Exploring Youth Advertising

Overview

This is lesson 4 of 24 in Representations of Australian Youth. Students examine how posters and advertisements represent young people and use visual and language techniques to appeal to a youth audience. They apply their observations to selected Australian examples, building on prior learning about representation, audience and purpose.

Learning intentions

• WALT examine posters and advertisements aimed at youth.
• WALT identify visual techniques such as colour, salience, angle, vectors and social distance.
• WALT explain how language features shape meaning for a particular audience and purpose.
• WALT use evidence from a text to support an evaluation.

Success criteria

• I can identify techniques used in an advertisement.
• I can explain how a visual or language choice appeals to young people.
• I can identify the likely audience and purpose.
• I can support my ideas with specific evidence from the text.

Curriculum links

• Analyse how vectors, angle and social distance in visual texts create a perspective.
• Analyse how language features shape meaning and vary according to audience and purpose.
• Recognise evaluative language and substantiate judgements with evidence.
• Identify how texts are structured and how language features vary according to purpose.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–7 min · Hook and prior knowledge. Display two contrasting youth-oriented advertisements using the opening advertisement comparison: one vibrant sports or wellbeing poster and one technology or fashion advertisement. Students silently note what each advertisement suggests about young people, then share one first impression with a partner. Invite responses such as “active”, “confident”, “independent” or “influential”, and explain that these are representations rather than complete descriptions of youth.

2. 7–17 min · Explicit teaching. Use the visual and language techniques slides to define and model:

• colour and salience: what attracts attention first;
• angle: whether the viewer looks up to, down on or directly at a subject;
• social distance: close-up, medium or long shot and the relationship created;
• vectors: lines, gestures or gazes that direct attention;
• evaluative and persuasive language: words that create approval, urgency or desire;
• audience, purpose and call to action.

Model a think-aloud on one advertisement: “The low angle makes the young person appear powerful. The phrase ‘make your mark’ uses an imperative and appeals to a desire for independence.” Students record key terms on the youth advertising analysis worksheet.

3. 17–25 min · Guided reading and vocabulary. Distribute the youth advertising analysis worksheet and read the short passage below together. Students underline one visual technique, circle one persuasive or evaluative word, and answer the audience question. Offer a teacher read-aloud, paired reading or text-to-speech for students who need dyslexia-friendly access.

Advertisements do more than sell a product. They construct an image of who might use it and what that person’s life could look like. A poster may use bright colour, a close-up image and direct eye contact to create connection. Words such as “bold”, “fresh” and “limitless” evaluate the product positively, while a command such as “join”, “choose” or “discover” encourages action. By combining visual choices with language, an advertisement can make an audience feel that a product belongs to their identity.

Briefly clarify construct, representation, salience, audience, purpose, evaluative and imperative using the examples on the worksheet.

4. 25–40 min · Paired analysis. Place students in pairs and provide each pair with one advertisement from the teacher-selected set. Students may consult the persuasive techniques posters as a visual reference. They complete the worksheet analysis grid: identify two visual techniques, one language feature, the likely youth audience, the purpose and the perspective created. Require evidence by asking students to point to a colour, word, image, gaze, line or layout feature. Circulate and prompt: “What did you notice first?”, “Where is your eye directed?” and “What does this make the viewer think or feel?”

5. 40–53 min · Compare and discuss. Pairs join another pair with a different advertisement. Using the discussion prompts on the comparison discussion slides, students compare how both texts represent Australian youth. They should use the frame: “Both advertisements represent young people as ____. However, Advertisement A uses ____ whereas Advertisement B uses ____. This creates a perspective that ____.” Each group shares one supported comparison. Record strong evaluative terms such as effective, engaging, stereotypical, inclusive, aspirational, credible and manipulative.

6. 53–60 min · Assessment and reflection. Return to the plenary and exit-ticket slide. Students complete the final section of the worksheet independently: “The most effective technique in my advertisement is ____. It appeals to youth because ____. Evidence from the text is ____.” Invite two responses, then collect worksheets to assess identification, explanation and use of evidence.

Resources

• the youth advertising lesson deck
• the youth advertising analysis worksheet
• Teacher-selected print or digital youth advertisements
• the persuasive techniques posters
• Projector or interactive display
• Headphones and text-to-speech access
• Highlighters or coloured pencils

Assessment

• Listen for accurate use of visual and language vocabulary during guided questioning and pair work.
• Check worksheets for identified techniques, audience and purpose, with evidence linked to an explanation.
• Use the final response to identify students who can name a technique but need further support explaining its effect.

Differentiation

• Provide visual examples, labelled diagrams and the persuasive techniques poster for EAL learners; pre-teach vocabulary with gestures, icons and sentence examples.
• Offer sentence starters, a reduced choice of techniques and a partially completed analysis grid for students requiring support.
• Provide dyslexia-friendly access through teacher read-aloud, paired reading, clear sans-serif text, increased spacing, high contrast and text-to-speech options.
• Extend confident students by asking them to evaluate whether the representation is inclusive or stereotypical and suggest how changing one technique would alter the audience perspective.