Convince Me!

Social Studies Activity

BACKGROUND
Your students may be aware of the techniques used by advertisers to sell products and services.
They may be less conscious of the purposes and intents of advertisements that try to shape their
opinions and affect their behavior. In this activity, they look for and analyze examples of those
ads.
WHAT YOU NEED
Magazines and newspapers that can be cut up
Paper and pencil
An Analysis Chart for each group
Stapler
WHAT TO DO
1. Discuss with students what they already know about advertising techniques for selling
products and services. Then ask them to think of ads that try to sell a particular point of
view in order to shape public opinion and affect readers' behavior. Examples might
include the following:
o Health and safety issues such as fire safety, seat-belt or bicycle helmet use, and
anti-smoking messages
o Political ads for or against candidates
o Environmental issues, such as those involving carpooling to cut down on pollution
from cars, land use, and logging versus animal protection.
2. Have students look through magazines and newspapers for examples of opinion-shaping
ads and cut them out.
3. Divide the class into groups and distribute the ads among them. Explain that you would
like each group to take several ads and analyze them, using the Analysis Chart. Have
them staple the ad to its analysis chart.
4. Bring students together as a class to discuss their findings. In summation, point out that
while some ads take a stand that most readers can agree with (such as fire safety), it is
important to consider the source of each ad, its purpose, and what other points of view
might be worth discussing before making a decision.

TEACHING OPTIONS
There may currently be an issue of importance to your community on which there is a difference
of opinion. An example might be the imposition of a curfew on youths under 16 years of age.
Ask students to consider the positions of different groups, such as youths, adults, local business
people, and police. Then have groups of students representing each point of view create an ad
that is designed to shape public opinion and/or affect its behavior. As a class, compare the ads,
using the questions in the Analysis Chart.

Analysis Chart

What person or organization is the source of the ad?

What audience do you think the ad is trying to reach?

What position have the people who placed this advertisement taken?

What kind of opinion or action are they hoping to get from readers?

Can you determine from the ad what other views people might have on
this subject? Explain.

Do you recognize any advertising techniques you've seen in other

advertisements? Explain.

What attention-grabbing and/or persuasive words did the advertisers

use?