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Chapter 15
Advertising
CHAPTER SUMMARY
We are exposed to thousands of advertisements each week. Ads are so ubiquitous that, in some ways, they
are as invisible to us as the air we breathe. Yet the ads are also working on us, often silently—below the radar
of general awareness—to sway purchasing decisions. In this chapter, Behrens and Rosen explore the ways
advertising succeeds. The chapter consists of accounts how good advertisements work (by planning a
pleasurable memory, rarely by commanding an immediate purchase). Throughout this text, the authors
Why Good Advertising Works (Even When You Think It Doesn’t) (p. 524)
Nigel Hollis
SUMMARY
Hollis is an advertising executive, and his article has a practical, applied feel. He’s very clear on the long-game
strategy of ads: Good advertisements create “positive memories and feelings that influence our behavior over time to
TEACHING SUGGESTION
Send students in the print archives noted in this chapter and ask them to locate one print advertisement, which they
should analyze according to the main criteria Hollis sets out in his article: that the ad create a positive impression.
Students should be prepared to explain this impression to the class in a brief presentation. Students can do the same
with any of the television commercials listed later in the chapter.
Selling Happiness: Three Pitches from Mad Men (p. 526)
SUMMARY
Mad Men was a multi-season success that captured life in the Madison Avenue world of advertising in the 1960s. The
three pitches that students are compelling. They show creative advertising genius at work: how an effective campaign
TEACHING SUGGESTION
This video element should spark compelling discussion. Don Draper’s “Carousel” pitch is particularly persuasive.
Watch the way it tugs at the emotions not just of the characters in the room but at our emotions as well. Draper has
invented a deep connection been product and consumers. Ask students to use Hollis’s “pleasant impressions” criterion
to analyze the three Med Men clips. Would Draper’s ads pass the Hollis’s test?
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An Introduction to Advertising in America (p. 528)
Daniel Pope
SUMMARY
Daniel Pope’s brief survey of advertising in America sets a broad context in which students approach their analysis of
TEACHING SUGGESTION
Ask students to dive into any of the ads to be found in the Print Archives recommended in this chapter. Students
The Greatest Print Campaigns of All Time: Volkswagen “Think Small” (p. 532)
Joshua Johnson
SUMMARY
Joshua Johnson explains why the “Think Small” campaign for Volkswagen revolutionized the advertising industry.
TEACHING SUGGESTION
Johnson conducts a close analysis of the VW Ad. Students could outline his article as an example of effective analysis
before turning to their own analyses.
Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals (p. 537)
Job Fowles / Shirley Biagi
SUMMARY
The Fowles list of fifteen basic appeals of ads is a classic in the study of advertising. Fowles’s own presentation is a bit
difficult for students, so Behrens and Rosen have included in this chapter a re-wording of the appeals by a textbook
writer, Shirley Biagi.
TEACHING SUGGESTION
The obvious activity that follows from Fowles’s appeals is an analysis of a print ad. See the next selection, a pointer to
A Portfolio of Print Ads (p. 539)
Advertising Archive
Duke University Media Collections
Lürzer’s Int’l Archive: Advertising Worldwide
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SUMMARY
The Archives listed here will give students access to thousands of print advertisements, any one of which can serve as
an object of analysis. Behrens and Rosen describe each archive and its holdings and reprint one or two ads from each
archive.
TEACHING SUGGESTION
See above. Students should use Fowles’s “Fifteen Basic Appeals” to analyze their ad(s) of choice.
A Primer on Analyzing Television Commercials (p. 545)
Arthur Asa Berger
SUMMARY
A media critic, Berger sees television commercials as specialized films and approaches their study accordingly. He
emphasizes narrative structure, dialogue and language, actors, technical elements like lighting, music, and signs and
symbols. His operating assumption: “Commercials are complex and ‘rich’ works of art that demand a great deal of
attention if one is to discover the mechanisms by which they achieve their aims.”
TEACHING SUGGESTION
Berger provides tools for analyzing television commercials, just as Fowles provides tools for analyzing print ads.
A Portfolio of Television Commercials (p. 546)
SUMMARY
Behrens and Rosen present a list of over fifty distinctive television commercials, most organized by decade. The
classics are here (Spicy Meatballs) and some surprises, too. The commercials should delight students. Each ad presents
opportunities for rich analysis.
TEACHING SUGGESTION
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APPENDIX: INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES ON THE WEB
Provided here are groupings of various Web sites to augment traditional classroom instruction as well as Web-
based instruction:
Writing Resources provides links to all kinds of help for the instructor (and the student)
concerning some of the writing required in freshman-level composition.
Research Paper Resources provides links relevant to research-based writing—everything from
distinguishing scholarly journals from magazines to how to cite electronic resources.
Writing Resources
How to Summarize a Research Article
This printable resource from the UConn Writing Center walks users through all the steps of summary including
choosing a focus, reading strategies, drafting and finalizing written summary.
Hunter College Reading/Writing Center
The Hunter College Reading/Writing Center Web site provides many useful handouts on various aspects of
writing: the writing process, grammar and mechanics, writing for English courses, the documented
essay/research paper, writing across the curriculum, and business and professional writing.
Researched Papers: Integrating Good Sources
Professor Dennis G. Jerz of Seton Hill University provides good guidelines for source referencing and examples
Plagiarism (Northwestern University)
Northwestern’s “Principles Regarding Academic Integrity” defines plagiarism as “submitting material that in
part or whole is not entirely one’s own work without attributing those same portions to their correct source.”
This site provides clear guidelines for proper attribution of sources and plenty of examples.
Revision Strategies (Hobart and William Smith Colleges)
This site encourages deliberate and careful strategies for individual self-revision and provides a link to
collaborative revision strategies as well.
Drew University Writing Program Web Resources
This Web site contains a great collection of links put together by Sandra Jamieson (many are written by her as
well) at Drew University and Rebecca Moore Howard at Syracuse University (with help from Jody Caldwell,
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Research Paper Resources
Resources for Documenting Sources (Purdue University)
OWL at Purdue University discusses documentation styles from various disciplines.
Frequently Asked Questions about the MLA Style (Modern Language Association)
This Modern Language Association Web site provides authoritative answers to commonly asked questions
about the MLA documentation style. The site has been recently updated for the newest version of MLA.
Distinguishing Scholarly from non-scholarly Periodicals: A Checklist of Criteria (Cornell
University)
From the Cornell University Library, this site provides a useful discussion for students on the differences
between journals and magazines. Recently, two videos on how to locate and use scholarly and general-interest
sources have been added.
Media Links (Drew University)
The Urban Institute
The Institute’s Web site contains full-text articles and reports on a variety of social issues.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute
The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) is a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health
PBS
This site provides the transcripts and informational links for weekly programs aired on Bill Moyers,
Frontline,Washington Week,Science, and Nature.
NPR
This site provides the transcripts and informational links for programs aired on National Public
Radio.
BBC
For international news from a different perspective, the British Broadcasting Corporation Web site provides
reports that often do not get into US newspapers.
The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press is an independent, nonpartisan public opinion research
organization that studies attitudes toward politics, the press, and public policy issues.
Project Vote Smart
The Voice of the Shuttle
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Evaluating Web Resources
Evaluating Websites: Criteria and Tools
This is a Cornell University Library resource that provides detailed evaluation criteria.
The ICYouSee Guide to Critical Thinking about What You See on the Web (Ithaca College Library)
This Web site works well for students as a hands-on activity to learn about Web site evaluation. It is frequently
updated by the author, John R. Henderson, Ithaca College Library, with new activities added occasionally.
Urban Legends Reference Pages
A place to check out Internet rumors and reoccurring bogus claims, not to mention computer virus scares.
Guidelines for Evaluating Websites
General Resources
Dave’s ESL Web Guide
Dave Sperling provides numerous links to anything related to ESL for teachers and students.
The New
Plagiarism
College Composition and Communication (CCC)
Online source for a composition’s professional organization. Contains book reviews.
Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy