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Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Mad For Ads; How Advertising Gets (and Stays) in Our Heads, written by Erica Fyvie and illustrated by Ian Turner. Kids Can Press, 2021. $18.99 ages 10 and up


"The human brain works like this. If you're shown 
random objects together, your brain will make a 
connection between them. You might not even be 
aware that you are doing it. Since so many people 
like puppies (or ice cream, beaches, kittens, sunshine -
you get the idea), advertisers sometimes try to cram 
them into their ads, even when it makes no sense at 
all.
"

Sit and think about that. Better yet, really take note of advertisements on your computer, iPhone, television for a short period of time and see if that statement is true. Studies report that we see three thousand advertisements in a day! Those ads affect how we feel and how we think - and often we don't even appear to notice. 

This book introduces readers to the very complex business called advertising and marketing. The author begins with her own new products and then shows readers the many aspects of designing an advertising campaign to ensure its success in the marketplace. She talks about the goal of the plan, the audience she hopes to target, and the focus for making the plan work efficiently and effectively. 

Her target audience is "kids aged 8-12 with spending money", and she shows them how the development of a logo, a catchy expression, images, and why they absolutely need her product is of utmost importance. She also shows what advertisers do to assure purchase. Their tactics include selling items for one cent less than a round number ($3.99 is more appealing than $4.00), using each of the senses to be enticed by color and the emotions they activate, repetitive music, smell, touch and taste. It's quite amazing how it all works. 

"Some advertisers have gone a step further and created
actual edible billboards made of real food. Imagine 
signs made of cheese, cake, soda, salad, chocolate and 
fruit."

A person's digital footprint is also explained, showing readers how information is collected on computers and cell phones. This allows advertisers to know who we are, where we are, and when we are browsing the web. I'm sure some of this information will be surprising to many adults. It is why it is so important for every person to know what we are putting out there about themselves. 

This book affords a terrific opportunity for readers to begin to understand the advertising game. Ms. Fyvie uses sidebars, a timeline, a welcome glossary, a bibliography, and accessible writing to ensure understanding. Ian Turner's illustrations have a huge impact by adding humor in opportune places, while also showing the real impact of the game of advertising.  Excellent! 

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