Selling Happiness: Two Pitches from Mad Men

The following links will take you to YouTube clips of the popular AMC series, Mad Men.

The first clip   is from the very first episode of the series, and shows Don Draper making a pitch for Lucky Strike Cigarettes: "Mad Men: It's Toasted."

The second shows a pitch for the Kodak Carousel: "Mad Men: Carousel."

As you watch the clips, consider how the use of a single word, or the choice of one word over another, can increase the persuasive appeal of an advertisement.

"Advertising's 15 Basic Appeals"

Here is the link to the article by Jib Fowles, "Advertising's 15 Basic Appeals." Although the article is pretty dated (it was first published in the journal Etc. in 1982), the information is still sound. Do you agree with the items in this list? Can you think of any appeals that could be added to the list? Do any of them overlap to the point that they could be combined or removed?

"A Portfolio of Advertisements"

Take a look at each of these print advertisements and be prepared to talk about them in class on Friday. What is the advertisement trying to sell? What kinds of tactics do they use to make their product look appealing?

Article Suggestions for Essay #1

Article Suggestions for Essay #1

"Why E-Reading With Your Kid Can Impede Learning"

"A Focus on Distraction"

"Does Great Literature Make Us Better?"

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv (I have a copy of this text you could borrow; it is also available in the Stewart Library. You will want to focus on a single chapter, not the entire book).

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains by Nicholas Carr

"The Rx for Technology"  (This is the podcast of a Radio West interview of David Strayer by Doug Fabrizio).

"The Risks of Parenting While Plugged In"

"What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains" (Youtube Video)

"Reading Study Shows Remarkable Decline in U.S." (This is the transcript of an interview conducted on NPR. You can either listen to or read the interview.)

"Fiction Reading Increases for Adults"

"Decline of American Reading Culture: Literature’s Struggle in Face of Pop Culture"

"Young Adult Lit Comes of Age"

"Adults Are Devouring Kids' Books For Good Reason"

"The Real Effects of Technology on Your Health"

"Despite Risks, Internet Creeps Onto Car Dashboards"

"How Green is My iPad?"

"Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say"

"Set Students Free With Technology in Schools"

"The Problem With Technology in Schools"

"Learning in the Digital Age" from Scientific American (I have a hard copy in my office)

"Can You Hear Me Now?" by Sherry Turkle

"Can You Hear Me Now?" by Sherry Turkle: Whether or not we agree with Turkle's assessment of the problems with technology, I think she raises some important issues and questions that we need to ask ourselves as we move ahead. What are some of the most significant questions that you think have been raised as we've discussed articles this semester? Have your ideas or habits changed as a result?

"What's the Matter With Kids Today?" and "Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction"

Here is the post for your comments on Amy Goldwasser's "What's the Matter With Kids Today?"

We tend to focus sometimes on the negative effects of technology on kids. What are some positive uses of technology that teens (or young adults) engage in?

And here is the second article of Matt Richtel's that we will be reading, "Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction." How does this article compare to or complement the other article by Richtel that we read for Friday?

Also, my nephew posted this on Facebook the other day.  I think it's a pretty good illustration of the distractions on the Internet--what do you think?

"Mind Over Mass Media" and "Outdoors and Out of Reach"

Here is Steven Pinker's op-ed article from The New York Times, "Mind Over Mass Media," and here is the link to Matt Richtel's "Outdoors and Out of Reach." These two articles seem to be written from opposing viewpoints. Which one, in your opinion, builds the strongest case in its discussion of technology and the brain?

You can post comments on both articles below.