Activity 01
Gallery Walk: Decoding the Ad
Post six to eight print or digital advertisements around the room. Students rotate with analysis worksheets identifying each ad's primary appeal, target demographic, and specific rhetorical technique. Small groups compare notes and debate disagreements before a whole-class synthesis.
Analyze how specific advertisements target particular demographics using rhetorical appeals.
Facilitation TipDuring the Gallery Walk, circulate to listen for students articulating how visuals, language, and music work together to persuade.
What to look forProvide students with a print advertisement. Ask them to identify one example of ethos, pathos, and logos used in the ad and briefly explain how each element attempts to persuade the viewer.
UnderstandApplyAnalyzeCreateRelationship SkillsSocial Awareness
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Activity 02
Think-Pair-Share: Ethos, Pathos, Logos Hunt
Show three 30-second commercials back to back. Students individually note examples of each appeal, then pairs compare and build a shared analysis. The key question: which appeal carries the most weight in each ad, and what does that reveal about the intended audience?
Evaluate the ethical considerations of persuasive techniques used in advertising.
Facilitation TipIn the Think-Pair-Share, assign roles—one student finds examples, the other explains their rhetorical function before switching.
What to look forPose the question: 'When does persuasive advertising cross the line into manipulation?'. Facilitate a class discussion where students use examples of advertisements to support their arguments about ethical boundaries.
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Activity 03
Collaborative Project: Build an Ad Campaign
Small groups are assigned a product and a specific demographic. They design a print ad and a 30-second script, then pitch both to the class explaining every rhetorical choice. Peer evaluation uses an ethos-pathos-logos rubric and identifies what worked and what undermined the intended effect.
Design an advertisement that effectively uses ethos, pathos, and logos.
Facilitation TipFor the Collaborative Project, require students to draft a creative brief that explicitly names their target audience and chosen appeals before they design anything.
What to look forPresent students with a short video advertisement. Ask them to write down the primary demographic the ad seems to target and list two specific rhetorical choices (visual, auditory, or linguistic) the advertiser made to appeal to that group.
AnalyzeEvaluateCreateDecision-MakingSelf-Management
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Activity 04
Socratic Seminar: Where Does Persuasion Become Manipulation?
Students read two short articles on advertising ethics, one focused on children's advertising and one on pharmaceutical marketing. The seminar explores where emotional advertising targeting vulnerable populations crosses an ethical line, and what criteria distinguish persuasion from exploitation.
Analyze how specific advertisements target particular demographics using rhetorical appeals.
What to look forProvide students with a print advertisement. Ask them to identify one example of ethos, pathos, and logos used in the ad and briefly explain how each element attempts to persuade the viewer.
AnalyzeEvaluateCreateSocial AwarenessRelationship Skills
Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Teach this topic by moving from analysis to creation. Start with close readings of ads to build vocabulary, then have students practice applying terms before they produce their own. Avoid letting discussions stay abstract—instead, ground every theoretical point in a specific visual or textual example from an ad.
Successful learning looks like students identifying layered appeals in ads, explaining their choices with evidence, and discussing ethical boundaries with nuance. They should move beyond surface-level observations to critique purpose and audience impact.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
During the Think-Pair-Share activity, watch for students claiming that an ad relies only on one appeal. Redirect them to look for layered techniques, such as a car ad using a celebrity (ethos), a scenic family trip (pathos), and fuel efficiency stats (logos) in the same spot.
Use the Think-Pair-Share to push students to find at least one example of each appeal in their assigned ad. If they miss one, ask, 'What emotion does this image evoke? Who is speaking here? What evidence supports the claim?'
During the Gallery Walk, watch for students assuming emotional appeals are the only effective strategy in advertising. Redirect them to notice how logos and ethos are often embedded in the same campaign.
During the Gallery Walk, assign each student to find one example of each appeal across different ads. Then, have them present how the appeals interact, such as how a 'doctor-recommended' cereal box (ethos) uses bright colors and happy children (pathos) alongside nutritional facts (logos).
During the Collaborative Project, watch for students treating logos as inherently objective or unbiased. Redirect them to interrogate the data’s source and context.
Require students to include a 'data audit' section in their campaign, where they explain the origin, limitations, and framing of any statistics they use. For example, if they claim '90% of users prefer our product,' they must cite the survey method and sample size.
Methods used in this brief