Response to “Scrutinizing the Cybersell”

In “Scrutinizing the Cybersell: Teen-Targeted Websites as Texts,” Darren Crovitz (another shout-out to Dr. C!) discusses using ads targeting adolescents as a teaching text in the classroom. I have only had two classes assign an analysis of an advertisement; my American literature class in high school, and my intro to women’s studies class in college. I really enjoyed the assignment both times; I read a lot of magazines, and there are so many ads. Some catch my eye, and a lot of them are just ridiculous. I definitely consider myself to be a feminist, and I believe there is a lot that can be said about any ad from a feminist point-of-view.

Using advertisements in the classroom as a teaching tool is a great idea because it gets students to practice writing, as well as overall communication; they can be descriptive, persuasive, argumentative, analytical, view the ad from various lenses, etc. Much like writing an analytical paper about a novel, writing about an ad requires the student to make an argument about what they see; ads are also subjective, so one person may believe one point is being made while another student thinks the ad is saying something completely different. As long as everyone can argue his or her point effectively, everyone is right.

While reading the description of the Doritos ad, I found myself shaking my head. Who makes a user account with Doritos? That just seems like such a (for lack of a better word) random thing to do–it’s a food, and not even a staple, just a junk food. (To be fair, I think Doritos are good, and I can’t let myself near a bag. They’re like crack, not that I’m a crack expert.) I also thought about a conversation I overheard a couple weeks ago. My boyfriend’s grandmother (on his dad’s side) met his cousin (on his mom’s side.) They had nothing to really talk about, most likely because of the 60 year age difference between them. They did, however, find common ground in their love of Doritos. So remember that, Doritos suits. 80 year old women love Doritos, too.

I was also reminded of the ads from back in the day; for example, this commercial that shows the Flintstones hawking cigarettes:

Yes, cartoon characters from a kid’s show trying to persuade people to try their favorite brand of cigarette. I’ve seen a lot of ads from the 1950s that are outrageous to us today, but weren’t then. Like everything else, advertising has changed drastically. We would never allow a cartoon character to sell cigarettes now, but now we allow them to sell sugary cereals and McDonald’s. Is that any better? That would be another approach to take in the classroom.