Abstract

When television first appeared, many educators and teachers imagined it would bring them help and assistance. It was indeed considered as the promise of valuable teaching material. But desillusion quickly came… and even rejection. This new opium of the people wouldn’t play the part it was supposed to play in the class room. The television we would have dreamed of was definitely not that one… Yet, with the help of media education, it may bring us some interesting illustration of what media products are, even if we think of TV programs like commercials, telereality or the news where information and communication are often mixed up. Analysing such products with our students can bring them to a more critical eye and independence. This trash TV is able to bring them a lot if we are ourselves able to train them to analyse these programs and to stand back from mediatic confusions and drifts. Moreover, doing so, we shall take their own mediatic culture as a starting point, which seems essential to us. So, their television might become the television we want… as educators.

Abstract

Color is a crucial element in achieving effective and efficient communication. This article presents an analysis of the color elements used in TV ads aimed at children broadcast during November 2009 in Spain by the Disney Channel children’s network which, according to Kantar Media, is the audience leader in open-to-air television programing. The convenience sample included the group of advertisers that Infoadex classifies as part of the «sports and leisure» sector, which includes products and services traditionally aimed at children, such as toys and leisure parks, as well as self-promotion ads for other television networks. The analysis quantifies the use of color in ads aimed at children and concludes that brands use color in very different ways. This study also examines the relationship between the color combinations chosen by advertisers in their ads and logos, confirming that the use of color combinations in ads and logos is arbitrary. Most advertisers who target children prefer to apply a range of colors to create contrast and highlight the product and its features and benefits, instead of strengthening the brand’s corporate image. The study highlights the randomness in decision-making on the use of color.