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Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know
Advertising is pervasive. A typical North American child views a staggering 40,000 ads every year on TV alone! With such a vast number of commercials out there, who's helping kids decode the messages? Media maven Shari Graydon, that's who! Made You Look offers an intriguing exploration of advertising's inner workings. From the earliest roots of advertising to the guerrilla marketers of the 21st century, this revealing book shows kids where ads came from, where they're going, and how they work. Bursting with behind-the-scenes secrets, thought-provoking Try This at Home activities, and plenty of tips to empower young consumers, Made You Look is any child's ultimate guide to the advertising universe. Key
120 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2003
6 people are currently reading
208 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
April 8, 2009
Fascinating! Spells out clearly the things that I often suspected but never really have seen written. Although this book was written for young people, I would recommend it to anyone! Really made me think about the impact of advertising on my life.
March 29, 2023
This was fascinating! I’m trying to get more into nonfiction, and this was a great, non-boring option. It really dives into the history of advertising, advertising techniques and psychological reasons why they work, and how to critically evaluate advertisements. It’s a fairly short read with lots of graphics and pictures, so I’d honestly recommend it for anyone. It really shows how to look at advertisements from an objective perspective and know the tricks used to make us buy their products.
December 16, 2024
Great book for kids (and teens! And adults!) about how advertising affects so many aspects of our lives, how to spot advertising's manipulation, and how to respond to the lake of advertising that we are swimming in CONSTANTLY.
February 19, 2014
First, I read the most recent edition released and updated in 2013. There are cartoon illustrations throughout the book which makes it appeal to a younger audience and adds humor and a light-heartedness tone to the book. I think conceptually, the target audience is high school, but the illustrations would appeal to younger kids.
Made You Look is intended to educate kids about Advertising. It begins with a tongue-in-cheek question, 'Do you remember the day your parents sat you down to have a serious talk about advertising? Me neither.' Shari Graydon begins the conversation by explaining the history of advertising from ancient Greece, through the Industrial Revolution, down to digital advertising today. It names persuasive techniques used by advertising agencies and media conglomerates to get kids to buy products. Advertising Laws and Regulations are also listed for kids to compare the laws against the images they see. The last chapter, You Power, informs kids on ways they can encourage companies to advertise responsibly by using their consumer buying power (or their parents' buying power), social media, and writing formal complaints to companies. The end of the book lists government regulators like the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Organizations like MediaWatch for more information. Other organizations are also listed for both the United States and Canada.
I also need to say, that though the book is slanted to discuss the flaws in the advertising industry, it also acknowledges that advertising pays for a lot of good programming for news sources, magazines, and television programming. However, it doesn't shield children from the fact that magazines and tv programs feel a debt to listen to the advertiser in determining what they publish. Example, Magazines with alcohol ads in it, may not publish articles against the dangers of alcoholism for fear the advertiser will pull the ad.
Concerning the format, the text is broken up into nice little bite-sized facts that are easy to digest for anyone that wants to read it in pieces. The sources are well cited and organized by chapter at the end of the book. There's an index, but I wish there was a glossary for different terms like 'guerilla advertising', 'viral marketing' and 'Brand Ambassadors'. Also, after giving information about a certain advertising tactic, the excerpt will end with questions that a parent or teacher could easily use to generate a discussion.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in advertising, but especially for high school school libraries.
Made You Look is intended to educate kids about Advertising. It begins with a tongue-in-cheek question, 'Do you remember the day your parents sat you down to have a serious talk about advertising? Me neither.' Shari Graydon begins the conversation by explaining the history of advertising from ancient Greece, through the Industrial Revolution, down to digital advertising today. It names persuasive techniques used by advertising agencies and media conglomerates to get kids to buy products. Advertising Laws and Regulations are also listed for kids to compare the laws against the images they see. The last chapter, You Power, informs kids on ways they can encourage companies to advertise responsibly by using their consumer buying power (or their parents' buying power), social media, and writing formal complaints to companies. The end of the book lists government regulators like the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Organizations like MediaWatch for more information. Other organizations are also listed for both the United States and Canada.
I also need to say, that though the book is slanted to discuss the flaws in the advertising industry, it also acknowledges that advertising pays for a lot of good programming for news sources, magazines, and television programming. However, it doesn't shield children from the fact that magazines and tv programs feel a debt to listen to the advertiser in determining what they publish. Example, Magazines with alcohol ads in it, may not publish articles against the dangers of alcoholism for fear the advertiser will pull the ad.
Concerning the format, the text is broken up into nice little bite-sized facts that are easy to digest for anyone that wants to read it in pieces. The sources are well cited and organized by chapter at the end of the book. There's an index, but I wish there was a glossary for different terms like 'guerilla advertising', 'viral marketing' and 'Brand Ambassadors'. Also, after giving information about a certain advertising tactic, the excerpt will end with questions that a parent or teacher could easily use to generate a discussion.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in advertising, but especially for high school school libraries.
October 20, 2013
Shari Graydon does an excellent job of explaining the principles of advertising - how it works, who it targets, and the history of it from ancient times to current practices. Explanations are broken up cartoon illustrations of the points being made, whether it is product placement in TV and movies or consumers complaining about offensive ads. Statistics about advertising are included and can make a big impression on readers. (Did you know that an estimated 40,000 TV commercials are seen by young people in North America each year? And that 10,000 of those are about food?) The text also relates advertising to familiar cultural icons such as Star Wars, Transformers, and Pepsi. Various types of ads like billboards, infomercials, Internet banner ads, spam e-mail, and merchandising tie-ins for movies are discussed. At the back of the book there is contact information for consumer organizations, ad resources, notes for each chapter, and an index. My favorite part is probably the "Don't try this at home" sections that have the reader try do things like count how many products are shown or mentioned within a single episode of a TV show.
I would recommend this to parents who are concerned about the influence of advertising on their families, to students who are interested in the media and possible careers in advertising, or teachers who are covering topics like author's purpose or persuasive writing. This would be an excellent text to include in economics or consumer education classes. NOTE - This book was originally released in 2003, but has been updated to cover the latest in marketing strategies using today's media outlets.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through Netgalley.
I would recommend this to parents who are concerned about the influence of advertising on their families, to students who are interested in the media and possible careers in advertising, or teachers who are covering topics like author's purpose or persuasive writing. This would be an excellent text to include in economics or consumer education classes. NOTE - This book was originally released in 2003, but has been updated to cover the latest in marketing strategies using today's media outlets.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through Netgalley.
October 25, 2014
If you ever need an Advertising 101 for kids (for anyone, actually), this will definitely help. This book is a treasure trove of information, trivia, and of advertising tricks too! How the Mad Men of Madison Ave get your attention, and before you know it, you are buying something you did not really need and it is about how advertising can fool you, make you look somewhere and make you buy it.
The book is informative and fun as well, but in a few places, the author sounds almost angry. For instance, the section ‘What are we, cows?’ talks about cows being branded with the owners name as analogous to people promoting brands by wearing/eating/using them conspicuously. I wish that this were toned down just a little. The book has formatting issues – I have the ebook so not sure how the actual book would look. Run-on sentences – where words are all crammed together with no spaces in between, missing punctuation, interspersed with lots of wide open spaces make reading a little difficult so readers going through the ebook have to keep this in mind.
The book is geared towards preteens and teenagers, though adults will also find a lot to learn and enjoy in the book. It also has useful discussion points and ‘try-this-at-home’ exercises for classrooms or groups.
My 11 year old's thoughts on the book: It starts with the history of advertising and about caveman pictures that could be advertising. It shows kids (and adults) how you should be careful with ads, There are lots of humorous parts, and the book funnily explains everything. Comics are used to make ideas more clear.
Disclaimer: Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The book is informative and fun as well, but in a few places, the author sounds almost angry. For instance, the section ‘What are we, cows?’ talks about cows being branded with the owners name as analogous to people promoting brands by wearing/eating/using them conspicuously. I wish that this were toned down just a little. The book has formatting issues – I have the ebook so not sure how the actual book would look. Run-on sentences – where words are all crammed together with no spaces in between, missing punctuation, interspersed with lots of wide open spaces make reading a little difficult so readers going through the ebook have to keep this in mind.
The book is geared towards preteens and teenagers, though adults will also find a lot to learn and enjoy in the book. It also has useful discussion points and ‘try-this-at-home’ exercises for classrooms or groups.
My 11 year old's thoughts on the book: It starts with the history of advertising and about caveman pictures that could be advertising. It shows kids (and adults) how you should be careful with ads, There are lots of humorous parts, and the book funnily explains everything. Comics are used to make ideas more clear.
Disclaimer: Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 7, 2014
Read my full review at wadingthroughbooks.wordpress.com!
I really enjoyed this book. The language Graydon uses is plain and direct, and she poses a lot of hypothetical situations and simple experiments that encourage the reader to think about their own experiences and to recognize the effect that advertising can have on them. It points out different strategies, like using celebrities or cute cartoon characters to connect to kids, or showing toys dong things they can’t really do or with lots of accessories that are sold separately and can greatly increase the price of a toy. She uses charts to compare the arguments for and against advertising, explains some of the history of advertising and the laws and how they’ve changed over time, and lists some of the words ads use to persuade someone buy something and why they work. The cartoon-style illustrations are colourful and funny, but also do an excellent job of enhancing the text and illustrating the point in a different way (pun intended). This would be a great school library resource, or a book for a parent trying to show their child another way of thinking about advertising. It’s especially apropos at this time of the year, when advertising to children is ramped up so much, between Black Friday and Christmas.
I really enjoyed this book. The language Graydon uses is plain and direct, and she poses a lot of hypothetical situations and simple experiments that encourage the reader to think about their own experiences and to recognize the effect that advertising can have on them. It points out different strategies, like using celebrities or cute cartoon characters to connect to kids, or showing toys dong things they can’t really do or with lots of accessories that are sold separately and can greatly increase the price of a toy. She uses charts to compare the arguments for and against advertising, explains some of the history of advertising and the laws and how they’ve changed over time, and lists some of the words ads use to persuade someone buy something and why they work. The cartoon-style illustrations are colourful and funny, but also do an excellent job of enhancing the text and illustrating the point in a different way (pun intended). This would be a great school library resource, or a book for a parent trying to show their child another way of thinking about advertising. It’s especially apropos at this time of the year, when advertising to children is ramped up so much, between Black Friday and Christmas.
August 10, 2013
Made You Look is a book designed to help give younger consumers awareness of the pervasiveness of advertising in our modern world. From online ads in social media to product placements in movies, there is no easy way to consume media without running into ads.
The book is lively and informative without either being too preachy or taking particular sides. There are interesting experiments to try to show how online advertising can change based on what you surf for, and guidelines and laws for advertising to young people are explained. The book ends with a nice appendix of resources for consumers, and there is an excellent layout of a way to complain to a company about a product that doesn't deliver as promised.
The layout is catchy with some cartoon illustrations and unusual block layouts by Michelle Lamoreaux. When my children were younger, this would have been an excellent resource to teach them about the wiles of the world they live in. This is a highly readable and informative book.
The book is lively and informative without either being too preachy or taking particular sides. There are interesting experiments to try to show how online advertising can change based on what you surf for, and guidelines and laws for advertising to young people are explained. The book ends with a nice appendix of resources for consumers, and there is an excellent layout of a way to complain to a company about a product that doesn't deliver as promised.
The layout is catchy with some cartoon illustrations and unusual block layouts by Michelle Lamoreaux. When my children were younger, this would have been an excellent resource to teach them about the wiles of the world they live in. This is a highly readable and informative book.
March 25, 2014
“Do you remember the day your parents sat you down to have a serious talk about advertising? Me neither.” Advertisers in North America spend an estimated $15 billion dollars targeting kids every year and then sit back to wait on the “nag factor” to wield its purchasing influence to the tune of $700 billion per year.
This book illuminates the ways and purposes of advertising, as well as, how those who don’t think they pay attention to ads, are nevertheless affected by them. “To the fish, the water is invisible.” Advertising is EVERYWHERE.
Is all advertising bad? Read this book and decide for yourself. It will open your eyes to many marketing ploys and give you valid questions to ask before you choose to believe.
This book illuminates the ways and purposes of advertising, as well as, how those who don’t think they pay attention to ads, are nevertheless affected by them. “To the fish, the water is invisible.” Advertising is EVERYWHERE.
Is all advertising bad? Read this book and decide for yourself. It will open your eyes to many marketing ploys and give you valid questions to ask before you choose to believe.
August 21, 2013
This was a pretty neat book to read and get some clear ideas on marketing and advertising. Of course I'm a 31 yo lawyer and as such, not the book's intended audience. Though most of it was already known to me, I did find out some new and curious things. However, some thin might be a bit complex for a 14 yo. Furthermore, it's a 100 plus page book, which means most teens won't want to read a theme book(not a novel) of that length. Some parts could cut down without harming the contente which is very good. One last note, the illustrations are very good, delightful to look at. Reccomend it to people wanting to know a bit more about publicity.
November 5, 2013
I read this updated edition.
I love this book!
It has appealing visuals and text that will engage young and teen readers.
Chapters cover advertising explanations/definitions (page 2); how consumers had to be created (historically) - very interesting (pages 6-7); repetition can be good or bad and how to overcome it (pages 66-67); if we care about a product, advertising has more influence (pages 71-72); regulations "don't list" (pages 103-105); how to make a complaint that will be heard (pages 126-130); careers in advertising (page 139); write your own ad (pages 140-142); when we throw things "away," what happens (pages 134-135) - not sure how this fits in, but it's interesting.
I love this book!
It has appealing visuals and text that will engage young and teen readers.
Chapters cover advertising explanations/definitions (page 2); how consumers had to be created (historically) - very interesting (pages 6-7); repetition can be good or bad and how to overcome it (pages 66-67); if we care about a product, advertising has more influence (pages 71-72); regulations "don't list" (pages 103-105); how to make a complaint that will be heard (pages 126-130); careers in advertising (page 139); write your own ad (pages 140-142); when we throw things "away," what happens (pages 134-135) - not sure how this fits in, but it's interesting.
January 23, 2018
i like how this tells you stuff like (if an advertisement makes you look do you need it? will you like it? what is it´s main purpose?) It makes you think if you need it or want it or if you just want it cause it looks cool. It talks about who knows what like kids under the age 6 may or may not understand that T.V isn't real.Some pay a lot of attention to commercials. kids ages 6-9 pay a lot of attention to commercials.It's talks a lot about how your going to need to pay close attention and mute the commercial.
April 24, 2009
Made You Look is Advertising 101 for kids. It draws the reader's attention to this industry that pervades our environment and examines how it attempts to get the dollars out of our collective pocket. Ms. Graydon livens up the study with a sprinkling of anecdotes and amusing illustrations. (Well, actually, Warren Clark did the illustrations.) Readers are also challenged to do their own analysis of the advertising that they see, hear and read every day.
January 12, 2018
This book is true I was reading a passage called trick or treat and it was talking about if you ask your parents for a game or a toy that you saw tv and you ended up getting it but when you play with it that game or toy sucks.I had done that before and it wasn't a great feeling but I got through it.But anyway I gave it 2 stars because even though It gave you good information and good tips,but it wasn't a right book for me.
May 23, 2018
I think this was probably meant for a younger audience, and it tended to be a bit repetitive, but it did have interesting facts and points to make. I guess I was just expecting more of a "how to advertise" rather than "be on guard against advertising" type of book, though I don't know why. However, if you are looking for a good middle-grade book about advertisement awareness, this would be great. It was interesting, easy to read, and I did learn stuff, it just wasn't what I was hoping for. :)
July 6, 2015
Interesting book. Did anyone else notice that near the end of the book, there seemed to be a randomly unrelated *advertisement* for recycling when the author talked about people throwing "away" their trash? Seems kinda funny to see an *ad* for recycling in a book about advertising. Guess that just goes to show that advertisments really are *everywhere*!
February 23, 2016
I brought this for my middle school daughter and felt the book does a good job of covering all the ways we're bombarded with advertising in our world. Although the book was written for those her age, I'll have to see what she thinks about it. I'm not sure she'll care for being referred to as a "kid."
September 4, 2017
Interesting book. However I'm feeling uncomfortable about how this book try to train young reader to hate and boycott the advertising. The book is correct to some degree but it's not fair to portrait the advertising / marketing as something as evil. Also, most of the book exaggerated about the ads' effect and call for some actions (mostly related to negative emotion).
January 7, 2014
This book is full of really great information about how we're continuously targeted to buy products and services. I really learned a lot and developed a whole lesson from it that I'm excited to show my students.
November 11, 2016
2.5 stars.
It was a very interesting book, but very disorganised. The headings weren't proper headings, and I felt like the author was just writing the information in no particular order and with no clear focus or structure.
It was a very interesting book, but very disorganised. The headings weren't proper headings, and I felt like the author was just writing the information in no particular order and with no clear focus or structure.
January 4, 2018
Although this book was aimed at kids, I enjoyed reading it. I was reminded of many things and even found out some new. I like the illustrations too but don't understand "Where's Waldo" look-alike on the cover.
March 4, 2008
Lots of great info in here, but the delivery could have been more appealing (not super into the design).
October 31, 2008
Wow. Very informative.
June 18, 2009
Very interesting read!
January 17, 2014
A smart look at advertising and the influence it can have on all people, including and especially children. Informative and interactive. Recommended to all.
January 25, 2014
I can definitely see myself pairing this with THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LARRY when I teach it next year.
April 20, 2025
New, updated edition is available. Every kid should read this book. Teach your kids to spend their money wisely.
March 16, 2015
I thought this was really interesting. Great for older kids to read, since it helps you to be more aware and less manipulated by advertising.
December 18, 2015
Solid introduction.
copyright 2003, rev. 2013
copyright 2003, rev. 2013
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December 18, 2016It was really good and informative.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews