school, no teacher ever assigned television watching. No teacher was ever that cool. Maybe I should be assigning Nintendo playing or iPod downloading. Or shopping or drinking beer. Maybe that’s what they were waiting for.
“Today we are starting a unit on marketing and advertising. And you all know what advertising is, right?” Nothing. “It’s time or space that a company pays to expose its product. For homework, I want you to focus on television advertising, also known as . . . ?” Nothing. This was supposed to be the easy part. “Commercials. Right? Television advertising is usually done in the form of commercials.” I wasn’t even going to bother with a discussion of product placement.
For homework, I told them to each watch a half hour show. On a piece of paper, they were supposed to write down the name of the show. Then they had to write down every commercial that came on and who that commercial was aimed at. I moved on to the hard part.
“Who knows what marketing is?”
Nothing.
“Marisol?” She shrugged, sniffled and looked at the floor.
“Steven?” Steven straightened his gangly body in his chair. He was easily the slowest student in the class—no mean feat. But I didn’t care. Steven was pure goodness: sweet and eager. He made me remember why I had gone into teaching in the first place, even as I proved utterly incapable of teaching him a single thing.
“Is marketing, like, when you go to the grocery store?” His eyes were wide, hopeful.
“You know, that’s a good answer, Steven! Because a grocery store is often called . . . what?” Nothing. “A supermarket? Right?” I searched their faces for a hint of a nod or even a glimpse of understanding. “And what is the purpose of a supermarket? Robert?”
“They, um”—he looked around—“it’s where your mother goes when she has to get stuff for dinner.”
“Right. So what does a supermarket do? Mandy?”
“They have, like, fruit and stuff. Bread and peanut butter and stuff.”
“Yes. Good. So if customers are buying the food, what is the supermarket doing?”
“They have birthday cakes,” Steven offered. “My mother always gets my birthday cake at Safeway.”
“They have cakes. Yes. But do they just give the cakes away?”
Marisol raised her hand. Victory! “Marisol?”
“Last year, my mom got my birthday cake at Food 4 Less.”
“I think Safeway’s cakes are better,” someone said.
Another voice piped in. “Last year? For my dad’s birthday? I made a cake from scratch. I used one of those mixes.”
And another voice. “Betty Crocker mixes are really good.”
And another. “My mom says Duncan Hines are the best.”
“Okay!” I clapped my hands. “So let’s move on.” The class gave me a look as if to say, “Do you mind? We’re having an interesting discussion, for once.”
“A supermarket doesn’t just give the food away. Right?” I chirped. “It sells the cakes and the cake mixes and the peanut butter. In a similar way, marketing is how companies present their products in a way that makes us want to buy them.”
Dead silence. And then, from Robert: “You mean, like when they say, if you buy the right can of soda, you might win a million dollars or something?”
“Yes!” I wanted to hug him. “And Cherie said something about Betty Crocker cake mixes. Why do you buy Betty Crocker and not, say, Pillsbury?”
“I like Duncan Hines. It was Raquel who liked Betty Crocker.”
“Oh, right. And what is it about Duncan Hines that makes it so special?”
“Um, I don’t know.”
“Is it the packaging, maybe?”
She shrugged and stared at her desk.
“Okay. How about you, Raquel? Why do you like Betty Crocker instead of Duncan Hines?”
“Because I like chocolate.”
I sighed. Looked at the clock. Only thirty-five more minutes to go.
“What is that?” I asked as Lars sank his teeth into a doughy hamburger bun dripping with orange goo.
He chewed carefully, swallowed and
“Today we are starting a unit on marketing and advertising. And you all know what advertising is, right?” Nothing. “It’s time or space that a company pays to expose its product. For homework, I want you to focus on television advertising, also known as . . . ?” Nothing. This was supposed to be the easy part. “Commercials. Right? Television advertising is usually done in the form of commercials.” I wasn’t even going to bother with a discussion of product placement.
For homework, I told them to each watch a half hour show. On a piece of paper, they were supposed to write down the name of the show. Then they had to write down every commercial that came on and who that commercial was aimed at. I moved on to the hard part.
“Who knows what marketing is?”
Nothing.
“Marisol?” She shrugged, sniffled and looked at the floor.
“Steven?” Steven straightened his gangly body in his chair. He was easily the slowest student in the class—no mean feat. But I didn’t care. Steven was pure goodness: sweet and eager. He made me remember why I had gone into teaching in the first place, even as I proved utterly incapable of teaching him a single thing.
“Is marketing, like, when you go to the grocery store?” His eyes were wide, hopeful.
“You know, that’s a good answer, Steven! Because a grocery store is often called . . . what?” Nothing. “A supermarket? Right?” I searched their faces for a hint of a nod or even a glimpse of understanding. “And what is the purpose of a supermarket? Robert?”
“They, um”—he looked around—“it’s where your mother goes when she has to get stuff for dinner.”
“Right. So what does a supermarket do? Mandy?”
“They have, like, fruit and stuff. Bread and peanut butter and stuff.”
“Yes. Good. So if customers are buying the food, what is the supermarket doing?”
“They have birthday cakes,” Steven offered. “My mother always gets my birthday cake at Safeway.”
“They have cakes. Yes. But do they just give the cakes away?”
Marisol raised her hand. Victory! “Marisol?”
“Last year, my mom got my birthday cake at Food 4 Less.”
“I think Safeway’s cakes are better,” someone said.
Another voice piped in. “Last year? For my dad’s birthday? I made a cake from scratch. I used one of those mixes.”
And another voice. “Betty Crocker mixes are really good.”
And another. “My mom says Duncan Hines are the best.”
“Okay!” I clapped my hands. “So let’s move on.” The class gave me a look as if to say, “Do you mind? We’re having an interesting discussion, for once.”
“A supermarket doesn’t just give the food away. Right?” I chirped. “It sells the cakes and the cake mixes and the peanut butter. In a similar way, marketing is how companies present their products in a way that makes us want to buy them.”
Dead silence. And then, from Robert: “You mean, like when they say, if you buy the right can of soda, you might win a million dollars or something?”
“Yes!” I wanted to hug him. “And Cherie said something about Betty Crocker cake mixes. Why do you buy Betty Crocker and not, say, Pillsbury?”
“I like Duncan Hines. It was Raquel who liked Betty Crocker.”
“Oh, right. And what is it about Duncan Hines that makes it so special?”
“Um, I don’t know.”
“Is it the packaging, maybe?”
She shrugged and stared at her desk.
“Okay. How about you, Raquel? Why do you like Betty Crocker instead of Duncan Hines?”
“Because I like chocolate.”
I sighed. Looked at the clock. Only thirty-five more minutes to go.
“What is that?” I asked as Lars sank his teeth into a doughy hamburger bun dripping with orange goo.
He chewed carefully, swallowed and
Similar Books
