Activity 01
Ad Detectives
Provide pupils with a selection of magazine or newspaper adverts. In pairs, they use a worksheet to identify the product, target audience, slogan, and any persuasive language or imagery used.
Analyse an advertisement to identify its target audience.
Facilitation TipUse a mix of adverts, including some for familiar products and some for less obvious ones to challenge their thinking.
What to look forUse a 'Think-Pair-Share' activity where pupils watch a short advert and discuss its target audience and key message with a partner before sharing with the class.
AnalyzeEvaluateCreateDecision-MakingSelf-Management
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Activity 02
Sound and Colour Mood Board
Show a short, visually rich TV advert with the sound off. Ask pupils to describe the mood created by the colours and imagery. Then, play it with sound and discuss how the music and sound effects enhance or change that mood.
Explain how music and colour are used to create a mood in a TV ad.
Facilitation TipTry playing the advert with completely different music to dramatically illustrate how sound shapes our interpretation.
What to look forPupils select an advert and create a short presentation or poster that deconstructs it. They should identify the target audience, persuasive techniques, and evaluate the truthfulness of its claims.
AnalyzeEvaluateCreateDecision-MakingSelf-Management
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Activity 03
The 'Truth-O-Meter'
Pupils analyse an advert for a toy or sugary cereal. They list the claims made by the ad and then rate each claim on a 'Truth-O-Meter' from 'Definitely True' to 'Exaggerated' to 'Could Be Misleading', justifying their ratings.
Evaluate the truthfulness of claims made in an advertisement for a toy or food product.
Facilitation TipEncourage groups to present their findings and debate any differences in their 'Truth-O-Meter' ratings.
What to look forProvide pupils with a checklist of persuasive techniques. After analysing an advert, they can tick off the techniques they successfully identified.
AnalyzeEvaluateCreateDecision-MakingSelf-Management
Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Start by tapping into pupils' prior knowledge, asking them about their favourite and least favourite adverts. Use familiar, age-appropriate examples from Irish television or magazines to model the deconstruction process. Introduce key vocabulary like 'target audience' and 'slogan' explicitly, and use graphic organisers to help pupils structure their analysis of different ads.
By the end of these activities, pupils will be able to spot who an advert is for, explain the tricks it uses, and decide for themselves if its claims are believable.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Advertisements always tell the complete truth.
Advertisements are designed to persuade you to buy something. They often highlight only the best features and can use exaggeration or leave out important information to make a product seem better than it is.
I'm not affected by adverts because I know they're trying to sell me something.
Even when we know it's an advert, the use of catchy music, funny characters, and repeated messages can still influence our feelings and choices without us realising it. This is what makes them so powerful.
If a celebrity is in an advert, the product must be really good.
Celebrities are paid to endorse products; it doesn't necessarily mean they use them or that the product is the best available. This is a technique called 'celebrity endorsement' used to make a product seem more appealing.
Methods used in this brief