Ad Copywriting: A (New) Unit of Study Possibility

Kids watch commercials on television all of the time. Most of the children I know can recite the jingles they hear on both television and on the radio. However, I’ve never thought of giving kids the chance to write advertisement copy until I was staring over a friend’s shoulder today. My friend was showing me a new type of floor mat being considered for their home’s kitchen renovation. As we clicked through the various gel mats, there was on gel-filled mat in VICTIM RED that caught my eye not because I liked the color (I’m more of an earth-tones person), but because of the way in which the text was written… it was snappy! (Click here to view the text of the well-done floor mat and then come back to this post to read the rest.) I think it was as good as the product descriptions on the packaging of Origins products, which are cleverly written, as well.

So, here’s what I’m thinking:
A two-week long mini unit of study on copy-writing. The objective, as teachers, would be to find really well-written ad or product copy to show kids so they can immerse themselves in the genre of copy-writing. (I mean, the GelPro Company has nailed it when it comes to writing clever text to sell floor mats, which is a pretty mundane thing!) I can envision student-generated charts that come from their noticings about the genre before they go off and start collecting writing for products they love, as well as everyday items. I think conferences can focus on using the precise words necessary to convey a point and hook a reader.

Anyway, those are my random thoughts on a very different unit of study. It’s certainly not something I’ve ever taught before, but you never know when the next copywriter or jingle writer may come out of your classroom!