1. When advertisers are trying to sell products, are they thinking of you? Consider what this little girl has to say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLp7tUzq- gs&list=PLC25FFA853ECCE768&index=5&feature=plpp_vid eo

2. Building on what we’ve learned… You have already begun to see how persuasive techniques are used to target you as consumers. Now we will broaden the scope a bit and take a look at the many ways in which writers and advertisers focus their persuasion tactics on specific target groups in society. You will explore and try to describe the various persuasive tools used in advertisements and identify who they are hoping to persuade.

4. GEOGRAPHY Geography can be one way to help determine a target market. For example, a company that makes snow tires would be more interested in the consumers located in the northern parts of the United States and in the mountainous regions. For example, snow tires would appeal to anyone who owns a car and lives in these areas.

5. AGE As people grow older, their tastes and preferences change. Entertainment is an industry that frequently uses the age demographic to determine a target market. For example, a television show may be given a particular time slot because market research shows that people ages 13 to 18 watch television during that time and that is the target market the show is going for. Age is a demographic that becomes very specific to other factors: People ages 13 to 18 in the southern United States might listen to a different kind of music than those in the western states.

6. SEX (gender) If an advertiser believes that its target market is female, then much of its advertising will be geared towards a female audience. For example, make-up and other beauty products are generally marketed to females.

7. COMBINATION A comprehensive target market profile usually encompasses a combination of the major demographic elements. For example, the newest male teenage singing sensation will want to market his music to the teenage females throughout the world. Another example of combining target market components is using sports commercials with scantly clad women to market beer during the broadcast of sporting events. The beer companies have done their research and have determined that heterosexual males who are sports fans are beer consumers, and those commercials display a company advertising to a very specific target market.

8. What does this say about advertisements and stereotypes?

9. What is the first thing you notice about this ad? What is the end goal of this advertisement? What type of person or group would be interested in this type of advertising? Why do you think that?

10. Who is the audience for this ad? What does the text say? What do you notice about the language that they use? What type of person or group would be interested in this type of advertising? Why do you think that?

11. And this one…? What is the goal of this advertisement? What does the text say or convey? What do you notice about the images used? What type of person are they targeting to use this product?

12. Now you tell me.

13. What about commercials? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffOCZYX6F8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=digQow8BMF4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug75diEyiA0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJsnR-KDbFc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-5NIviSXV4

14. EXIT TICKET: Think of a commercial or ad you’ve seen recently. Name it and write a brief description. What is the goal of the advertisement? Who is the target audience? What type of person would be interested in this product? What language and/or images do they use that help you know who they are targeting?