Make Yourself
What a long strange trip it's been…Video Clip Assignment
Rationale/Process Behind Video Clip Lesson Plan
In planning this assignment, Amanda and I knew that we wanted to incorporate much of what we have been learning on media literacy and enabling our students to quickly and accurately sort through the myriad of multimedia they are going to be faced with every day. Therefore, it made sense to us to do an exercise on identifying product placement and its effects, if any, on what we as an audience take in during a film. We want our students to be able to identify whether or not product placement enhances a film or detracts from it. Or, in some cases, do they even notice that it’s happening? We geared our clip and assignment towards older students in 11th and 12th grade English classes because we felt that they could really get into a rich discussion about the impact product placement has on us as consumers and as readers of these media texts. This assignment could also be used for 9th and 10th graders, but they might have to prompted more to truly understand the purpose of the assignment.
In choosing a clip from “Men In Black II,” we hoped to immediately gain our students attention by showing them something that they were familiar with and felt instantly positive about. We split the assignment into several steps because we felt that each step was necessary for the students to go through before they could realize the impact that product placement has on our texts and be cognizant that they should notice these things the next time they’re just browsing the web or watching a movie. Not only does it teach our students to do a “close reading” of a text that doesn’t necessarily seem like a text, it also translates out of the classroom and can help them to be smarter and more media literate in their everyday lives. We think that students are really going to enjoy this assignment because it takes something that they can relate to and enjoy and pairs it with a deeper learning experience both inside and outside the classroom.
List of Questions to Facilitate Discussion:
- How many movies have you seen in which you’ve noticed this type of advertising?
- Remind students that movies aren’t the only forums where this technique is popular: bring in examples of magazines (especially ones popular for their age group) or possibly find clips from TV shows
- Why do you think we’re able to simply glaze over these products when we see them? Do you recognize as you’re watching a film that you’re being targeted as a consumer?
- Ask them to relate this to English—not only would it be interesting to hear their ideas about how it relates to the subject matter, it would be a thinking exercise for them—making a popular media, something they’ve all probably seen fit into a context that they may or may not have considered.
By incorporating this assignment into our classrooms, Amanda and I hope to show our students that English concepts can be found in places they wouldn’t often think to look. I think that this could be an assignment that motivates even reticent students to get involved. It incorporates both audio and visual parts and we feel that would appeal widely to most, if not all, of our students. This lesson is intended to be a sneaky way to get students to begin to realize that English/Language Arts is actually applicable to their every day lives.
How Alien is Media Literacy to You?
Product Placement & Media Literacy in Men in Black II
I. What do you think product placement means in relation to media literacy?
II. List any/all products you saw in the clip from “Men in Black II”
| 1. | 7. |
| 2. | 8. |
| 3. | 9. |
| 4. | 10. |
| 5. | 11. |
| 6. | 12. |
III. Brainstorm with your group. Write down any ideas you and/or your group come up with for or against product placement in film, TV, Internet, and print text.
IV. Do you think product placement is an effective tool for advertising? Defend your position. We will have a class debate where you will effectively defend your position in a well thought out manner. Have fun but use your brain!!! This is not you running for President, but you need to construct a convincing argument for your “side.”
V. How has this exercise helped you to enhance your own media literacy? Why is media literacy important when faced with multiple media sources?
VI. Write a 1-2 page argumentative essay defending your position regarding product placement. Is it a useful tool for advertisers? Is it an effective way to reach the general public? A specific market? Provide at least two (2) reliable and credible sources. In addition to your essay, please bring in any form of media that displays what we have discussed in class. This is due on Friday.
14 Comments»
taujayhawk wrote @
Interesting concept. I’d take it a step further and have the students investigate whether a product’s placement in a movie or other multi media text will make the student more likely to use the product. Will they choose Virginia Slims over Kool Menthol because Jennifer Anniston smokes that brand? Do they even realize they’re being manipulated? (Marsha Boyd)
meganv702 wrote @
I really liked that you used a clip from Men in Black because it’s a current-ish movie that students would be able to relate to. I think classroom debates would probably work best when students were invested in the subject and using relevant content would help get them excited about it. I guess this isn’t suitable for high school students but just for your general info if you want a movie with product placement EVERYWHERE look no further than the Sex in the City movie. It’s just ridiculous. A suggestion I would have would be that it might be somewhat overkill to have them do a debate and then an essay both on the same subject. It’s entirely plausible that a student will choose to argue a different side in their paper than the side they were assigned to defend for the debate, but I guess I’d just think they’d rehash what was already discussed in class. But that’s just my opinion. I think this is a great assignment. 
toniellen wrote @
1. I never thought of product placement as a media lit field. Great idea!
2. My only suggestion would be to have some idea of what you want the students to look for before they watch the clip; even if it is just “look for product placement.” I was thinking about immigration until I read your assignment 
sherylgray wrote @
Amanda and Allison,
You found an aspect of media literacy that I’ve not thought much about before … bravo! I could gain much by going back through the clip to search for products and then to think about how they affect me and how they affect the movie.
Your assignment is fairly in depth for your students – a group discussion with notes, a class debate (btw, I love the comment about now having to run for President!), and an argumentative essay. I would anticipate this would take quite a few class periods to complete. I liked your essential question, “Is this an effective tool for advertising” but another essential question kept popping up into my brain: “Do product placements add, detract or not affect the artistry of a movie?”
cherohalarain wrote @
I really like how you took several scenes from this movie (which is a great movie to select for this age group, by the way) to show how various products are advertised in movies. I notice how the product advertisements immediately stood out to me. For example, I saw the Spring Store and the Burger King before I noticed any of the other action in the movie. I also paid a lot of attention to the case of Mountain Dew and immediately recognized it as product advertisement. However, when I first saw this movie in the theater, I don’t remember noticing those things. I think this class has helped me pay attention to those types of things. I think it might work the same for our future students. That brings up another question you might want to consider asking students: Does being aware of product placement change the effect of the advertising? In other words, is product placement more effective when I am unaware as a moviegoer (or tv watcher, etc.) that it is happening?
I know that this assignment only required one video, but there are many more clips of other genres that you could put here to provide examples of product placement. Top Chef comes to mind. In this reality show, they often mention product names and I always wonder exactly how much those companies pay to get their products mentioned on the show.
Great clip- I hope to discuss this idea of product placement with my students, and I thank you for having this one here. It will be great to use in a classroom.
elizabeth396 wrote @
I thought your choice of video was very effective at getting students attention, as well as engaging students in a product placement discussion. The class worksheet is thought provoking and assists students in organizing their thoughts clearly. My only thought would be to offer some examples of resources that could be used as acceptable sources. Maybe have some links to other Media Literacy studies evaluating product placement. And you might include some journaling time after the debate for each student to be able to have personal comments/feelings to draw from once they go home and write the argumentative essay.
wordhead wrote @
I love this use of video! It immediately makes me start thinking of where else I’ve seen examples of product placement. The first things that came to my mind were American Idol (Coke, Ford) and ET (Reese’s Pieces).
Some other possibilities might be to link it to research on product placement: what is a company’s motive for product placement? What does it cost them? What is the motive of the text to include product placement — how much revenue could it generate for the production? It could be a good opportunity for business writing — for example, a proposal or pitch letter. Another area to explore might be how the product placement influences your perception of (a) the text, and (b) the product.
Great work!
– Julie
Lauren wrote @
I think this is a really great assignment. It allows students to step away from traditional ‘texts’. This is a really good way of reaching the standards about teaching a variety of texts in the classroom.
I think you could even expand the assignment to include songs or music lyrics and how those references could be powerful marketing tools as well. Even look at jingles (what makes them stick in your head ‘Mentos the Freshmaker’).
jpeel1 wrote @
Using a clip from a movie that most of the students are likely to have seen at least once is definately a great idea. It automatically draws their attention. Also, I think that using this clip sets up a situation in which students are not immediately watching it with a critical eye, because I think when we watch popular films/scenes in class we tend to just enjoy it without interpreting it. I think this adds to your intention because it draws attention to how we, as consumers, are often passively receiving persuasive ideas.
I see how you are using this tool to introduce (or perhaps expound upon) persuasive writing, but I think you could take it a step further. you could ask students to take a second look at some of the literature they have read thusfar and see if they can’t find something akin to “product placement.” For example, you could ask them to search for the subtle suggestions about racism and slavery found in Frederick Douglass. How he adapts his text to fit the white audience, but still maintains an abolotionist standpoint through suggestion rather than overt attack. I once had a teacher tell me that the best way to get the other side to see your point is to lure them in by writing in a genre they typically read or by not appearing to attack them on the surface at all. He said that if you wanted the other side to hear you, you couldn’t come out simply attacking them, because then the audience will simply put down your book and stop hearing you.
jeffreygrable wrote @
Your choice of a video clip was a fine one. I think the students will be familiar with the movie and relate well to it.
I wonder if it is my age and poor eyesight when viewing a small screen image or whether I was just oblivious, but it took me a while before I began to notice products placed in the clip. I would probably end up watching it several times if I were doing the assignment for your class. Then again, if I had any sense I would have immediately enlarged the screen.
If I can make a useful comment it may be that I would most resemble the student who is unlikely to have web access at home. I would require some prompting to navigate through this assignment. However, I think that I resemble the lowest common denominator and not the average student.
Good Job!
aprilwillis wrote @
I think this is a great idea, but the most immediate drawback I see is students not paying attention to the products.
The Burger King placements were a little small unless you count the scene where they are going through “customs” and it is in the background in bold letters. I have found that students are not very observant when it comes to things like that, so they may need a little prompting to realize what’s going on there before the clip is ever shown.
kpedro wrote @
I liked your concept and how it ties not just to media literacy, but to English. I would like to see what kind of argumentative essays they write with this prompt. My only question is over the two reliable and credible sources. Will that include examples of product placement on company websites or were you thinking of “credible” sources as texts or published articles?
-Kathleen
otchiesgal wrote @
From Roxane & Carol:
Great subject to work on with students! We like the idea of helping students understand a “close reading” of movies as well as books, etc. Great idea to have them work on a debate and crafting an argument for class.
Suggestions: Maybe you could clarify the question in #III to identify the “for” and “against” product placement. I did not see in the assignment how you were planning to assess students for this exercise. Maybe it would be helpful to make that very clear.
It would be helpful to clarify the assignment as to what needs to be written and turned in exactly. Great stuff, overall!
Great clip choice. I think you are right in choosing something that will immediately draw in the students – something that is relatable to them. I also really liked your title for the student handout. Clever!
Very good choice in terms of an assignment for this clip. I like the group work associated with it. I wonder, though, is each student only brainstorming in groups and then writing as individuals, or are they writing their argumentative papers together?