Information at Your Service

Objectives

• Distinguish information from advertising.

Description

Students learn to distinguish the difference between information and advertising on product packaging and to understand its usefulness. They then complete an integration exercise.

Equipment

• Product packaging;
• Information at Your Service integration exercise;
• Answer Key for Information at Your Service.

Introduction

20 minutes 

Show students two different product packages.

Start by asking them what elements can be found on the packaging.

Next, ask them the purpose of the various elements found on the packaging.

Elements	Purpose
Product name	Advertising, so the consumer can recognize the product
Brand	Advertising, used to distinguish one product from another
Mascot	Advertising, so the consumer can recognize the product
Slogan	Advertising, so the consumer will remember the product
Illustration or photo	Advertising, to make the product appealing
Colours	Advertising, to make the product appealing
Weight	Compulsory information
Nutritional claims	Information/advertising; these claims provide the consumer with nutritional information, but are also there to serve the product, to convince the consumer to buy it, even if these claims are regulated
Nutrition facts and comparison portion	Compulsory information
Expiry date	Compulsory information
Recycling logo	Information, tells the consumer the packaging can be recycled
Other logos	Advertising, instills trust, gives the product an edge in convincing the consumer to buy it
Contest	Advertising, encourages the consumer to buy the product in order to participate
Surprise inside	Advertising, encourages the consumer to buy the product in order to obtain the surprise
Collectible items	Advertising, encourages the consumer to buy the product and collect the items
List of ingredients	Compulsory information, tells the consumer what the product contains, by descending order of quantity
Barcode	Information, allows of the product pricing to be read by store scanners

Explanations

10 minutes

As a group, talk about who is conveying the message for each packaging. It's probably a business that's looking to make money.

What message does this company want to send consumers? The company wants to convince consumers that they absolutely need this product and should spend money to buy it. That's why it prints packaging with elements that advertise the product, such as the brand, product name, logos, appealing colours, mention of a surprise, etc. All these strategies are intended to persuade consumers to choose this product over another.

However, the law requires that the company include specific information on its packaging for the consumer. This information includes the ingredient list, the nutrition facts, product weight, and so on. This information is intended to allow consumers to compare products on the shelves and be able to make choices based on their own criteria.

Instructions

10 minutes

Have the students do the integration exercise in teams or as a group and make use of the Answer Key.

Conclusion

5 minutes

Ask students the following questions:

• What are you taking away from the activity?
• Did anything surprise you about the information and advertising on product packaging?
• How can you compare products and, in so doing, make a sound purchasing decision?
• Is there a specific aspect to which you will pay more attention the next time you buy something?