's  "i'm lovin' it" campaign. Timberlake wrote and recorded an original song incorporating the five notes in the "i'm lovin' it" theme. Timberlake put it on his own webpage and the song became number two on The song was placed on the lead page on Timberlake's fan Web site and reached Number Two on MTV's "Total Request Live" show.

Pop group Destiny's Child, featuring Beyonce, were recruited to McDonalds, and they touredthe US with a show called "Destiny Fulfilled and Lovin' It."

McDonalds is branching out into fashion. They have launched a  line of children's activewear under the brand name "McKids." McDonalds T-shirts, worn by staff, are so popular that they are being sold to the public in Holland.

Online and downloadable gaming, is a new area that McDonalds is moving into – obviously because it is popular with youth.

McDonalds and DreamWorks Animation teamed up to promote films together, starting in 2007. The first  film was Shrek 3. The promotion  included McDonald’s Happy meals, and gave McDonalds worldwide promotional rights to  DreamWorks animated properties. Earlier, they had had a ten year exclusive deal, which saw the successful Pixar releases.

All these show the tremendous scope and innovation of McDonalds’ marketing efforts, particularly in the target markets of children and youth

I'll finish with an innovative Japanese McDonalds advert.

MCDONALDS’ NEW APPROACH TO MARKETING

In the new millennium, McDonalds began decided it was time for a change to its marketing strategy, because the consumer’s lifestyles, taste and attitudes had changed and McDonalds wanted to stay relevant. They still had loyal customers and families coming, so the challenge was to keep this loyal base and appeal to the younger generation.

Larry Light, McDonald's executive vice president and global chief marketing officer, explained that the brand’s “sweet spot” or target demographic, had to be changed.

"The brand image, not the customer base, was about being a great place for families," Light said. "That was where the brand equity was mainly anchored: family place, mom bringing a child, Happy Meal. Our new sweet spot is 18- to 24-year-olds."

So that they would not lose the parents and children, McDonalds carried on appealing to other age groups, saying that age was not really important. Dean Barrett, McDonald's senior vice president of global marketing said that "McDonald's is not about an age. McDonald's is about an attitude." (This is very interesting, in the light of advertising to children).

Light said that the essence of McDonald's latest approach to branding is the phrase - "Forever young." "We previously had used the phrase 'McDonald's appeals to the child   in every one of us…. Our new phrase is 'McDonalds appeals to everyone who is young at heart.' That's not just another phrase. The tonality is different. Because youthful and young at heart is not the same as child, children and childish."

In another very radical change, the voice of the adverts change from "you" to "I," Earlier campaigns had used slogans like; "Your kind of place," "You deserve a break today," "You, you're the one," "What you want is what you get at McDonald's today," and "Have you had your break today?"

Light claimed that this change reflects a change in the customer and he claimed "It's a huge mind shift. I would say that's the most radical change in our executional approach since 1967."

That shift led to the creation of "i'm lovin' it," McDonald's first global advertising campaign. It was first launched in Germany in September 2003 – the marketers of the German branch of McDonalds had put forward the best idea after a worldwide appeal by McDonalds to its 14 ad agencies, for the very best ideas.

Here's "I'm Lovin' it" - the music is cool rap, right up-to-date.

More on McDonalds Adverts.  Now we are coming up to the 80s.

In the 1980s, there were ad slogans as "It's a good time for the great taste of McDonald's" and "Nobody can do it like McDonald's." In the 1990s  "Food, folks and fun" was made McDonald’s national ad theme. Later in 1995 came: "Have you had your break today?"  "Did somebody say McDonald's?" was the question posed in 1988.   Then in 2000 the theme became "We love to see you smile."

First we have " Nobody can do it like McDonalds."  - The pattern is similar - the catchy song, which could almost be a song on the top ten, lots of childrens voices, family theme, with  people of all ages enjoying eating burgers, and lots of shots of food to tempt the appetite.

And here is "We do it all for you." This is a showtime tune, with brass bands and lots of Americana. Once again, a whole cross-section of people, and this one is trying to show the spirit of McDonalds, being out to serve the customers.

And "We  Love to See you smile." This one is all talking - which breaks the pattern. But there is another Olympic version of "We love to see you smile" - from the 2000 Olympic Games. Here the smile of the athletes is being attributed to McDonalds.

More on McDonalds. I am going to follow the advertisments from the seventies until now.

 In the 1970's, Needham, Harper and Steers (DDB Needham today) took over and created the "You deserve a break today" campaign in 1971, which was immensely successful.  Other slogans that followed were "We do it all for you" in 1975 and "You, you're the one" a year later. And in 1974 came the slogan "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun" for the Big Mac. This jingle became a huge success, first being sung by actors and then by real people – to create a bond with the customers. Customers were given a free Big Mac if they could sing it.  It became a hit song on the radio.

Here is the  "we do it all for you" advertisment. Notice how it follows the style of the earlier one - with all the ingredients, and some humour.

A look at McDonalds Advertisements

If we want to see how advertisements have changed, we can't go wrong by looking at McDonalds.

McDonalds has always been at the cutting edge of marketing. For the last fifty years, McDonalds has followed one major advertising strategy – be the fun, friendly place for families. This approach was set in place by its founder, Ray Kroc.

Advertising, in the beginning years, was mainly print, and was done by franchisees. McDonalds branched out into television advertising in 1967, spending $3 million of franchee’s money on a national TV campaign. The following year, McDonalds hired an advertising agency, D’Arcy, from their home town, St Louis. This company introduced the “Big Mac.” In 1969 the D’Arcy left to concentrate on advertising Standard Oil. This shows how McDonalds was already in the big league of products.

The ad below was produced in 1971. It is pushing, through humour, how Clean McDonalds is.

And here's another one from 1970 -  humour again, but this time it's educating us about what is in a McDonalds burger.