CBC Archives

Ask students to name their favourite commercials or advertisements. Ask: Why do you like it? What appeals most to you? Have you ever bought or used the item because of the ad?

Divide the class into small groups of two to three. Explain to students that they will be developing an anti-smoking advertising campaign. They will begin their research on the following clips from the topic Butting Out: The Slow Death of Smoking in Canada on the CBC Digital Archives website: the clips Do cigarette ads cause smoking?, The myth of the 'light' cigarette and 'Cigarettes cause cancer', and the additional clip Are Tempo cigarettes for teens?

After viewing, groups will create their advertisements aimed at convincing their peers to either quit or refrain from starting to smoke. They can use the download sheet The Effects of Advertising to help them develop their ads, and they can create ads in any medium they wish.

Have students display or present their ads to the class. Ask students to identify those aspects of each that most appeal to them or appear to be the most effective. Students can use the checklist on the download sheet to help them formalize their response.

Students can present the campaign to the school and/or community, posting or playing the ads over a period of time. They can survey their peers to determine if the campaign had any significant effect.