Resource created by M&S Archive.

This resource is inspired by the large collection of advertising images and film in the M&S Archive collection.

 

• Knowledge of different M&S advertising techniques and branding development
• Skills of analysing the format and structure of advertisements, and comparing adverts of the past with those of today
• Understanding that media messages and products are composed of a series of separate elements

 

• Advertising is everywhere. Think of as many different forms of media advertising as you can, posters, TV, carrier bags, social media etc. 

• Choose one example of a specific form of advertising and identify all the different ways M&S applies its branding in that form (e.g. colours, font etc).

• Think about the different audiences for different forms of advertising. For each one think about: who are businesses trying to reach? How are the audiences different, and how are they the same?  How does a company adapt its use of advertising to the different audiences and forms of advertising.

• Choose one of the M&S adverts from the image gallery and design your own advert for the same product.

• Staff magazines are a form of internal advertising aimed at employees. Look at how the style of the M&S employee magazine has changed over time, then design a retro style for your school magazine.  
  Create a mock-up of the front page and include the following features: masthead, headlines, dateline, lead story, photos, captions and a pointer.
  
  Create a mock-up of the front page and include the following features: masthead, headlines, dateline, lead story, photos, captions and a pointer (see Resources section for supporting links)
  
  
• Look at the M&S 1940s recruitment poster - what message is it trying to convey and how does it achieve this? Design your own poster promoting careers with a real or fictitious company, aimed at young people leaving school or college and looking for a job. Try to keep the wording down to a minimum like the M&S example, while still getting your main message across.

• What do you think makes a good advert? 
• Find out what process a client like M&S would go through with an advertising agency to create a campaign like the Simply Food adverts above.
• Do some research into what sort of careers are available in the advertising sector and what the different job roles entail.
• Use this resource and other sources to research how the M&S brand has developed. How powerful do you think branding is in persuading customers to buy certain products or services?
  • Has this changed since 1884 and if so, how?
• Compare and contrast early branding and advertising techniques with more modern techniques (for example, online advertising).

 

Glossary

 

Branding - - the idea or image of a specific product or service that consumers (customers and shoppers) connect with

Fictitious - imaginary, made up, not real

Recruitment -the process of attracting, screening, selecting, and taking on (employing) a qualified person for a job

Retro - style that refers to fashions or design trends from the past

Sector - an area of the economy in which businesses share the same or a related product or service

Technique - a method of achieving a desired aim or outcome