Contemporary Advertising, 7th edition, by William F. Arens.

This course is intended as a broad-based introduction to advertising. The business of advertising will be addressed as you learn about current industry practices, and learn how the industry is structured. The art of advertising will be addressed as you learn how advertisements and advertising campaigns are created. The science of advertising will be addressed as you learn how research is used to develop an understanding of the consumer and to predict how she/he will respond to ads. Finally, advertising will be addressed as a social force as you learn how advertising affects the economy and functions as a socializing agent.

Because this class is about both theory and practice, you need to be aware of the advertising that surrounds you outside the classroom. You will need to be more than a passive audience. You must be an analytical user and observer of the messages of persuasive communication.

The purpose of this course is to provide a survey of the terminology, structure, techniques, process and purpose of advertising. As the quarter progresses, you should accomplish the following:

1. Understand the process of advertising as persuasive communication, which facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers.

2. Be knowledgeable of the language, history, industry, structure, regulation, social and economic effects of advertising in modern society.

3. Learn the systematic approach to the development of advertising, especially (a) who the advertiser is trying to reach with the message; (b) what message should be delivered; (c) what media should be used to deliver the message; and (d) how much should be spent to deliver the message.

4. Learn how advertising relates to marketing and to other forms of marketing communications such as promotion and public relations.

5. Develop an appreciation of the responsibilities associated with the persuasive function of advertising.

Readings and discussion: These may include the textbook, handouts and your own work. You will be expected to participate actively in class discussion of assigned reading materials, so come to class prepared. Please note - it may be necessary to alter the schedule in order to discuss certain topics more thoroughly. Please be flexible.

Written assignments: Over the course of the semester you will have several written assignments that will require library research and analysis. Assignment sheets will be provided for each. Please pay attention to the instructions for each assignment and note the deadlines. Reminders won’t necessarily be made in class. However, I will explain each assignment and answer your questions.

Exams: Three exams will be given over the course of the semester. These will cover text material, lecture notes and handouts. The exams will not be comprehensive in nature, but will include the most recently discussed material. These are blue book exams, consisting of primarily short answer and essay questions. Test questions will ask you to apply the material that you’ve learned. Please note - I do not curve test scores, nor do I conduct review sessions for scheduled exams.

Your final grade will be based on points earned as a percentage of total points possible. Grades will be determined in the following manner.

Assignments 50%

Exams 50%

Grading Scale:

A 94-100 C 74-76

A- 90-93 C- 70-73

B+ 87-89 D+ 67-69

B 84-86 D 64-66

B- 80-83 D- 60-63

C+ 77-79 F 59 and below

While class attendance is encouraged it is not mandatory. However, attendance will be taken in class and if at the end of the quarter you have a borderline grade, class attendance will be factored in.

Your registration in this course assumes that you agree to the course policies set forth in this syllabus as well as those established by the Scripps School of Journalism and by Ohio University.

1. You are responsible for all assigned readings. These will not necessarily be covered in class. Lectures are intended to reinforce the readings. Have the readings done by class and be prepared to participate in the discussion.

2. You should have an e-mail account and access it on a regular basis. This is a very efficient way for you to reach me and for me to reach you. Furthermore, e-mail and Internet use can be important job skills. Get used to checking your mail daily.

3. Class attendance is to your benefit. Much material will be covered during each class period, most of which is not covered in the text. Therefore, when you miss a class, you miss information. I do not put lecture notes on reserve, nor share lecture notes with students. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to obtain the information you missed. Furthermore, any assignments given or due when you are absent from class cannot be made up.

4. Arriving to class on time is essential. Promptness is expected, professional behavior; tardiness is discourteous and wasteful. Assignments will be due at the beginning of each class period. If you are more than 10 minutes late for class, your assignment for that period will be considered late and will not be accepted.

5. NO LATE WORK IS ACCEPTED. That's the nature of this business - a deadline is a deadline. You will be given sufficient time to finish assignments, please manage your time accordingly. And, don't wait until the last minute to print out your assignment. Printer jam or computer problems are not considered an excuse. Plan ahead.

6. All assignments for this class must be typewritten. One of the most important elements of this business is the presentation of written work. Any assignment that is not professionally presented will not be accepted. Points will be deducted for grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Do not depend on your computer to spell check for you. Provided formats for the assignments must be followed.

7. I will not tolerate any form of plagiarism, cheating, forgery, or dishonesty. Plagiarism is defined as 10 or more consecutive words taken from another's written work and presented as one's own without citation of the original work or attribution to the original author. Any incidence of academic dishonesty on a written assignment will result in a grade of zero (0) for that assignment. Furthermore, all instances of cheating or plagiarism will be reported and will become part of the student's record as per the University policy on Academic Honesty.

8. This is not a creative writing course. It is about learning to write in a professional business style. All assignments require some sort of research and analysis. Your research should provide the information which needs to be analyzed to make some sense of the situation. Each assignment should be written in a professional manner as if you were talking to a client.

9. There is no extra-credit for this class. In all honesty, there is no need for extra-credit.

If you do the assigned work, you have every opportunity to obtain a good grade for this class. If you haven't completed the assigned work, no amount of extra-credit will help.

10. Make-up exams will not be given, except for documented illness or documented family emergency. In either instance, it is absolutely necessary to make me aware of your absence prior to the date missed. Call my office, leave a message or send me an e-mail message. Any make-up exam may differ from the original exam; therefore, any make-up exam may be more difficult than the original exam and/or it may use a different format. All make-up exams must be taken during finals week.

11.Tests and assignments will be returned in class, but will not be discussed in detail. You may keep your assignments, but exams will be retained in my office. Due to the large number of students in this class, I do use a grader. The grader is a former student of this class and I provide the grader with precise criteria as to what I am looking for in each answer. Therefore, it is doubtful that I will always grade your paper or exam. If you have questions about your exam or an assignment, please see me during office hours or set up an appointment. I will not discuss individual tests or assignments while in the classroom.

12. I am available to help you anyway I can. I do not always know if you need help, so don't hesitate to ask. Scheduled office hours will be held each week. If you are unable to make these hours, please, out of courtesy, call to make an appointment. Please do not just "drop by" at your convenience. While I am always happy to meet with you, I do have various commitments and teach other courses. I want to make certain I have allotted the time to devote my full attention to your situation. Please note, I am not available for student meetings one hour before class.

13. If you have a disability that hinders you in the classroom, it is your responsibility to register with the Office of Institutional Equity. It is also your responsibility to inform me of this disability so that I may make arrangements to accommodate you. Do not wait - do this immediately.

There are several things that you can do to best take advantage of the learning opportunities in this course. These include the following:

1. Attend class regularly.

2. Be on time to class.

3. Do the assigned readings before class and then review them after class. Make notes from the readings.

4. Review your class notes regularly. This helps in preparing for discussions as well as exams. It also helps you identify what you may be confused about before you see it on the test.

5. Be an active and courteous student (i.e. participate in discussion, listen actively, refrain from distracting the class)

6. Become a critical thinker. This doesn’t mean that you need to be critical – it means that you need information in order to develop problem-solving solutions as well as strong, supportable recommendations.

7. Keep an open mind. Leave your preconceived notions at the door. This class should be perceived as a learning experience - a chance to gain new knowledge.

8. Realize that you are not always the consumer and most people are not like you. This helps in allowing you to see things from another perspective – another point of view – the consumer’s point of view. And that point of view is all that matters.

9. Realize that much of what you will do in this class – while it uses advertising as a foundation – are things that will be helpful in any career you choose. Skills such as research, writing, analysis, using numbers, being aware, thinking about others, being courteous, being on time, being attentive, being enthusiastic about learning – are attractive to all prospective employers.

10. Pay attention to the advertising that surrounds you.