Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know. Shari Graydon. Illustrated by Warren Clark. Toronto, ON: Annick Press, 2003. 115 pp., pbk. & cl., $16.95 (pbk.), $24.95 (cl.). ISBN 1-55037-814-7 (pbk.), ISBN 1-55037-815-5 (cl.). Subject Heading: Advertising-Juvenile literature. Grades 4-7 / Ages 9-12. Review by Grace Sheppard. **** /4

excerpt:

You could say that advertising is basically anything someone does to grab your attention and hold onto it long enough to tell you how cool, fast, cheap, tasty, fun, rockin’ or rad whatever they’re selling is. And some people have a different definition: they argue that advertising is trickery used to shut down your brain just long enough to convince you to open your wallet!

Made You Look has been getting a lot of attention in the Canadian media for a very good reason. It is an excellent book on a topic that becomes more and more important every day – advertisers marketing their products to children.

     Shari Graydon, a veteran media literacy activist, clearly knows her stuff. She manages to break down the seemingly overwhelming world of advertising into six engaging chapters. Graydon gives her readers a history of advertising, starting in ancient times and continuing right up until today’s mega-promotions of films such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Next comes a chapter explaining how advertisers started to look to children (and babies) as target audiences. This chapter, creatively titled “You’re It! You’re the Bull’s-eye,” includes sections on advertising in school and website advertising as well as a discussion about mascots. Graydon goes on to examine the messages - both blatant and hidden - in many ads aimed at children and then to “Advertising in Disguise.” The fifth chapter deals with regulations (or the lack of them) in the advertising world, and the book finishes with a chapter on what kids can do to be aware of and protect their rights as consumers.

     Though the book is quite hefty at 120 pages and each page is mostly text, it’s still got kid-appeal; from Graydon’s breezy, fun and familiar writing style to opportunities to “Try This at Home!” and quizzes, charts, and humourous cartoon-style illustrations. Throughout the book, Graydon has included interesting facts in sidebars, as well as quotes that are set off from the main text in coloured speech bubbles. One such quote comes from Jim Riswold, a Nike advertising executive who said, “Space Jam is a merchandising bonanza first and a movie second. The idea is to sell lots of product.”

     Without coming across as preachy or judgmental, Graydon has done an amazing job of presenting what has up to now been a marginal topic. She even includes example of what some kids may think of as “good” ads - and why these are often not as successful as ads for restaurants or clothing stores. This balanced approach to the topic lends a lot of credibility to Graydon’s arguments.

     I cannot think of a single person - child or adult - who would not benefit from reading this excellent, entertaining book on a very important topic.

Highly Recommended.

Grace Sheppard is a Children’s Librarian with the Ottawa Public Library in Ottawa, ON.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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