Imaginary Bridges Advertising (Module 2)

Advertisements are something most people either enjoy or despise. There seems to be no middle ground with this type of artistic expression. When ads have inspiration and creativity, like the Chrysler commercial during the Super Bowl, I believe they should be applauded. When you have printed ad pieces (i.e. subscription cards) falling out of magazines that you want to briefly scan in a book store, they can be rather annoying. So in the big wide of advertising what imaginary bridges can be connected with teaching?

I’ll start with the basic element of advertising. That would be creativity. One thing that can said about advertising is that it is based on creative concepts. Teaching isn’t always considered a creative endeavor, but perhaps if it was sometimes approached the way advertising ideas are, there could be a profound benefit.

After reading multiple descriptions of what advertising actually is, I surmise that it is ultimately a method of communicating a message. The message being communicated comes in many forms, which is where advertising could often intersect with teaching. Teachers routinely try to communicate a message to their students about the subject matter they are teaching.  Here are a few examples of how certain elements of advertising can be applied to teaching:

Example 1:

Teacher: Ms. Jones

Course: Math (5^th grade)

Element of Advertising: Create a poster based on a popular advertisement

Example 2:

Teacher: Mr. Smith

Course: Educational Technology (graduate level class)

Element of Advertising: A class interactive tool that is inspired by a popular advertising slogan.