----Commercial advertising is often regarded as an art form, to the point that some advertisement campaigns have earned cult status. This course will examine a wide range of contemporary advertisements and commercials from France as well as from other French-speaking societies in the form of print materials, posters, and film footages. In this process, students shall be exposed to some of the basic techniques used in advertisements and commercials (iconography, narratives, design and layout, puns and humor, catch lines and rhetorical devices) as well as to the various messages and constructs one finds subsumed in these creations: social mythologies and representations, gender-based stereotyping and characterization, racial exoticization, and class politics, among others.

The medium of discussion will be French, as well as all the material under investigation.

Course Objectives and Outcomes
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----The objective of this course is multiple:
> to understand how advertising relates to and reflects French-speaking societies today, its values and evolution;
> to develop a critical approach to the reading of advertisements;
> to expand French language proficiency in the various competencies.

At the end of the course, students will be able to:
> apply knowledge of the strategies used in advertising industry to analyse and critique cultural, societal aspects and current issues of contemporary France and other French-speaking countries.
> demonstrate their ability to interpret critically and analyse perceptively texts, films and images drawn from commercial advertising in French.
> demonstrate familiarity with a wide range of rhetorical devices and techniques used in the production of commercials.

• Questionnaires and quizzes.
• Class tests.
• Portfolios + Individual/group oral presentations.
• Active participation in lectures and seminars

Teaching Activities
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• Lecture
• Seminar
• Small tutorials
• Group and individual research projects

> French at HKU Major in French