I made this "ad" as a way of critiquing modern solutions to obesity and general overweight-ness. Pills as answer to everything is becoming increasingly more prevalent and I believe it is a dangerous trend. When people think that there is a pill out there to solve any problem they might face, they fail to take personal responsibility for their choices. For example, a pill that helps you lose weight, but may, in fact, be unhealthy for you in a variety of ways, neglects the notion that losing weight is a means of getting healthy, not just skinny. The package may encourage users to eat right, exercise, and consult a doctor, etc, but again, the mere notion that a pill can cure all, and that one's weight and general appearance is more important that overall health is a dangerous one.
I think that having students create an ad or a parody of an ad and present them to their classmates is a great activity. Or students could be given ads along with supplemental readings and asked to re-write the the words, disclosures, or general messages that are in the ads. For example, students might be given a "Got Milk" ad that shows a half-naked woman with the milk mustache, along with a short article about treatment of dairy cows, antibiotics and other additives in milk. The student would then, using iMovie or ComicLife create thought bubbles for the ad, with the woman thinking "this is a milk ad? I thought I was doing a sports illustrated swim suit shoot. And, geez. My stomach hurts...," etc.
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