Session 1 · AUTHOR: Techniques
Ad autopsy
- 10 minRead 'Ads and influencers'. List the persuasive techniques.
- 20 minAd autopsy: in pairs, take apart a food, toy or game ad. Who is it for? What techniques? What does it promise? What does it leave out?
- 15 minIs it an ad? Sort 12 screenshots of influencer-style posts. Which clearly say they are ads? Which hide it? Check against the ASA rule that ads must be obvious straight away.
- 5 minWrite one question you'd ask the company that made your ad.
Session 2 · AUTHOR: Hear Voices
Same story, three ways
- 10 minChoose one local story. Read how it is told by two news outlets and one community or council source.
- 20 minCompare: headline, photo, who is quoted, words with strong feelings, what is left out.
- 15 minWhose voices are heard? Whose are missing? Role-play the story from the view of someone not quoted.
- 5 minKuaka asks one question about the perspective of your story.
Getting started
Compare just the headlines and photos first.
Stretch
Rewrite one headline to be neutral and one to be sensational, and explain what changed.
Checkpoint
Each pair can name two persuasive techniques and one difference in how outlets told the same story.
Activities for this week
- Ad autopsy: What tricks does an ad use to make us want something?
- Same story, three ways: Why do different media tell the same event differently?
Useful this week
- Influencers: identifying ad content ↗ The New Zealand rules for when a post is an ad and how it must be labelled.
- Children's Advertising Code ↗ The rules advertisers must follow when they target people under 16.
- Misinformation and fake news ↗ How to spot fake news and what to do about it.
- The Edge of the Infodemic ↗ Research on how misinformation affects people in Aotearoa.