Kids: Tips and Tools to Help You Move More
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Canada is one of the few countries in the world that has a special advertising code for children. It is set up to make sure that the commercials you see on television and hear on the radio are designed specifically for you. Twice a month, a committee made up of parents, broadcasters, industry representatives and regulators meet to preview every ad designed for children. In order for the ad to get to your TV or radio, it has to follow some really interesting rules. To take a look at what these rules are, check out the Advertising Standards Canada website.
What is a Target Group?
When advertisers develop a product, they have a specific group in mind that they think would be interested in the product. It may be a group of people who are all the same age, or are all men, or all women, or who come from a particular place in Canada, or from a particular cultural group. They do this so that they can provide information about a product that this certain group of people might be interested in. From now on, when you watch an advertisement, see if you can identify the target group.
What is a Tag Line?
Sometimes at the end of a commercial, you will see a statement that immediately follows the commercial and seems to sum up the message. Tag lines are designed to leave you thinking about what the message was. An example of a tag line would be in the Concerned Children’s Advertiser’s commercial about bullying, called “Words Hurt.” The tag line for that commercial is: “Words Hurt. Don’t be a part of it.” What other tag lines have you seen?
How do I know What is Real and What is Not on Television?
One of the most important ways for you to become “media wise,” is to understand that everything you see in any form of media has been created by a group of people, for a particular reason. There may be real people, places and things in the advertisement or program or billboard or on the Internet, but the way they are presented to you has been carefully thought out and cut and pasted, and picture and sound edited, and prepared to fit into a particular time slot that may be as short as a 15 second commercial or as long as a full length feature film. That is why it is important to “watch carefully, think critically and navigate safely” when using all forms of media. Remember, as the CCA commercial “Smart as You” reminds us, “You are the smart ones.”
Can They Really Do That?
Once again, it is important to think about what you are watching, and ask questions until you understand. Remember that all media has been created to entertain, to teach, to inform or to sell a product or an idea. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What is the message?
- Is it possible to do that?
- What special effects did they use to make that look so real?
As a reminder of how some things can look real when they are not, check out CCA4Kids and try deconstructing our “House Hippo” commercial online.
How Much “Media Time” is Too Much?
You have probably heard the adults around your house tell you that you are spending too much time playing on the computer, video games or watching television. They have a concern, because media time is usually not “active time” and we all know that being physically active is good for us. Think of it this way: Too much of anything is not good for us. So use your “smart sense” and ask yourself this question: Am I balancing my quiet media time with my physically active time? If the answer is yes, good for you! If it isn’t, start trying to “move more” and “sit less.” It’s as simple as that!
Be Aware — Be Wise
Sometimes just being aware of what is happening around you can help you to make wise choices. Take advertising, for example. It is all around you. It is on billboards, bus shelters, on clothing, at sporting events, on the Internet, on TV, in magazines — just about everywhere you look. By recognizing that all forms of media have been designed for a specific reason and by knowing that ads are designed to “tell” (as in the public service announcements that CCA makes), or to “sell” (as in the ads you see that promote a product or service), you can make choices that are right for you. Advertising isn’t good or bad. By learning more about how ads are made, you will learn to appreciate what goes on behind the scenes to produce them.
Ask your teacher to share the section on Making a Commercial that is part of their Educator package for Long Live Kids, or check it out on our website at longlivekids.ca under the Long Live Kids for Educators media literacy section.