5.12 Create a Cereal Commercial

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 use persuasive techniques in an oral presentation?
  
• Can you use language in creative and playful ways to develop style?

Create a Commercial Assignment

Yes! You have finished making your cereal box, and now it is time to tell the world all about your magnificent creation. You need to make a video recording of yourself to submit to your teacher.

In your video, you need to:

1. Address your specific target audience (Dear Parents, Kids!)

2. Have a hook sentence that draws your audience in. It can be a question, a short story, scenario or interesting statement

3. State your position (You need to buy this awesome cereal because...then include its special properties.)

4. Use persuasive language  and techniques to sell your cereal

• Remember vivid verbs and active adjectives
• Have convincing reasons for people to buy your cereal
• Share the benefits for your audience

5. Tie in the book to your cereal, explain the connection, and/or use a quote from the book.

6. Highlight the prize in the box.

7. Conclude by restating your position.

You want your commercial to be at least 40 seconds and no more than one minute and 30 seconds long.

Focus on Benefits for Target Audience

When you do your commercial, focus on the benefits the audience will get from having your cereal. Think back to the video of grade 4 and 5 students presenting their cereal.

The first presenter, Meha, addressed a common problem that adults face: noisy children. Her cereal offered a solution! Children who eat her cereal become quiet. For parents, the target audience, this would be seen as a big benefit.

Remember, you can be creative. Your benefits don't all need to be real. They can relate to the novel or book you chose or even specific needs/wants of characters in the novel or book.

Commercial Script Sample

This example is inspired by the novel, "A Wrinkle In Time".

Children,

Would you like to explore the universe in a blink of an eye? Then you need to dig into a delicious bowl of Wrinkly Spacios. Each time you bite into a squishy marshmallow planet, you will get to travel to the planet you just swallowed. Meanwhile, each spoonful of wrinkly whole-wheat flakes you eat is packed with the star power of Vitamins A, B, C, D and E. With Wrinkly Spacios you get to gallivant across galaxies just like the main character Meg Murray did in the book Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

But wait! There’s more! Inside this box of Wrinkly Spacios, there is a free Dimension Diamond that will let your travel to other dimensions!

Don’t waste any more time. Hurry down to your local supermarket and pick up box of wonderful Wrinkly Spacios. They’re out of this world!

Go to your Learning Guide and plan your script using the Cereal Script Template.