Do you need it?
Aim: To think about the power of advertising. You will need: A group of people (and props if you want to use any). Duration: 45 minutes
If you watch advertisements on television, or see huge billboard posters you will probably be amazed at the number of products available for us to buy. It seems like every week there is a new product invented, and the adverts tell us that we could not live without it. Is that true? Surely we had been managing fine up until that point!
You will need to work as a small group, to plan a short sketch. Your task is to perform an advertisement for a ridiculous product that people do not really need. Spend some time thinking up a product. You can invent something really bizarre. The challenge will be to convince your audience that it is worth buying.
After you have performed your sketch, discuss the issues it raised. Is it possible to influence people to buy things through advertising? Can we be convinced to buy things we never knew we needed? Who benefits from this - the consumers or the sellers? Is it possible to have an influence on the things that get sold?