| Unit: Marketing and Advertising IELTS | Grade 12 |
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| Lesson objectives | All learners will be able to: Read and understand the main points of a review on a documentary about the 20th century history of marketing and advertising Understand and use, with partner support, new vocabulary words on the topic of Marketing & Advertising Start to think critically about the purpose and role of marketing and advertising in society Most learners will be able to: Read and understand the main points and key details of a review on a documentary about the 20th century history of marketing and advertising Understand and use new vocabulary words on the topic of Marketing & Advertising Think critically about the purpose and role of marketing and advertising in society
Some learners will be able to: Read, understand key details and main points of and offer an analysis on a review on a documentary about the 20th century history of marketing and advertising Understand and help others to use new vocabulary words on the topic of Marketing & Advertising Offer critical thoughts on the purpose and role of marketing and advertising in society |
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| Language objective | To contribute to the development of reading and vocabulary skills |
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| Value links | Respect, Cooperation, Digital Learning/21st Century Skills |
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| Cross curricular links | Psychology and business |
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| ICT | Projector or Smart board for presenting a PPT & Youtube videos |
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| Previous learning | Students should know how to deal with IELTS reading and speaking questions |
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| Pastoral care | To create a friendly atmosphere for collaborative work |
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| Planned timings | Planned activities | Resources |
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10 min (W)
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Period 1
Welcome, Objectives & Warm-up Chat Read through the LO’s on slide 2 As a class, come up with some quick answers to slide 3’s question, write thoughts on the board (could be a mind map) |
Advertising and Marketing PPT Slides 1-3 |
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10 minutes (W)
| Lead In Video Before watching, ask the question on slide 4 Watch the commercial, stop at 1:05 or the answer will be given away Discuss questions on slide 5, refer back to the list that students brainstormed on the board about things they’d like to know before buying a new product |
Slide 4-5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t6bLugtJkQ (stop at 1:05) or the answer will be given! |
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10 minutes (I/P/W)
| Reading Intro Show slide 6 and allow students to Think-Pair-Share some answers Watch the intro and trailer (trailer only to 1:05 or some nudity is shown!) Discuss the questions on slide 7 as a class Read the info on slide 8 as a class |
Slides 6-8 Intro - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_YLy6yZeaw Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIYj-LnsZl4 to 1:05
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10 minutes (W, G or I) | Reading Read slide 9 Pass out the text and the vocab cards. Ask students to glue the cards into a vocab book or keep them in an IELTS folder (up to the teacher how to organize) Differentiation Note: The text may be read silently, as a class, or by two halves of the class simultaneously (one with a co-teacher, one with the main teacher). Make a decision based on the class’s level or timing constraints
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Slide 9
Grade 12 Week 1 Reading and Practice, pages 1-2 of the text, printed Advertising and Marketing Pt. 1 vocab cards |
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| BREAK |
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| 10 min (W or G)
20 min (P/W) |
Period 2
Reading (cont’d) Read slide 10 & discuss slides 11-14 as a class or in groups, depending on if there are two teachers or not Read the directions on slide 15 and go through the vocab cards Put students into pairs. This may be done in mixed ability pairings, OR same ability groups and teachers can sit primarily with students who need extra help If time allows, at the end of each slide, call on random students for answers to ensure accountability and understanding Show slide 21. Pass out pages 3-4 (the homework questions) for the reading text. Go over the directions and clarify that it is due AT THE BEGINNING of next lesson. Please reiterate the importance of this as students have so few hours of English, they must do homework and on time for the next lesson. | Slides 10-14
Slide 15
Slides 16-20
Grade 12 Week 1 Reading and Practice, pages 3-4 of the text, printed |
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8 min (P) | Speaking Practice
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Slides 22-25 |
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| The End 2 minutes (W) | Final Thoughts, Homework & Extra Info Read through slide 26 & discuss to encourage students in a way that synthesizes ideas from the lesson with ideas about the future. Read through slides 27 & 28 for h/w reminder and if students are interested in the topic/more ideas/vocab for IELTS, the links on slide 28 | Slides 26-28 |
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| Additional information |
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| Differentiation – how do you plan to give more support? How do you plan to challenge the more able learners? | Learners ‘Assessment – how are you planning to check learn learning? |
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| See in text notes on specific moments to differentiate. Adaptation of the text is not recommended as a way to differentiate as it is IELTS level & intended as real-world test prep | Students will be assessed through Their responses to discussion questions Teacher observation during the vocab chat The homework sheet they will complete for next lesson on the reading |
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| Summary evaluation What two things went really well (consider both teaching and learning)? 1: 2: What two things would have improved the lesson (consider both teaching and learning)? 1: 2: What have I learned from this lesson about the class or individuals that will inform my next lesson? |
A Late Review of the BBC’s Century of the Self:
How Freud's nephew revolutionized advertising and public relations
Steven Reidbord M.D. writing for Psychology Today
It may have been a patient who suggested I search online for the 2002 BBC documentary by Adam Curtis called Century of the Self. It turns out the video is freely available at several sites, including from the BBC itself. In briefest outline, Century of the Self advances the thesis that Freud’s views of the unconscious set the stage for corporations, and later politicians, to market to our unconscious fears and desires. It’s gripping, it explains a lot, and it reminds me of The Matrix in the way it portrays an ugly dystopian truth hidden behind everyday normality; except Century of the Self is real, not science fiction.
According to an anonymous BBC reviewer of the documentary: “There are very few films I wish I could force my friends to watch, that I feel encapsulate a feeling that I’ve had but have been unable to fully explain.” Indeed, Century of the Self ties together several observations that I myself, as a professional psychologist, have made over the years about corporate marketing — but then Century of the Self goes much further, placing those observations in a broad context. For example, early in my career I found it odd that any products at all could be marketed to hippies, those perfect examples of non-materialism. Yet by the early 1970s, unkempt, “hippy long hair” had become a “style” featured in fashion magazines and offered in hair salons. Less than a decade later, punk rockers pierced their clothes with rows of safety pins, and it wasn’t long before Macy’s stores sold new punks brand new clothes with safety pins already inserted. Goth, grunge, hip-hop, or punk, it doesn’t matter - products will be sold accordingly. As the Borg from Star Trek say: “You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.”
Century of the Self also touches upon how specialized products were brought out to mass markets. I, too, began to notice this in the 1980s, when expensive, formerly niche products were being aggressively marketed to the wider target audience of ordinary buyers. Consumer bases shifted as regular cooks bought restaurant-grade pots and pans, average photographers purchased advanced cameras and families who never left the suburbs drove SUVs that could go off-road and up mountainsides. What motivated regular people to spend their hard-earned money on features they’d never use and quality they’d never fully appreciate at the amateur level? Again, it was hard to escape the conclusion that corporations sold self-image and emotional aspirations, not rational goods and services.
I’m old enough to remember when “lifestyle” was first popularized as a sales term, and when ads aimed at self-image were still a little obvious and ham-handed, like Carling beer’s: “Real Men Know Real Beer Taste.” Nowadays, it seems to be literally impossible to sell a new car, or prescription medications to the public, with only an appeal to rational thought, known in Latin as logos. Back in the mid-1970s it was novel and slightly awkward when car tire companies ran ads not (directly) to sell tires, but to improve their corporate image or encourage brand loyalty. We’ve come to accept these marketing practices as routine nearly 40 years later.
It hasn’t always been so. Century of the Self shows how advertising once aimed to influence rational choice and inform the consumer. This started to change in the early 20th century, however, when ads started to run that aimed at connecting feelings with a product. Amazingly enough, at the root of this change was Sigmund Freud’s nephew, Edward Bernays. Bernays, an American propagandist in WWI, applied his wartime experience and his uncle’s theories of the unconscious to peacetime commerce. He invented the field of public relations, popularized using press releases for product launches, and changed public opinion about matters ranging from women smoking to the use of paper cups — all by manipulating emotions to increase sales. Viewing politics as just another product to sell, Bernays also helped Calvin Coolidge stage one of the first media campaigns for a US president, and helped engineer the 1954 coup in Guatemala for his client, the United Fruit Company, by painting their democratically elected leader as an untrustworthy communist. This and more happens in just the first hour of the documentary, titled “Happiness Machines.”
The second hour, the weakest in my view, is called “The Engineering of Consent” and focuses on the rise of psychoanalysis and Anna Freud’s, Sigmund’s daughter, growing power within the field. This part explains how the unconscious was seen as a dangerous force that needed to be kept under lock and key. Rational choice, especially by crowds, was considered unreliable due to the unconscious’ influence, so “guidance from above” (in Bernays’ words) was needed from political leaders and corporations for the public good. The conformity and mass-marketing campaigns of the 1950s reflects this view that the general, consumer society cannot be trusted to think for itself and must be directed by the more powerful elite.
Marketing to the masses then evolved in the third and best installment, “There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads; He Must be Destroyed.” By the 1960s, the Human Potential Movement urged the expression of primitive impulses over repression, which led to people looking inwardly at their own selves rather than thinking about societal issues. Business was eager to help. By marketing products as a means of self-expression, business turned from manipulating shared, public impulses to indulging selfish, personal desires. There is a fascinating discussion in the film about how political activism began to die out in the process: the goal of making the world a better place changed to making oneself better in ways that, not coincidentally, required buying more goods and services. The final segment, called “Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering,” follows this impulse-led marketing into politics. Instead of political leadership, politicians are led by focus groups. As a result, the public gets what it asks for and feels like at the time (good-looking politicians and trendy political platforms), but not what it rationally needs (healthcare and infrastructure improvements).
The documentary leaves us to wonder: How can modern society work best, given that our choices are constantly influenced and exploited by the media and new marketing campaigns that play with our often-irrational, unconscious minds? Curtis isn’t explicit with his solution, but implies that informing the public and treating them as rational actors should encourage them to make logical choices. Even as a firm believer in the dynamic unconscious, I find this a hopeful point of view, and further research into such a hypothesis may help to end the practice of commercial and political manipulation of our unconscious inner selves.
Century of the Self has engaging interviews, rare archival footage, a broad view of recent history, and, unfortunately, somewhat irritating music. It was reviewed quite positively when it came out, and despite being over ten years old, still has a great deal to offer. I don’t wish to force anyone to watch it, but I do highly recommend it.
Practice Questions: A Late Review of BBC’s Century of the Self Name:___________________________
IELTS Reading Practice
Questions 1-6
Decide if the statements below are YES, NO or NOT GIVEN.
YES – the statement agrees with the claims of the writer
NO – the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN – it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
Century of the Self could be considered as an excellent example of science fiction. ____________
Century of the Self presents notable trends in corporate marketing in a wide-ranging way. ____________
It is possible to sell products to those who follow alternative lifestyles. ____________
Century of the Self offers fascinating overviews of hip-hop and grunge culture. ____________
Century of the Self explains how niche items were sold to the general public. ____________
The average buyer fully appreciates the specialized features and quality of niche products. ____________
Questions 7-12
Complete the table below using information from the reading passage. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 7-12 on your answer sheet.
| Documentary Segments | Key People, Groups or Movements | Key Ideas |
| Happiness Machines | Sigmund Freud and his
7._____________________________, Edward Bernays | Bernay’s used Freud’s ideas of
8._____________________________ to manipulate the public’s emotions in ads to improve sales and engineer political changes. |
| The Engineering of Consent | Edward Bernays Sigmund’s
9._____________________________, Anna Freud. | Focused on Anna’s rise and explored the idea that, due to the unconscious’ force, the masses were 10._____________________________, and needed ‘guidance from above.’ |
| There is a Policeman Inside All our Heads; He Must Be Destroyed | The Human Potential Movement | The public was encouraged to express their primitive impulses rather than 11._____________________________ them, and so goods were marketed to them that encouraged self-expression. |
| Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering |
12._____________________________, which were used to guide politicians | Due to politicians pandering to public impulse, people now get what they irrationally want, rather than need. |
IELTS Part 3 Speaking Practice
Questions 13-14
The following two questions have been asked during IELTS Pt. 3 speaking exams. Considering what you have learned from reading the review of The Century of the Self and your own prior knowledge on the subject, write an IDEAL response to each question. An IDEAL response should be written (or in reality, said) in the following format:
About a paragraph, 4 good sentences, in length (remember – these are in-depth, discussion-based questions!)
Give and explain a specific piece of evidence that supports your DIRECT answer to the question/main idea (think about how you use TEEL in essay paragraph writing)
Instead of the L in TEEL, you could end your answer by: A.) Briefly saying an opposing view and why your evidence proves your position stronger B.) Summing up/clarifying your main point in different words C.) Linking your ideas to a wider context, if applicable (i.e. the future, the global society etc.)
13. What is it what makes an advertisement effective?
14. What things do advertising companies do that give the field a bad name?
IELTS Vocab Practice
Questions 15-16
Choose two Advertising & Marketing Pt. 1 vocab words that were new to you or that you don’t feel completely comfortable using. Write a sentence using each of the two words. Highlight or circle where you used each new word.
15.______________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
16.______________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Marketing and Advertising Vocabulary: Part 1
The unconscious (mind) (n.) – the deepest, most primitive desires, thoughts and impulses of the human mind
To set the stage for (v.phr.) – to make it possible for something else to follow
To encapsulate (v.) – to contain, enclose or confine
Unkempt (adj.) – messy
To assimilate (v.) - to become, or make someone become, part of a group, country, society, etc.,
Futile (adj.) – pointless, not able to produce a desired result
Niche (adj.) - relating to products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialized section of the population
Target audience (n.) - a particular group at which a product such as a film or advertisement is aimed
Consumer/customer base (n.) - the group of customers who repeatedly purchase the goods or services of a business
Aspiration (n.) – a dream or goal
Ham-handed (adj.) – clumsy, lacking grace or sophistication
Novel (adj.) – interestingly new or unusual
Brand loyalty – the desire by a consumer to repeatedly purchase one brand over all other competing brands
To run/to place (an advertisement) (v.) – verbs used to explain an ad has been shared with the public
Product launch (n.)/to launch a product (v.) – when a new product is shared with the public for the first time
Mass-marketing campaign (n.) – a marketing strategy where a good or service to marketed to the whole, general public
A consumer society (n.) – a society in which the buying and selling of goods and services is of highest importance
Primitive impulse (n.) – basic, biological force in the human unconscious; our deepest instincts, drives, emotions etc.
To manipulate (v.) – to (usually negatively) control or influence a person or situation
Focus groups (n.) – a group of people assembled to participate in a discussion about a product, political campaign, TV series etc. before it is launched, or to provide feedback after it has been launched
Archival footage – old, original sources of media like films, TV ads etc. used in new productions, like documentaries
Teacher KEY
– N
– Y
- Y
– NG
- Y
– N
Nephew
The unconscious (mind)
Daughter
Unreliable
Repress
Focus groups
To mark the extended response samples, consider the following, and note that the evidence and explanation could be given in reverse order:
Do you think that it's better to have clear aims for the future, or is it best to take each day as it comes?
(Answer) I think it’s best to have a good idea of what you want to do with your life, especially in terms of studies and career. (Why) Having aims allows you to plan what you need to do today and tomorrow in order to achieve longer-term objectives. (Example) For example, if you want to become a doctor, you need to choose the right subjects at school, get the right exam results, and work hard at university. (Opposite/Sum Up/Link to Broader Context) Without a clear aim, it would be impossible to take the necessary steps towards a career in medicine, or any other profession.
Marketing and Advertising Vocabulary: Part 1
The unconscious (mind) (n.) – the deepest, most primitive desires, thoughts and impulses of the human mind
To set the stage for (v.phr.) – to make it possible for something else to follow
To encapsulate (v.) – to contain, enclose or confine
Unkempt (adj.) – messy
To assimilate (v.) - to become, or make someone become, part of a group, country, society, etc.,
Futile (adj.) – pointless, not able to produce a desired result
Niche (adj.) - relating to products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialized section of the population
Target audience (n.) - a particular group at which a product such as a film or advertisement is aimed
Consumer/customer base (n.) - the group of customers who repeatedly purchase the goods or services of a business
Aspiration (n.) – a dream or goal
Ham-handed (adj.) – clumsy, lacking grace or sophistication
Novel (adj.) – interestingly new or unusual
Brand loyalty – the desire by a consumer to repeatedly purchase one brand over all other competing brands
To run/to place (an advertisement) (v.) – verbs used to explain an ad has been shared with the public
Product launch (n.)/to launch a product (v.) – when a new product is shared with the public for the first time
Mass-marketing campaign (n.) – a marketing strategy where a good or service to marketed to the whole, general public
A consumer society (n.) – a society in which the buying and selling of goods and services is of highest importance
Primitive impulse (n.) – basic, biological force in the human unconscious; our deepest instincts, drives, emotions etc.
To manipulate (v.) – to (usually negatively) control or influence a person or situation
Focus groups (n.) – a group of people assembled to participate in a discussion about a product, political campaign, TV series etc. before it is launched, or to provide feedback after it has been launched
Archival footage – old, original sources of media like films, TV ads etc. used in new productions, like documentaries
Teacher KEY
– N
– Y
- Y
– NG
- Y
– N
Nephew
The unconscious (mind)
Daughter
Unreliable
Repress
Focus groups
To mark the extended response samples, consider the following, and note that the evidence and explanation could be given in reverse order:
Do you think that it's better to have clear aims for the future, or is it best to take each day as it comes?
(Answer) I think it’s best to have a good idea of what you want to do with your life, especially in terms of studies and career. (Why) Having aims allows you to plan what you need to do today and tomorrow in order to achieve longer-term objectives. (Example) For example, if you want to become a doctor, you need to choose the right subjects at school, get the right exam results, and work hard at university. (Opposite/Sum Up/Link to Broader Context) Without a clear aim, it would be impossible to take the necessary steps towards a career in medicine, or any other profession.
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