Public Critique Handout: Advertisement
2-3 pages
100 pts
The goals of this assignment are to (1) critically consume media, (2) identify “greenwashing” in advertisements, (3) explore structures of identity present or masked in “green” advertisement, and (4) gain experience writing for a popular audience. You will choose a contemporary advertisement that emphasizes the natural, green, or organic nature of a particular product. This advertisement can come from television, print, or online sources. You will undertake the necessary research to write a critical analysis of the campaign’s claims, communicative strategies, and ethics. You will then write a critique of the advertisement to be posted to a public blog.
Questions you should ask include:
- Are the claims of the advertisement factual?
- Identify how the commercial is defining the product in terms of the environment.Is it that the product is “natural,” “humane,” “organic,” etc.?
- Then determine how accurate this claim is.To answer this question, you may need to identify the materials used to produce the product, determine where and how the object is processed, explore how animals are treated in production, and/or research what waste is produced in the production, packaging, and transport of the product?
- Who makes up the target audience of the advertisement?Who does the advertisement include in its environmentally conscious community?
- Is important information withheld in the advertisement? For example:
- Where is the product produced? What labor practices are used to produce this product? How much does it cost? Does this exclude anyone from buying it?
- Does the commercial uncritically encourage consumerism? What is the environmental impact of this message?
- Does the argument withstand logical analysis?Does the argument rely on fallacies?
- How does the campaign shape the relationship between humans and the non-human environment?
Using the answers to these questions, you should write a focused critique of the advertising campaign. You need not include discussion of all the questions above; rather, focus on those that allow you to highlight what is most significant of the advertisement in light of our discussions in this course. Keep in mind that critique does not equal criticism. You should identify and discuss strengths and weaknesses, accuracies and inaccuracies, and ethical and unethicalcomponents of the advertisement.The essay should be your educated opinion of the advertisement and explain what your analysis tells us about greenwashing and environmental thought as a tool for advertisers.
The writing style of your essay should be for a public audience. Think of yourself as a media watchdog writing to media consumers. Essays will be uploaded to a public forum, so make sure to write in a way you would like people outside of the class to see.