5.10 Create a Cereal Box - Part One

Learning Targets

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to say YES to the following questions.

• Can you understand how the elements of persuasive writing are used to create everyday products we use?
• Can you create your own persuasive images and text that target a specific audience?
• Can you use language in creative and playful ways to develop style?

Cereal Box Assignment

You will be designing a cereal box inspired by one of your favourite fiction books. Then you will create a commercial where you sell your cereal.

Your cereal box will need to have eye-catching and memorable images and text that target your specific audience.

Cereal Box Commercial Examples

Here are student examples of what you will be doing too.

Cereal Box Psychology

Watch this video to find out some of the psychology involved in marketing cereal to children.

Logos

A logo is a symbol or a design that a company uses to represent itself.

These are carefully crafted. Look at the logos in the video below to see the "hidden messages" within them and get some ideas for your logo.

Slogans

A slogan is a short and memorable phrase that is often used in advertising. Watch this video for examples.

Visit the Cereal Aisle

To look at other cereal boxes to get ideas for your cereal box, you have two options.

Option One: With your family or home facilitator, arrange a time to go to the supermarket and go down the cereal aisle. This is for your research. Take the Cereal Aisle activity from your Learning Guide to fill out. When you go, notice that the lower shelves have sugary cereals aimed at kids and at the higher level there are healthier adult cereals. This is done purposefully. Just as the boxes themselves are designed purposefully to attract their target audience.

Option Two: With your home facilitator, do an online search using the words: cereal box. Then click on IMAGES to view images of many cereal boxes. Complete the Cereal Aisle activity in your Learning Guide.

Be sure to complete your Cereal Aisle Sheets (1-3).

Target Audience

You need to decide who you want your audience to be. Are you making cereal for children? Are you making cereal for adults? What kinds of ingredients and flavours are children attracted to? What kind of ingredients and flavours are adults attracted to? What kind of images attract each group?

Cereal aimed at children is often created with a lot of sugar and toy treats. Cereal created for adults often highlights how it is good for your health.

You could also target a specific group like athletes, scientists, artists, or monsters, etc.

To help you target your audience, think about their needs and wants. How can you make your cereal meet their needs? For example, in the video you watched earlier where kids presented their cereals, the students all offered benefits that their specific audience would want. For parents, there was a cereal that made kids quiet and a cereal that gave them money. For kids, there was a cereal that would help kids find gold and another that would help kids deal with bullies.

Go to your Persuasive Writing Journal and do Journal #10: Cereal Psychology.

Intervew Target Audience

You need to learn more about the people you are making your cereal for, so you will be conducting interviews for research. In real life, companies do research on their target audiences to find out more about them. This helps them make their products more appealing.

You need to interview at least three different people. You must make up at least one question on your own to ask the people you interview. Feel free to come up with more.

Find your Target Audience Research forms. Then arrange a time to interview people.  

After you have done your interviews, reflect on the results.

Go to your Persuasive Writing Journal and do Journal #11: Audience Research. This is your last journal entry for this unit. You can submit your journal following this lesson.