Advertising

We have a few things to learn from others.

‘Advertising is the greatest art form of the 20th Century’

– Marshall McLuhan

What Educators Might Learn from Advertisers

Novelist Norman Douglas wrote in 1917 that, ‘you can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements’. Whether humorous or dramatic, subtle or loud, obvious or mysterious, by some estimates, we encounter somewhere between 300 and 6000 ads per day. By some estimates, 600 billion dollars are spent annually trying to influence what we purchase, what we think and how we act (O’Reilly & Tennant). 

In this keynote Myron Dueck will suggest that we in schools have something to learn from the masters of advertising. By using actual ads and digging into the design-thinking behind them, some key themes will be investigated. For instance, we need to define and uphold our basic educational purpose, messages should be visible to all students, teachers and parents, and we might want to spend time creating our own ‘elevator pitch’ for what we do, and why we do it.

The best advertising firms understand that success is born through establishing a feeling, or culture, around a brand. More recently, in light of avenues such as YouTube and Instagram, some suggest that it’s the consumer who defines the product, not the producer. Could the same changes be happening in our schools? Join Myron Dueck for this fast-paced and intriguing keynote exploring why education may want to take a page from the advertising catalog.