Globalisation:Media Smart:Activities
Media Smart recently launched a new set of independently drawn up teaching materials (Be Adwise 2), which aim to build up children’s literacy skills with regard to the digital media, which are of growing importance in their lives. The programme has received extensive government and stakeholder support and is being requested by a large number of schools in the UK. [1]
This initiative has been launched at a time when 77% of children use the internet regularly and it involves free online lessons. [2] These lessons allow children to learn about digital advertising in a fun, engaging manner. It teaches them to think critically about advertising online as they are an easy target for marketers. Advertising to children is now a £99 billion industry, so it is important that they are aware of it and know how to deal with it.[3]
Digital Adwise is funded by many brands and companies, some of which being Mars, Kellogs, McDonalds, Ferrero, Lego, Mattell and Hasbro. It is also supported by the wider advertising industry, including the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).[4]
Teachers are able to log into the Digital Adwise website where they can download various resources for the lesson’s including activity sheets, lesson plans and digital adverts. [5] The resource centre provides notes which are suitable to be used with teacher power points, whiteboard activity screens, online activities for pupils and printable worksheets on their main website. The teacher’s notes provide a guide on different approaches that can be taken to teaching the activities to the pupils. The activities available are designed to appeal to a variety of different learning styles – i.e. visual, auditory, interpersonal, etc – and are broken down into manageable tasks that can be carried out as discrete activities, or combined into one lesson, with introductory and plenary sessions.[6]
Activities:-
TAG THE ADVERTISEMENT- 45 adverts appear when walking down a virtual street the player has to click on every advertisement they notice. Including in shop window displays, the sides of lorries and on televisions evoking how many we bypass each day without much consideration.
ADVERTING CHALLENGE – Linking individuals to certain brands, showing celebrity culture sells brands. Media Smarts feature Bill Board, Maggie Zeen and Ray deo linking their favourite pastimes to the object that it requires
MAKE YOUR OWN BRAND- Making an interactive version of yourself or others the player creates their own clothes logo and slogan to appear on their interactive self featuring on a television advert, action figure or t-shirt. [7]
- Digital Adwise official website : http://digitaladwise.mediasmart.org.uk
Responses to the digital adwise campaign
Positive remarks on Media Smarts adwise campaign have been consistently published throughout both the academic and media world some of these responses include:
- “Children develop a critical attitude to advertising at an early stage. Instead [of further regulations]children should be taught to become more critical consumers and use ads more constructively.”Cite error: Closing
</ref>missing for<ref>tag - Livingstone 2006 argues that advertising literacy is an insufficient ‘cognitive defence’ against the effects of advertising. Whilst this may be Livingstone’s view, she is isolated in the academic community in this position and her views differ from those of significant figures in the media and media education’ <ref> Media smart research [1] accessed 11/11/2010 <ref>
her full research report can be found at:[2]
- ‘McDonald's has signed a controversial deal to sponsor the ITV weekend children's programming strand, prompting one Labour MP to call for fast-food TV tie-ups to be banned.
McDonald's is spending an estimated £1m to back GMTV kids' programming strand 'Diggit', which covers all ITV's weekend programming from 7.10am to 9.25am. The core audience is three-to eight-year-olds. McDonald's' ad agency Leo Burnett is creating sponsorship idents that combine cartoon characters the Happy Hyenas with the McDonald's logo.’ ref> Mark Kleinman, McDonald's under fire for kids' TV tie-up, Marketing, 26 June 2002
An Industry to Teach Kids to be More Marketing Aware Online, UTalk Marketing, Accessed 11/11/10<ref>
- ‘Separately, Media Smart, the industry-wide initiative to educate young people about the use of ads, is delaying its launch by four months. Kellogg, Mattel, Hasbro and Masterfoods are the only advertisers to sign up to date’ Showing that a number of businesses had to be pushed or persuaded to join the organisation <ref> Media smart News [3] accessed 11/11/2010 <ref>
Notes
- ↑ Responsible Advertising, Accessed on 02/11/10
- ↑ Improving Children's Understanding of Online Advertising, IPA, Accessed 11/11/10
- ↑ An Industry to Teach Kids to be More Marketing Aware Online, UTalk Marketing, Accessed 11/11/10
- ↑ Improving Children's Understanding of Online Advertising, IPA, Accessed 11/11/10
- ↑ Teachers, Accessed 11/11/10
- ↑ Resource Centre, Accessed 11/11/10
- ↑ Brand Me, Accessed 20/10/2010
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