Contextualization

Advertising is part of our daily lives, whether through TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, the internet, or even in urban environments through billboards and panels. It is a form of communication directed at the public with the aim of informing and persuading an individual, group, or society as a whole about a product, service, idea, or cause. Argumentation, in turn, is the art of convincing and persuading, which is also widely used in advertising, in addition to being essential in many other areas of knowledge.

Our focus will be to explore the elements of advertising and argumentation. To this end, it is important to understand some key concepts, such as the notion of persuasion, the use of linguistic and visual resources in advertising, the construction of well-founded arguments, and the differentiation between facts and opinions.

Firstly, persuasion is a widely used technique in advertising and argumentation to influence someone's opinion, attitude, or behavior. In the advertising context, it occurs through linguistic and visual elements, such as choice of words, use of colors and images, font size, among others. Secondly, the construction of an argument involves the presentation of a position accompanied by justifications that support it, that is, the evidence or examples. Finally, the ability to distinguish facts from opinions is essential to avoid illusions and fallacies.

Advertising and argumentation are present in various spheres of everyday life. From the choice of what to consume, to electing a political candidate, to deciding which university course to take, we are constantly influenced by advertising messages and arguments. In this sense, understanding and learning how to use these tools can make us more conscious consumers, more critical citizens, and more efficient communicators.

Furthermore, the study of these elements is fundamental for anyone who wants to work in the area of communication, marketing, sales, journalism, public relations, and many others. In summary, learning about advertising and argumentation is learning about how we relate to the world and how the world communicates with us.

Some of the sources that can be used to develop and deepen students' knowledge on the subject are:

• The book "Advertising: Persuasive Communication" by Bob Stone;
• The book "Argumentation and Political Discourse" by Olga Pombo;
• Website "How Advertising Works - TecMundo" (https://www.tecmundo.com.br);
• Video "What is Argumentation" available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com).

Practical Activity

Activity Title: "Advertising Campaign: Persuasion and Argumentation in Action"

Project Objective

This project aims to allow students to understand and apply the elements of advertising and argumentation in a practical project, developing collaboration, time management, communication, problem-solving, and creative thinking skills.

Detailed Project Description

The students will be divided into groups of 3 to 5 elements and each group will be responsible for creating a complete advertising campaign for a fictitious product, service, idea, or cause. The product, service, idea or cause will be chosen by the students, allowing them to explore their areas of interest. Each campaign must incorporate visual and textual elements and should be designed for different media, such as television, internet, and print. The campaign should demonstrate the effective use of persuasion and argumentation techniques.

Materials Required

A computer with Internet access, graphic design software (if available), writing materials (pen, paper), a camera or smartphone for video commercials (optional), and books and online resources related to the concepts of advertising and argumentation.

Step-by-Step Activity Procedure

1. Divide the class into groups of 3 to 5 students.
2. Each group should choose a fictitious product, service, idea or cause for their advertising campaign.
3. Students should research their chosen topic as well as concepts and techniques in advertising and argumentation. We suggest the resources indicated in the Introduction to this project as well as seeking other reliable sources.
4. Groups should plan and outline ideas for their campaign. The plan should include identifying the target audience, using persuasion and argumentation techniques, and the visual and textual resources to be used.
5. Each group should then create their advertising campaign, including at least one poster, one social media ad, and a script for a television or radio commercial.
6. After creating the campaign, students should evaluate their work by discussing as a group how each element of their creations uses the persuasion and argumentation techniques studied.
7. The groups should present their campaigns to the class, explaining the creation process, the concepts applied and the justification for their choices.
8. Finally, each group should write a project report, considering the following main topics: Introduction, Development, Conclusions and Sources Consulted.

Project Deliverables

By the end of this project, each group should deliver:

1. The complete advertising campaign (poster, advertisement for social media and television or radio commercial script).
2. An oral presentation of the campaign.
3. A written project report. The written report should connect the theoretical concepts studied with the practice carried out in the project. The introduction should contextualize the theme and its relevance in the real world. The development should explain the activity in detail, indicate the methodology used and present and discuss the results obtained. The conclusion should summarize the main points and specify the learning achieved. The bibliography should indicate the sources consulted during the project.