ABSTRACT
Analyzing ads helps meet the Common Core English language arts standards for argument. "Ads are, after all, arguments," says rhetoric professor Renee Shea. As such, they engage students in critical thinking about claims, assumptions, counterargument, types of appeals, logical fallacies, and audience, basic elements of rhetoric. Ads on screens have become known as "branded entertainment" or "product placement," and they exist just about everywhere, but most are prevalent today in movies and television. In the case of Friends, the product is virtual, it is been electronically placed into the scene. This digital insertion technology is used in baseball games where ads are superimposed on top of a green screen behind home plate. In a movie or TV show, the actual product might be seen on-camera for anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on the contractual agreement between the advertiser and the producer of the program.
