Substitute Advertisement
Out of every hour of commercial television your family watches, you’ll see about ten minutes of advertisements. You can continue to watch, turn down the volume and talk about something else, or you can substitute your own commercial.
• Invent a Product. What new product or service would your children like to advertise in a thirty- or sixty-second commercial break? They should plan their substitute advert for half as long to compensate for false starts and typical under-estimations.
Perhaps the children can come up with a jingle or catchy slogan. If you have a cassette recorder, encourage them to pre-record the advert once they have written and rehearsed it; otherwise, they can rehearse and perform live.
During one of the program breaks, quickly turn down the volume or turn çff the TV altogether and let the children take over. Whenever they feel like repeating their advert, let them. Don’t you have to listen to real commercials again and again?
• Public Service Message. In addition to showing advertisements, channels sometimes also broadcast public service messages.
Your children may enjoy producing a public service message. This may require a little reading and research at the library. Perhaps they can instruct their audience in home fire safety, ask their co-operation in saving water or electricity, or warn them about a local outbreak of meningitis.