Ralph E. Hanson, Second Edition
HomeWeblogChaptersCh. 1: Living in a Media WorldCh. 2: The Media Business: Consolidation, Globalization, and the Long TailCh. 3: Mass Communication Effects: How Society and Media InteractCh. 4: Books: The Birth of the Mass MediaCh. 5: Magazines: The Power of Words and ImagesCh. 6: Newspapers: Reflection of a Democratic SocietyCh. 7: Sound: Music and Talk Across MediaCh. 8: Movies: Mass-Producing EntertainmentCh. 9: Television: Broadcast, Cable and BeyondCh. 10: The Internet: Mass Communication Gets PersonalCh. 11: Advertising: Selling a MessageCh. 12: Public Relations: Manufacturing the NewsCh. 13: Media Law: Free Speech and FairnessCh. 14: Media Ethics: Truthfulness, Fairness, and Standards of DecencyCh. 15: Global Media: Communication Around the WorldAbout the BookAbout the AuthorHelp
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Chapter 11: Advertising

Exercises

1. Take the VALS survey. How did their questionnaire categorize you? Do you agree with its classification? Why or why not? Think of at least at least one broadcast or print ad that you feel targets your VALS category. Explain why you think it is targeting your category.


2. Take a look at a local, national, or metropolitan newspaper. Can you identify any advocacy advertisements? If so, what issues or ideas are they promoting? Do you think these ads are effective in gaining support for the causes or ideas they represent?

3. With the increasing popularity of DVRs, technology is allowing consumers to eliminate the commercial advertising that accompanies their favorite television programs. With these findings, advertisers may back away from high-priced television ads and spend their advertising dollars elsewhere. This shift would have a significant impact on the television industry's overall revenue.

•  Consider the Source: Who is reporting that television advertisers are losing their audience to technological advancements that allow viewers to skip commercials?

•  Analyze & Reflect: What effect will a significant loss of advertising viewers have on the television broadcast industry? What can broadcasters do to make commercials more appealing to viewers?

•  Examine: When you sit down to watch your favorite television show, either at the scheduled broadcast time or a recording, do you watch the commercial segments? If you do watch commercials, what catches your attention in the ads? If you skip the commercials, what is your strongest reason for doing so?

•  Conclude: Arguably, the Super Bowl is the only television program where people are excited to view the commercials. A great deal of planning, creativity, and execution is put forth to produce these extremely short, yet expensive advertisements. How can the television industry and advertisers capture the excitement of the Super Bowl ads year round?