Linguistics 305,
Advertising Rhetoric
Prof. Jeff Heath,
email jheath@umich.edu (travel e-mail:
schweinehaxen@hotmail.com)
office: 4088 FB, direct tel. 647-2152
home tel. 369-2335
office hour: after class, Tu 1:30-2:30, or by appt
Linguistics dept. office: 4080 Frieze Bldg, tel 764-0353 (business hours)
themes: dilemmas in selling familiar consumer
products and services (banks, cars, jewelry, food, etc.); addressing these
dilemmas (rhetorical strategies); possibilities and limitations of a primarily
visual (print) advertising medium; relationship between text (=copy) and
visuals, including text as visual (typography); advertising criticism;
competing small creative groups designing magazine ads with Photoshop.
Not covered: quantitative analysis, ad placement, agency life,
linguistic theory
designed for students with a general interest in
advertising and marketing but with limited creative ability ; not open
to students from the
books for purchase (at big 3 bookstores; other readings
will be provided)
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Judith Williamson, Decoding Advertisements |
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Daniel Harris, Cute,
Quaint, Hungry, and Romantic: the Aesthetics of Consumerism |
course fee $20 [cash or check made out to Univ of
Mich] for guest speakers and materials (readings, magazines, photocopies)
grades: two termtime exams (15 pts each), two
small-group creative competitons (first, low-tech one 12 points, final one 18
points), and two 6-page papers (15 pts each), 10 points for short homeworks,
plus adjustments at instructor's discretion (down for non-attendance, up for
exceptional participation). Course letter grades are curved.
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We 9.7 |
organization |
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Mo 9.12 |
style and
positioning |
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Williamson,
fine-print discussions of ads A8-11, A14 [note: all required readings in
Williamson involve the ads displayed, which are numbered in sequence
throughout the book, plus the accompanying fine-print commentaries; the main
text of the book is not required, though you are welcome to read it on your
own] |
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Gladwell,
"The coolhunt," in Schor & Holt, eds., The Consumer Society Reader, 361-74 (original 1997, New Yorker).
Get it online: |
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http://www.gladwell.com/1997/1997_03_17_a_cool.htm |
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[BTW there are
many other fine New Yorker essays
on Gladwell's website] |
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web surfing:
google "street marketing" and "buzz marketing" (e.g.
www.streetattack.com, www.michael-alan-com) |
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We 9.14 |
visualization
and visual puzzles; visual environment in early department stores |
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Williamson: ads A25, A27-28, A30, A34-36,
A88 |
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historical
background: William Leach, |
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magazines:
VM&SD (Visual Marketing and Store Design) |
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surfing:
"store design" (e.g. www.visualstore.com) |
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Mo 9.19 |
positioning and
line extension; creating a market (lawn products) |
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Ries &
Trout, Positioning, 101-13, 127-36.
159-70 |
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historical
background: Virginia Jenkins, The Lawn:
A History of an American Obsession, chap. 3, 63-88 ("Advertising the
front lawn") plus plates |
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We 9.21 |
diamonds; girls'
skin care |
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Harris: Cute, Quaint, .... "the
romantic" (79-106) |
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cultural
background: Joan Brumberg, The Body
Project: An Intimate History of American Girls, 59-94 (skin care from the
Victorian era to the present, based on girls' diaries) |
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webite:
http://www.jewelry-paideia.com/reference/ (click on "¼ref-diamond-jewelry.1/2/3") |
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website with
links to articles: http://www.skin-care-support.org/skin-care/ |
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paper #1 assignment given out |
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short in-class quiz on readings thru today |
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Mo 9.26 |
food
advertising; Super Bowl spots |
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Nick Fiddes, Meat: A Natural Symbol, 65-70 and
87-93 [written by a vegetarian] |
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Harris: Cute, Quaint, ....
"deliciousness" (153-78) |
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archived
Superbowl ads: http://dyn.ifilm.com/superbowlads/ |
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(if that doesn't
work, google "superbowl ads" or "superbowl commercials") |
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We 9.28 |
automobiles |
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Williamson: auto ads: A24, A29, A65, A73, A83 |
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historical background: James Flink, The Automobile Age, 140-68 (from chapters on
"diffusion" and "the family car") and 229-244 ("Sloanism"). |
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reading: Cook, Discourse of
Advertising, 108-14 |
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paper #1 due |
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Mo 10.3 |
cigarettes |
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Harris: Cute, Quaint, ....
"coolness" (51-77)0000. |
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We 10.5 |
first
student competition |
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Mo 10.10 |
liquor |
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We 10.12 |
exam
#1 |
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[Mo 10.17 |
study break] |
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We 10.19 |
creative briefs
(from concept to team creative work) |
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Mo 10.24 |
covert and
subliminal messages (facts and phallus-ies?) |
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Harris: Cute, Quaint, ....
"cuteness" (1-21) |
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We 10.26 |
layout (2d
geometry) and color |
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Harris: Cute, Quaint, .... "the
natural" (179-208) |
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Mo 10.31 |
simulation of 3D
space |
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We 11.2 |
photographic
techniques |
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Harris: Cute, Quaint, ....
"glamorousness" (209-32) |
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Mo 11.7 |
PhotoShop
workshop (Lang Res Ctr classroom, 2nd floor MLB) |
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Harris: Cute, Quaint, ....
"quaintness" (23-50) |
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paper #2 assignment given out |
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We 11.9 |
writing copy |
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Harris: Cute, Quaint, ....
"zaniness" (107-26) |
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Mo 11.14 |
writing, layout, physicality |
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Harris: Cute, Quaint, ....
"cleanness" (233-61) |
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We 11.16 |
typography |
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Mo 11.21 |
logo design |
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Harris: Cute, Quaint, .... "futuristic"
(127-52) |
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paper #2 due |
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[We 11.23 |
holiday, no class] |
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Mo 11.28 |
radio
advertising |
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We 11.30 |
exam
#2 [covers readings and technical material presented since exam #1] |
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Mo 12.5 |
pitching to
clients |
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Rothenburg, Where the Suckers Moon, 5-37
[real-world agency competition] |
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We 12.7 |
2nd
student competition, part 1 |
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Mo 12.12 |
2nd
student competition, part 2 |