Each day as the unit unfolded the questions asked by students demonstrated their moving across the zone of proximal development in the understanding and implementation of advertising. As students worked in their initial group strategy sessions, I walked around and talked with each group. I asked them to explain the information on which they planned to focus their advertising campaign and why. Several groups got the overall concept and could tell me their focus. One group planned on presenting a happier family life after having the lawn professionally landscaped. Another group wanted to focus on the experience and awards of the company. Their thinking was that customers would feel more likely to choose a company with a proven and successful track record. There were other groups who wanted to jump ahead of the strategy session and begin developing the creative. One group wanted to focus on lawn mowing. I had a long discussion with this group about the potential customers of a landscaping service as well as this particular company they were tasked to represent. They really wanted to go with the grass cutting idea because they were so in love with their creative idea. In the end, they used their slogan, and it did not really fit. As the ads were shown on the Promethean board, several students pointed out obvious weaknesses in this advertisement in particular (in a nice way). The group, however, was not happy that not everyone was as excited about their slogan as they were. This is a genuine issue in advertising. Sometimes the creative team comes up with a fantastic creative idea, but it needs to balance with the advertising executive's ideas of the strategy. Otherwise, the client is not well served.

As work on the yellow pages ad and the audio ad progressed, I observed the groups pursuing different levels of engagement. As expected, a couple groups put forth the minimal expectations of the rubric. However, many groups constructed their own learning by collaborating on different software effects to create more elaborate projects. One group used Paint to compose a flower made of different photos appropriate to landscaping. One group made a photo background that was so popular that other group members asked them to show their group how to accomplish the same thing. In the audio ad, some groups decided to play with effects in the software. I was encouraged that most students were excited enough about the product that they wanted to explore options to make it even more successful.

The best qualitative evidence I received was from the yellow pages ad judge, Stilson Greene. Mr. Greene owns a graphic arts/advertising agency in Leesburg, VA and was gracious enough to volunteer to judge the ads from a professional's standpoint. This gave the students an authentic audience. After agreeing to be the judge, I sent Mr. Greene the same information that students received so he could know the framework in which they were working. At the completion of the unit, I sent Mr. Greene the PDF's of each group's yellow pages ad. His initial response was:

Cindy

WOW!

This is going to be really hard, the quality of work is way beyond my expectations, and that is a example of great student/teacher communication. My kudos to you and your class. I will have my selections to you by next Thursday.

Again, they are FANTASTIC.

I have attached a jpeg of an ad I did in the same vein for a client so you can show the class how I approached their assignment for real last year.

Best

Stilson

Needless to say I was excited. When I showed the email communication to my students, their response was positive and excited. They looked forward to the announcement of the winners. The cynic inside me says he was just being nice. However, I would like to think since it was immediate and unsolicited, that it was genuine. As promised, Mr. Greene chose two winners. He said he would prefer to call them “Best Examples” given the high quality of all the entries.

Mr. Greene’s email to me:

Hi Cindy

This was a difficult task. All the designs were great, what it came  
down to was the utilitarian aspect of the design.

The vehicle was the yellow pages, so the most prominent features  
should be name of business and the phone number. Many of the ads were  
so clever and visually rewarding (ie: the Puzzle Piece was fantastic)  
but the "user" had to look to find the number, the number should be  
visual in less than 2 seconds in order for a phone ad to be effective.

Another deciding factor was backgrounds, what looks great on a  
computer screen does not always work when printing, especially on low  
quality rag paper such as the phone book.

So that is my evaluations: A) vehicle user - needs phone number  B)  
vehicle itself - limitations of the product's inherent structure, the  
paper and format.

It was an absolute pleasure to do this and if you ever would like for  
me to come to your class and meet these impressive designers, I would  
love to.

I have attached the two best examples, I will not say winners because  
every single one of them was a true winner.

Best,

Stilson

Assistant Principal, David McKenzie, surprised the class by making the presentations to winners. They received a certificate and school tee shirt. I took photos of the winners receiving their certificates and posted them in the class. I also advertised the winners in the school newsletter and submitted them to the school website.

         As a final non-graded assessment (prior to the announcement of the winners), I asked students to write a sentence or several on what they learned during the advertising unit. I asked them not to write what they might think I wanted to hear (i.e. the definitions), but rather how they looked at advertising differently now. Here are some of their responses:

 I learned how advertising targets specific groups of people and how different colors attract attention and create different moods in people.

 I now see how the Halo Effect makes me want to buy things.

 When I hear an advertisement now, I listen to hear if the company says the name 3 or more times. I look to see if they put their phone number or email in.

 I know now that sometimes they try to make it look good to sell the product. Types of demographics depend on who watches the particular program on TV.

 Advertisements are harder to make than I thought.

 I know the different strategies that advertisers use. I hear ads with conversations, unusually low or high voices, or catchy songs and I smile because I know that they didn’t do any of that by accident.

 I try to figure out what they are trying to make me do, feel, or buy.

 I see if you use good creativity and color, then people will be more interested in the ad.

 I pay much more attention to see if the ad gives the right information. Also I watch to see what kind of person is being attracted to it.

 Before the advertising unit, I never really paid attention to them. But now, I seem to notice them. Like in the car, I’ll count how many times they say their phone number.

 I also didn’t know that people have hidden secrets. That kids will remember a song so it will get stuck in parents’ heads. Mothers pick the child’s doctors and dentists, not the father.

 Now I know that everything you see in advertising isn’t true.

 I didn’t realize that there are so many advertisements everywhere. Now I appreciate commercials more because I know that they are very hard to make.

 This unit on advertising has made me less naïve about the media.

 Now when I hear a radio ad, I try and find their demographic and angle instead of just listening to it.

 I also didn’t know commercials were worth so much money

 I can now point to different parts of ads, without even realizing I am doing it.

 When I look on TV and see those commercials, I know all what they have to do, and it makes me tired just looking at it. I know now that you can’t just do random funny things for a commercial. 

Wow, I didn’t know the commercials repeat things more than once just to annoy you, but to make sure everyone hears and understands it.

 Before I knew about the Halo Effect, I always thought that whatever a commercial said must be true and that the product would always look as seen on TV.

 Now when I see movies or commercials, I can kind of tell when there is a greenscreen. I can see when companies try to use the Halo Effect when they actually are not a very good company.

 Now I know that you use catchy, annoying jingles to stay in people’s head.

 It was a good way to teach a lesson by creating your own advertisements.