Young Writers Society

There are lots of types of advertising that are seen around a teen’s world today. I'm talking about the many kinds of advertising that nobody should have to believe in because oftentimes, they’re not true.

You may be targeted by an Ideal Kids (or families) ad. This can show a family or teen that seems to have a perfect life because they are using the product being marketed. Don’t be fooled. Just because they seem to have a perfect life because of the product it’s not true.

There is also the Family Fun ad that may be shown. You might see a family bonding together or having a great time because of a type of food they are all eating or some great shoes they’re all wearing. This is also not true. Shoes, food, or any type of product is doubtful to create joy and laughter for your whole family. Try a family game instead to get smiles on everyone’s faces.

Excitement ads are very common. Think of all the time you’ve seen a Reese’s Puffs Cereal ad where the kid is transported to a dance club, or when you see a Kool-Aid Drink Mix ad where the child is having a great time at the pool. Sadly, we still don’t know how to transport ourselves to different places so we cannot bring ourselves to a dance club, and we don’t know the magic behind getting everyone to have a great time. Therefore, these ads are also untrue.

Don’t you just love your local baseball team or that great new band you just found out about? Don’t you really want to use all the same things as them? This is an example of a Star Power ad. The advertisers hire a person who you admire and that person recites a script on how they love and this-or-that product, therefore you want to buy it. Sometimes, in these ads, afterwards the star or celebrity doesn’t even use the product because it doesn’t work well or they have one they like better. Don’t be fooled by these kinds of ads.

Every teen wants to feel included; therefore advertisers use the Bandwagon type of ad. This will usually show everyone using some type of product and one person who isn’t. When that person starts to use the product, they’re included in the fun! In reality, lots of people do use an identical type of product but you don’t see your uncle and best friend partying together just because they both eat Ramen Noodles, do you?

These are just a few of the many ads out there. A couple more names are Scale (when an ad tricks you into thinking the product is bigger than it actually is), Put Downs (when an ad shows how their product is ‘better’ than all of their competitions), Facts and Figures (when an advertising company uses statistics and facts to show how good their product is), Repetition (when an ad is shown over and over again in hopes that you’ll see it enough times to realize that you ‘need’ it), Heart Strings (when there’s an ad that draws you into a heartwarming story that includes the product as a key part), Sounds Good (using ‘cool’ music to show how great the product is), Cartoon Characters (when there are cute cartoon characters helping to promote the product), Weasel Words (Using deceptive phrases, such as "Part of..." "The taste of real....." "Natural...." "New, better tasting....." "Because we care..."), Omission (when an advertiser doesn’t give you the full story behind their product), and Are You Cool Enough? (when a product is bought by a ‘un-cool’ person and it suddenly transforms them to be ‘cool’). Oftentimes there are many advertising strategies fit into one ad, i.e. Weasel Words and Omission ads are usually used together.

Don’t be fooled by these devious advertisements. You now know all the secrets behind their offensive techniques so you can scoff as they try to fool you into buying ‘Yum Yum Bars’ with the adorable cartoon polar bear and fun dance party.

Hi Alzora - I'm here to review as promised! Bear with me - I'm a little rusty! I haven't seem to have written a review in absolutely ages! Right: down to business!

Your essay, or artical, is very well-written. You should be very proud of your work, Alzora. I was able to relate to what you were saying. Your tone was inviting but firm. You followed your argument throught logically and methodically, and I was able to see where you were coming from.

In a critical light, although you put your point across in a very effective and compelling manner, I saw no practical side to it. Ok: so we know the majority of the AD's out there are 'untrue' - but why not watch them anyway? They make us feel warm and fuzzy inside when, for a few moments, we are transported into a fantasy world, or a life of perfection.

Try to include something which makes your reader appreciate the damaging affects of these advertisments. For example: when humans focus too much on the ideal instead of reality, it can make them unhappier because when they plummet back down to planet earth, they are bitterly dissapointed. It's a proven fact that it affects one's mood. That's why they are detrimental to a healthy state of mind and inner peace.

You also keep saying 'untrue' or 'true'. There's nothing wrong with those words, but try to widen your vocabularly a bit. Try 'unrealistic' or 'not a true representation' - something like that.

I hope I helped and good luck!

~ Your friend Amelia

Hey Justagirl,

I totally agree with Amelia in that this article is well written and easy to follow and inviting while firm. I really enjoyed your humor, too--it was snarky and added a comfortable feel to the essay.

Here are some line edits that I think will help:

There are lots of types of advertising that are seen around a teen’s world today.

A strong first sentence will get you a long way. Usually, making a sentence stronger means making it shorter. Here, I would start the sentence with "A teen's world is..." and then find a good description, like "flooded" or "overrun with" or something along those lines.

I'm talking about the many kinds of advertising that nobody should have to believe in because oftentimes, they’re not true.

Instead of just saying "they're not true," maybe delve more into the matter by explaining the advertiser's POV? It makes sense why advertisements exist--people need to make money, and one way to do that is to sell things, and order to sell things they have to advertise, whether people like it or not.

I like the next section of your essay, because it's very straightforward and clear. I think that the bolding is a nice touch, too. The last part, however, is a bit too much because it floods us with all the names and the parenthetical explanations. (Also, you give us a LOT more that "A couple more names." A couple is just another word for 2.) Perhaps if you made that part into a list? I don't know how the teacher may react to it, but it seems reasonable to me, especially since you've already shown a fair amount of work in this first section. It's not like you're using a list to skip out on writing an essay (though lists are a perfectly legitimate format for articles. Cracked.com is full of articles in list format, although each list item has a lot of text with it.)

Don’t be fooled by these devious advertisements.

While I agree with your sentiment, this unfortunately doesn't make a good argument. A good argument usually takes into account the point of view of both sides. You can show us why advertisements are necessary to companies, why they exist, even ways in which they can be good (I'm thinking of advertisements for adoption, or if someone could really use a product they don't know about). But then you can explain how advertisements are bad: motivated by greed, misleading (not only in their tactics, but in how they shape a teenager's perception of the world}, and so on. They're bad in a lot of ways, so it should be easy to find reasons other than "they're devious."

You now know all the secrets behind their offensive techniques so you can scoff as they try to fool you into buying ‘Yum Yum Bars’ with the adorable cartoon polar bear and fun dance party.

I really like this ending. I feel like all the snarkiness comes full force.

Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck!