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Lesson 3: Our place, our face
The next set of ads shows the different faces of New Zealand from the early 1970s and the late 1990s. Examples: 1970s: Gregg’s Coffee, 1990s: TV3.
Learning intentions
Identify messages about how we saw ourselves.
Examine how New Zealand looked and who was chosen to be shown.
Success criteria
“I can” identify who was shown and what was said about the people in the ads.
“I can” start to examine messages about what it is to be a New Zealander.
“I can” make the link between what I hear and what I see.
Activity
Each student has a starter question handout Faces places. Included in the handout are sample answers that could be done with teacher direction for the first ad and then students to attempt the second on their own.
In pairs, one student takes responsibility for what they hear and the other for what they see.
At the end of the screening they swap and repeat the process. Then they compare what they have found, and watch again, looking at both visual and oral messages, and continuing to fill in the handout.
Together they answer the final set of questions.
Describe what a New Zealander looks like. What is the main message the ads are giving about being a New Zealander? How does this message help sell the product?
Additional resources
The following books may provide useful background information:
- Barnett, S. (1989). Those were the days: A nostalgic look at the 1960s from the pages of the Weekly news. Auckland: Moa Publications.
- Lynch, J. (2002). NZ Woman’s Weekly — 70 Years from pavlovas to prime ministers. Auckland: Random House.
- Selkirk, J. (2003). Through the lens: Three decades of NZ news photography. Auckland: Reed.
- Dalley, B., & McLean, G. (Eds.). (2005). Frontier of dreams — The story of New Zealand. Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett.