Chester Cheetah, the iconic sunglasses-wearing feline, has been the face of Cheetos since 1986. Though his character may seem playful and harmless, teaching students about Chester Cheetah is of great importance in fostering media literacy and awareness about advertising tactics.
1. Understanding the Purpose of Mascots
Discuss how characters like Chester Cheetah serve as mascots to build brand recognition and create a positive and memorable connection between consumers and the product. This will allow students to analyze the impact mascots have on their personal choices and preferences.
2. Dissecting Advertising Techniques
Use Chester’s evolving advertising campaigns as examples to examine various marketing strategies such as humorous slogans, animated spokes characters, and social media engagement. Encourage students to think critically about how these various elements make an advertisement more appealing and persuasive.
3. Media Literacy Skills
By examining Chester Cheetah’s ads, students can develop essential media literacy skills that will help them identify persuasive techniques used by advertisers. This includes understanding implied messages, noticing repetition, and recognizing emotional appeals.
4. Encouraging Healthy Choices
While discussing Chester Cheetah, emphasize the importance of making informed decisions concerning food consumption. Present Chester’s promotional role in selling snacks that are not considered healthy and allow your students to consider healthier alternatives.
5. Creating Their Own Ads
As a creative learning activity, have your students design their own advertisement for a fictional product. Encourage them to incorporate what they’ve learned from their analysis of Chester Cheetah’s marketing campaigns to create engaging ads that effectively communicate their product’s benefits.
Conclusion
Teaching students about Chester Cheetah offers an exciting opportunity for educators to make them aware of the impact that advertising can have on consumer choices. By analyzing this iconic mascot’s role in promoting a popular snack brand, students will gain invaluable skills in media literacy and develop a discerning eye for advertising tactics.
