Media Smart launches advertising board game

Media Smart, the Government’s literacy programme which teaches children about the role of advertising, is launching a board game for six- to 11-year-olds which aims to encourage them to think about advertising and its associated career opportunities.

The Game of Life Media Smart Edition is being launched by MediaSmart and has been designed by Hasbro, which endorses the Media Smart initiative.

Media Smart Edition will include concepts of creative output such as drawing posters, writing slogans and singing jingles. It will also involve acting out situations such as the fall from grace of a celebrity used in a high-profile advertisement and a campaign winning an effectiveness award from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.

A spokeswoman for Media Smart says: “It is designed to encourage children to think critically about advertising and [is] not so much geared towards a career in advertising.”

The game is based on the classic Game of Life, which takes players through various life stages in adulthood including choice of college, career, relationships and whether or not to have children.

It will be distributed for free in schools. More than 7,000 primary schools are part of the Media Smart scheme, which sends educational packs to teachers about food and drinks advertising.

Last week Media Smart introduced a new educational pack, which for the first time included case studies relating to individual advertisers such as Coca-Cola, Kellogg and Walkers (MW last week).