Toys R Us vs. Outdoor Education
This 2013 “mockumentary” ad for Toys R Us shows a group of school kids being taken on a field trip to the forest. The kids are shown to be bored and disinterested until the trip leader announces that they are actually going to Toys R Us. This provides a rich discussion for how different environments are portrayed. You can can compare the framing of the natural world versus the the environment of the toy store and how they are represented as distinct. You can also discuss which provides more education, excitement, and fulfillment, according to Toys R Us and our own lived experience. This can also be used to discuss the issue of nature deficit disorder.
Outdoor Education – Toys R Us Parody
This should be shown along with the Toys R Us ad. This short grassroots video responds to Toys R Us by showing the benefits of outdoor education. The discourses around the benefits of outdoor education can be compared to how it is represented in the Toys R Us ad.