The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday November 27, 2002 - A 3 Grade 6 students get lesson in effects of advertising By Paula Henriques OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Grade 6 students at Pine Grove Public School received a different type of literacy lesson Friday, namely how to become media-savvy. Entitled Ad-Hawks, the workshop focused on the "ubiquitous thing called advertising," enabling students to think, analyze and challenge advertising in all forms. Conducted by Debbie Gordon of Mediacs, an organization dedicated to helping kids sort out the brand-conscious, media-saturated world, it was the perfect introduction to the student's media literacy unit, as part of their language cur riculum. "There is such an effort in the industry to sell to kids and kids have the tools to make responsi ble decisions," said Gordon. "I don't media bash. I allow them to think critically about the role of media in their lives and help kids understand the media, our sense of community, and their own priorities. "How can we turn the media into a teaching tool?" she asked. "We need to turn the informa tion culture into knowledge." Gordon revealed some startling numbers regarding kids and dollars. "A quarter of all Canadians are kids between 0-18 years, and together they spend $20 billion a year. Four billion dollars of those sales is money kids actually acquire themselves." She called the other $16 billion in sales the "nag factor" or "pest power." "It's when kids whine and groan and con stantly ask for something. The `mom - 1 need a new Game Boy, or mom, I need a new x-box.' Kids mean big business (for advertisers)." To prove her point, she asked how many stu dents had a different brand of shampoo and toothpaste from their parents. More than half the class said they did. "Kids are having a much bigger influence at home," she told the class. "You are consumers big time." She said the first rule of advertising is name recognition. She proved her point when the stu dents were able to name such products as Aunt Jemima, Mr. Clean and Tony the Tiger. "For many kids, this is your world. You grew up in it, like the water fish swim in. You don't think about how many messages surround us. The media presence in our lives has grown immensely," she said. She called this new generation of kids "screenagers" because kids and teenagers in Canada on average watch three hours of televi sion a day, meaning they could be exposed to 26,208 commercials a year. According to Gordon, there are 12 minutes of ads every hour, most 30 seconds in length. If you do the math, it's possible to view two ads every minute, 72 ads a day, 504 ads a week. "Is that bad?" asked one student, innocently. Gordon urged them to ask their parents that question to invoke a clear discussion regarding healthy viewing. "My job is not to lecture, but to help you understand how advertising works," she said. She said television can be extraordinarily benefi cial and game shows like Jeopardy help the brain to continue working. The bright class was all ears when she asked those who wore any advertised brand names on their clothing to stand. When most of the class stood, she asked some thought-provoking ques tions. " Who is influencing whom here? Why wear those clothes? Who is winning? What do you get out of it?" Students were asked to recall jingles or slo gans from commercials and sing them aloud to the class. Within 10 minutes, more than 30 jin gles were sung without the help of an adult, each line sung correctly from memory. Surprisingly, they sang beer commercials, "Good morning" for Viagara, even the "She's got the urge" song for Herbal Essences shampoo. It brought the workshop's message to startling reality. "You are recalling ads that are not even directed at you," she said. "You guys are old enough to take responsibility for your media intake. I'm here to make you think about how advertising affects you, but to what extent? We've already seen that it has influenced all of you." Gordon, who has been in advertising and the media industry for 20 years, asked the class to look beyond what the ad is selling. "It's perception versus reality. Advertisers are always going to make a product look desirable and enticing. But you as a media savvy con sumer, need to ask, is that reality?" Detailed information from Gordon's various workshops for both elementary and high school students can be found on www.mediacs.ca/. Tyler A nderson · Special to the Oakville Beaver Grade 6 students at Pine Grove Public School received an interesting lesson last week on the effect of the media, especially as it pertains to advertising. Debbie Gordon of Mediacs led the workshop. According to Gordon, there are 12 minutes of ads every hour, most 30 seconds in length. If you do the math, it's possible to view two ads every minute, 72 ads a day, 504 ads a week. S H O P W H E R E S A V IN G S ARE G U A R A N TEED ! PURCHASE THIS N O TE B O O K & RECEIVE A N HP 3 8 2 0 V PRINTER (4894961 FREE AFTER REBATES Coupon Code: 5231700000000000 AMDiTI l£XM|VRK REMEMBER s m rortem WE SELL < " GIFT CERTIFICATES c u v k x k m h :1 Visit our web site at www.oxfordlearning.com SPACE AVAILABLE L it t le . R e a d e rs for 3-6 yrs. C Z v c a tio c T A lK To BLACK INK CARTRIDGE 12A1970 .41891 * *P **TS 41 9 6 an? it F o r c h ild r e n o f a ll a g e s . · READING · WRITING · SPELLING · MATH · FRENCH · STUDY SKILLS · HOMEWORK SUPPORT O u r in d iv id u a liz e d le a r n in g p ro g ra m w ill h e lp u o u r c h ild le a rn to th in k , fo cu s, a n d re d is c o v e r m o tiv a tio n a t s c h o o l. P o w e r M o w ! CO M PAQ PR ESA R IO 9 1 OCA N O T E B O O K · AMD Athlon XP 1500+ (1.33 GHz) processor with PowerNow! technology · 256 MB RAM · 30 GB hard drive · CD-RW/DVD combo drive · 14.1" TFT screen · Windows XPTM Home 497558/497559 X 6 3 REFURBISHED A L L -IN -O N E O XFO R D 1 1 3 1 N o ttin g h ill G a t e I 51 1 M aple G rove Dr., Suite 2, 1799 i-\\ VvV\ ;±. ·U.IY A 85 · Printer, copier, scanner, fax · Prints 2400 x 1200 dpi · Prints up to 14 ppm black, 8 ppm colour · 36-bit scanning 500818 (9 0 5 )4 6 9 - 1 9 2 9 | (905) 8 4 9 - 4 0 2 7 AM D £1 LO O K FO R I 3HI R IT PC AND 17" MONITOR INCLUDED O V E R S T O C KT O YS E L L -O F F ! I I 4 Page Flyer in PR O TEVA A M D X P 1 7 0 0 + · · · · · · · PACKAGERS Today's Paper! ' delivered to select homes AMD Athlon XP1700+ Operates at 1.47 GHz with QuantiSpeed architecture 17" monitor · 128 MB DDR RAM 40 GB hard drive · 1 0 /1 0 0 NIC 48X 12X 48X CD-RW · 2 front USB ports 1-year on-site warranty* Built and shipped in 7 business days* V erbatim 1 0 0 -P A C K 2 4 X C D -R SPINDLE · 80 minutes 479609 Price After Rebates 499427 *See store for details. 999 Our Price $87.96 Mail-in Rebate -$30 Instant Rebate -$10 47 96 N APO LEO N )r\o ff\e O C L o tf& o rt' FIREPLACES · BARBECUES · FURNACES · AIR CONDITIONERS · PATIO FURNITURE · ACCESSORIES H IG H -Q U A LITY m ^ C a p t a i n C o m f o r t 's V IE W IN G a t C h r i s t m a s Sales E v e n t r p c c 5*350. A N A M A Z IN G PRICE! Fireplace Accessories · · · · invent w ith th e purchase of any Napoleon gas or w ood fire p la c e in s ta lle d * P A V IL IO N Z E 5 1 5 5 NO TEBO OK Intel Pentium 4 1.8 GHz processor Price After Rebate 512 MB RAM 40 GB hard drive CD-RW/DVD combo drive · 15" TFT screen · W indows XPTM Home 497594 Our Price 2549.85 Mail-in R ebate-$160 I * i .<HCl*4/V, 2389 E n v is io n , see. more.. 775E 17" FLAT-SCREEN M O N IT O R · On-screen digital controls · 1280 x 1024 max. resolution 486008 Price After Rebate $ Our Price $279 Mail-in Rebate -$100 179 iE Valid until December 3, 2002, or while quantities last. Not all items available with delivery or online orders. Quality Fireplaces ( sto re for details. S om e con dition s apply. OACt V is it O ur W e b s ite At: w w w .n a p o le o n h o m e c o m fo rt.c o m For the nearest STAPLES Business Depot and store hours, call: STAIptles: B u s in e s s ! ] .b u s in e s s d e p o t.c o m WWW Oakville Town Centre 300 North Service Rd. West Oakville (905) 8 4 4 - 1 2 2 3 [STAPLES I 1-800-668-6888 P ® T .