Can You Spot the Ad? Teacher Material
Explain to students children that packaging is one of the kinds of advertising we see most often, but we often don’t think of it as advertising.
Tell students that ads try hard to get your attention, so ads for kids will use bright colours, things that are shocking or surprising (like the snake around the bus) and things that kids already like.
Now tell them to think of all of the products on a grocery store shelf competing to get their attention.
- What are some of the things they do to get kids’ attention?
Have students access the student chapter What is This Cereal Box Saying? and have students click or tap everything on the box that is there to make kids notice it. (If you prefer, you can print and distribute it as a handout and have students colour the elements that make kids notice it.)
Ask students what they found.
Make sure the following things get mentioned:
Characters (brand mascots like Tony the Tiger, characters from kids’ media, or real people like athletes)
Slogans (like Lucky Charms’ “magically delicious”)
Claims (some cereals have claims about taste, or nutrition, or both)
Colour (bright colours to attract attention)
Prizes, contests and giveaways
Activities on the back of the box
Now ask students: What else is on the box?
A number showing how much of the food is in the box
A list of ingredients and the nutrition facts label. This shows how much there is of different nutrients (like sugar, fat, protein, iron, etc.) in a serving. (Point out that you often eat more than one serving at a sitting.)
Ask students:
Which parts of the package do you think the maker wants to show you?
Which do they have to show you?
Which is bigger?
- (By law, the nutrition information and ingredients list have to be a certain size relative to the package, be “prominently shown” and big enough to be readable.)
Now distribute the handout What could the cereal box say?
Remind students of the different things you’ve discussed in this lesson about ads and how advertisers get kids to notice and want things.
Have students draw and colour in as many things as they can think of to get kids to notice their cereal box.
When they have finished, have them write or tell you how t hey made their box appeal to kids.
- If you wish, you can have them use the Reflection Recorder to do this.