Lesson Plan 7

Teacher Name: Adrienne Stackwell  

Class: Introduction to Marketing Grade Level: 11/12  

Unit Title: Advertising and Culture

Lesson Title: Cultural Icons in Advertising

Lesson Purpose and Rationale:

It seems that every time a professional team wins a national title or an Olympian brings home a gold medal, they are immediately placed in tons of advertising campaigns from Wheaties boxes to Chapstick commercials. Our culture praises winners and not only thinks of them as role models, but as icons. They are able to sell products and services because they are winners, and our culture thrives on winners. What cultural icons do we have in society? And how does advertising contribute to current popular culture? These are the questions that will take us through an exploration into our culture and how advertising plays an important part in determining what is trendy and what is not. The intention of this lesson is to make students aware of the role advertising plays in popular culture.

National Content Area Standards Met:

Foundations of Marketing : This standard is met because this lesson emphasizes the recognition of the customer-oriented nature of marketing. The advertising of products is determined by our society and culture much like the development of new products. In this lesson, we will be focusing on advertising and how it plays an important part in our society.  

Consumers and Their Behavior: This standard is met because the icons that are selected to represent/endorse a product are deemed icons by society. Since consumers are a part of society, they basically choose who they want to listen to as a spokesperson. Advertisers cling onto this concept. This is apparent in how consumers behave and react to the advertisements.

Daily Objectives:

-Students will describe their feelings about the use of popular culture’s icons to sell products and services through class discussion.

-Students will draw upon what he/she observes in popular culture to determine why icons are such a valuable tool.

-Students will cooperate with one another in developing reasons for why society is so affected by the use of popular culture’s icons in advertisements.

Materials needed:

Computers with the Internet

Worksheet

Schema:

Students should have some semblance of popular culture and how advertisements are loaded with pop icons. These icons have, at some point in the student’s lives, provoked a want/desire to purchase a good. This could easily have resulted in an actual purchase. This is situation is applicable at almost all stages of our lives, and it is something that every student should have some experience with.

Lesson:

Launch (Introduction): (10 minutes)

1. Discussion Questions

-Who would you consider to be current pop culture icons?

- How do you react when you see these icons endorsing a product?

-Does it provoke an action to go and patronize that business or buy that particular product?

-How much influence do you think pop culture icons have on society as a whole?

Agenda/Procedure:

1. Pass out worksheet on popular culture icons. This worksheet details the assignment for the majority of the class period. Students will be required to go on-line and search for famous celebrities/icons that have endorsing deals and find out how much money those celebrities make in endorsement deals. They should select 3 different icons to do research on. After they have identified 3 icons, the students will be asked to try to find out what the terms of their endorsement contract are. If they cannot find this information on-line, they will be directed to look up Endorsement Contracts on the computer through a web-journal website provided by our school library. (20 minutes) This activity is intended to stress the importance of the student’s knowledge of why celebrities really endorse products. The reason for their endorsement isn’t usually because they really believe in the quality or performance of the product, but because of the amount of money it will pay.

2. Once the students have their information, it will be time to have a group discussion on how advertisers pick spokesmen and women. Is their a common pattern of who certain industries select as their spokesmen/women due to the nature of their fame? By now the students should have an item/business that they have chosen for their ad campaigns. They must find a spokesperson that will endorse their product. (15 minutes) This portion of the lesson is extremely important because it is giving the students the framework to accomplish a portion of their ad campaign. By recognizing these patterns, it should help give direction to the students when they are selecting their own spokesperson.

3. After they have selected their spokesperson, they may continue to work on their ad campaigns for the remainder of the class period. (10 minutes) I believe that in giving the students as much in class time as I can allot for because it is an easy way for me to monitor the participation of members of the group as well as the progress of the group. I would like to be available for as many questions as I can be, and if they work on this project in class as much as possible, I am more accessible

Assessment:

Diagnostic: This assessment is to be completed by opening the lesson with discussion topics that test to see how much students notice pop culture icons in advertisements.

 Formative: This assessment is to be completed by walking around during their group discussion and observing and listening to make sure they are on task and understanding the purpose of the lesson.

 Summative: This assessment will be completed upon the completion of the assignment. This will be determined by when the group decides to give their final presentation.

 Summary :

While explaining the assignment, review the main ideas of the day’s lesson as a means for them to complete the assignment. Encourage the students to use the same tactics as they had already done with the group projects and the in-class questions. Allow time for the students to ask questions regarding the assignment.