IPHS Ad Agency:
Creating a Visual Argument
Using a current topic that uniquely affects the students of IPHS, create a visual argument to represent your side of the topic. This assignment will require your group to create an advertisement that is entirely original. If you use a photo, it must be one that your group takes. If a drawing is used, it must be original to your group. You must also have a tagline or slogan that represents what your argument is. Knowing your target audience, determine where the ad would be most effectively placed.
In addition to the ad, your group must write a paragraph outlining the basis of your argument.
Step One:
Come up with a catchy, snappy tagline. Keep it short and sweet; the average product needs no more than six or seven words. If you say it out loud and it sounds like a mouthful, edit it down. Whatever it is, it should grab the consumer's attention and convince him or her that your product is different from everyone else’s. Consider using:
- Rhyme – “Do you Yahoo?”
- Humor – “Dirty mouth? Clean it with Orbit chewing gum!”
- A play on words – “Every kiss begins with ‘Kay’”
- Creative imagery – Yellow Pages: “Let your fingers do the walking”
- Metaphor – “Red Bull gives you wings”
- Alliteration – “Intel Inside”
- A personal pledge – Motel 6: “We leave the light on for you”
- Dry understatement – Carlsberg beer has a big sign in downtown Copenhagen that reads, “Probably the best beer in town”.
Avoid the same old. The key to a good advertisement is being memorable. The second your ad borrows a familiar advertising phrase (for example, “new and improved,” “guaranteed,” or “free gift” — is there any other kind?), it becomes interchangeable with thousands of others. What’s more, listeners are so used to ad clichés that they don’t even hear them anymore. (Just listen to Tom Waits’s Step Right Up to hear how meaningless clichés sound when strung together.) Startling the reader into paying attention is especially useful if you have a lot to say. Use a persuasive technique. There are tried and true methods that advertisers rely on to make their ads stick. These include:
• Common sense: Challenging the consumer to think of a good reason why not to purchase a product or service.
• Humor: Making the consumer laugh, thereby making yourself more likeable and memorable. This pairs especially well with refreshing honesty.
• Repetition: Getting your product to stick by repeating key elements. Jingles are the most obvious way to do this, but unless they’re very good, they’re also the most annoying.
• Exigency: Convincing the consumer that time is of the essence. Limited-time only offers, fire sales, and the like are the commonest ways to do this, but again, avoid meaningless phrases that will slip under your customers’ radar.
Know the audience. Even the cleverest ad won’t work if it doesn't appeal to the target audience. Are you looking for a certain age group? Do you want people with a set income level? Or maybe you're looking for a population with a special interest. Remember: it needs to appeal to your audience as much as possible and avoid offending or talking down to them.
Step Two:
Choose a memorable image. Simple but unexpected is often the best route to take. For example, these stark, colorful silhouette ads that barely even show the iPods they’re peddling couldn’t get much more straightforward, but because they don’t look like any other ads, they are instantly recognizable.
Step Three:
Product Placement. Determine the best location to place your advertisement. Knowing your audience, ask yourself where will your ad get the most views.
Due Date:Feb. 10
This will count for two grades