grade 10 ad
grade 11 ad
Main Task
TASK1
English First Additional Language (FAL)
Overview
This visual image represents English First Additional Language, a textbook used in schools.
Subject Information
Table of content.
Lesson Objectives
Analyzing An Advertisement
Aim Of Print Text
Task & Slides
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This part of the subject will expose you to the different techniques of analyzing visual literacy through critical thinking in order to improve English First Additional Language skills, such as reading and viewing as well as writing and presenting. For a detailed review on Visual literacy and critical thinking, watch the video below.
Lesson Objectives
By the end of the lesson learners should be able to:
Identify the obvious idea of an advertisement?
Analyze the advert for hidden ideas and motivation for their analysis with the relevant linguistic and visual clues?
Adjust the advertisement to suit any life situation such as COVID-19?
Skills.
During the lesson learners will:
Engage in some intensive reading of the short text (Advertisement) for comprehension, note-taking, summary, and critical language awareness. Mostly focusing on language and visual features for an integrated study of English at the first additional language level.
Attitudes and values.
Reading and viewing.
Analyzing an advertisement
Remember to download attachments for Task 1 and the recorded slide for this part of the lesson.
Take 3 minutes to look at the picture.
Advertisement titles (ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH…TO BE A NURSE?) it is from America, created by a nursing center in 2019.
Download Task1 from the attachment below.
Use Task 1 to study the advertisement, answer questions to this task in your exercise books carefully, be very critical of all aspects of that advertisement. Look at the linguistic clues and the visual clues, see how they complement each other in helping to get across explicit and implicit messages that the advertiser is trying to convince the reader or consumer.
Task 1 (Analyzing an advertisement).
- What is the advertisement about? [1]
Hint: For question 2, refer to the headline ‘ARE YOU MAN…TO BE A NURSE ‘?
- What idea about being a manly man is emphasized by the headline? motivate your answer, by elaborating on how this is motivated by the thick and bold font of the headline, as well as the red and black color. [3]
Hint: For question 4, carefully study the linguistic clues, the way the man dressed, their posture and gaze.
- In your opinion, how has the advertiser use the above linguistic and visual clues to persuade man into wanting to be male nurses? [4]
- How does the atmosphere of the advert influence your feelings about the nursing profession for a man? Use visual and/or linguistic clues to support your answer? [4]
- How has the advertiser used irony to influence your attitudes towards nursing as a profession? [4]
- What adjustments or changes would you implement in order to make the advert suitable to the time of COVID-19? [3]
TOTAL: [19] Marks.
click to watch video below for more tachiniques and skills on How to analyze an advertisement.
Aim of print text
´Aim: A purpose or intention; a desired outcome.
The aim of the advertisement?
Encouraging men to peruse the Nursing profession.
´Why?
The nursing profession is mostly perceived as a profession for women,
´Gender imbalance?
Foregrounding?
´The part of a representation that is nearest to and in front of the spectator Objects usually larger than those in the background.
Foregrounding in the Advertisement.
Atmosphere?
The atmosphere in the advertisement?
Positive and full of life as the red color suggests.
Main Task and Slides
Homework
This is a controversial online advertisement that was posted by the South African pen manufacturer, BIC, on its Facebook page on Sunday August 9th, 2015. It shows a beautiful woman wearing a manly suit and looking straight at the camera with a wide smile. The slogan reads: Look like a girl Act like a lady Think like a man Work like a boss. The advert targets women and aims to reinforce BIC’s brand image as a champion for gender rights.
Use skills you revised from this lesson and previous lessons to critically analyze the advertisement, then write a first to an analytical essay based on this advertisement. This will prepare you for our next lesson next week.
Get writing writers, you got this! 50 marks.
Sample Description
This is a popular American advertising poster created by the Oregon Centre for Nursing in 2002. It aimed at encouraging men to join the profession of nursing which generally reserved for women. The advertisement portrays a group of tall and well-built male nurses who have managed to retain their masculine physical features and interests despite working in a feminine environment.
Masculinity is emphasized in this advert as especially seen in the headline: ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH…TO BE A NURSE? The font is bold and thick, and it reinforces the idea of strength and courage. The colors of the text, red and black, connote power and vitality. The props that the men carry reveal their manly hobbies: surfing, scuba diving, rock climbing, etc. This is supported by the small text at the bottom: these men are not ‘sissies. For example, David works in Critical Care, but he loves playing the guitar. Mark works in the emergency room, but he is into rock climbing.
The men stand against a red background that highlights their manful, straight and confident postures. Their gazes are direct, revealing assurance and certainty. They also seem to love their job because most of them are smiling and have relaxed faces. ‘Nursing’, contrary to its reputation, does not seem to be a stressful job. On the contrary, it is depicted positively as a career with ‘unlimited opportunities’ that appeals to men’s need to ‘challenge’ themselves both physically and intellectually.
I think that the advert is successful because it immediately grabs our attention, but it is overly optimistic in painting a too bright picture of what can be a demanding and exhausting profession. The general atmosphere is positive and full of life as the red color suggests. The men might be working with sick people, but they look healthy and happy. The advert does not dwell on the negative aspects of nursing in order to seduce future recruits. The truth is that nurses, whatever their gender, work in shifts and have long hours, which barely leaves enough time for hobbies. Working in the emergency room can be quite nerve-wrecking too. Overall, the advert manages to render this noble profession attractive and puts it in a good light.
- The aim of the advertisement is to encourage men to join the profession of nursing which is generally reserved for women.
- The nursing profession is mostly perceived a profession for women, therefore it is highly possible that there a lack of gender balance, it is short of man, as in most cases there are very few nurses in hospital or clinics.
3. Masculinity is emphasized in this advert as especially seen in the headline: ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH…TO BE A NURSE? The font is bold and thick, and it reinforces the idea of strength and courage. The colors of the text, red and black, connote power and vitality.
*** These are implicit ideas, they aren’t necessarily shown to you, you discover them on your own through critical thinking.
4. The props that the men carry reveal their manly hobbies: surfing, scuba diving, rock climbing, etc. This is supported by the small text at the bottom: these men are not ‘sissies. For example, David works in Critical Care, but he loves playing the guitar. Mark works in the emergency room, but he is into rock climbing. The men stand against a red background that highlights their manful, straight and confident postures. Their gazes are direct, revealing assurance and certainty.
5. The general atmosphere is positive and full of life as the red color suggests. The men might be working with sick people, but they look healthy and happy. They also seem to love their job because most of them are smiling and have relaxed faces. ‘Nursing’, contrary to its reputation, does not seem to be a stressful job. On the contrary, it is depicted positively as a career with ‘unlimited opportunities’ that appeals to men’s need to ‘challenge’ themselves both physically and intellectually.
6. it is overly optimistic in painting a too bright picture of what can be a demanding and exhausting profession. The advert does not dwell on the negative aspects of nursing in order to seduce future recruits. The truth is that nurses, whatever their gender, work in shifts and have long hours, which barely leaves enough time for hobbies. Working in the emergency room can be quite nerve-wrecking too.
Download and listen to the recorded Lecture slides below.
Here you will find answers to Task 1 and your new activity on Analyzing an advertisement.
Click the attachments below to download all documents.