Gruen Transfer, The: Series 1 - Episode 7 (ATOM Study Guide)

Fast, funny, seriously entertaining and informative. This ten-part series about the advertising industry and how it works is hosted by Wil Anderson, stand-up comedian, now commercial radio host and one-time frontman for the ABC's The Glass House. In each half-hour episode we find out more than we might ever want to know about how advertising works, all within a racy format that creates advertisements, deconstructs advertisements and takes us inside the sometimes hidden and hilarious world of how advertisers work and think. You get the opportunity via the Gruen Transfer website to create your own ads for products and ideas.

In this episode:

• 'Celebrity seller' – What could a well-known figure like ex-Prime Minister John Howard help sell now he has more time?
• 'How Do You Sell?' – road safety ads.
• 'The Pitch' – As always, two advertisers compete for the coveted Gruen Trophy in devising and presenting an ad to sell the unsellable. This week it's manufacturing a war against New Zealand.
• The 'Ad of the Week' looks at those 'shouty' ads on television where many of us reach for the mute button on the remote control.

Curriculum Links

Watching, talking about and taking part in this series via the program's website will give students the opportunity to learn about how advertising really works, all within a highly engaging format. It would be suitable for middle and senior secondary students as well as tertiary students studying marketing, advertising, public relations and media studies. For secondary students, the themes and issues explored have relevance to:

• Media Studies
• English
• Graphic Design
• Ethics and Philosophy
• Psychology
• Culture and Society