Pitching an Ad to Gatsby

By Platform Administrator · Submitted Sep 30, 2026

Content Area: English Language Arts and Literacy
Grades: 9-10

This is a performance task based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby. Taking on the role of an employee at a marketing/ad agency, students create a social media ad that advertises one of Gatsby's parties. As marketing reps, students use this ad to attract Daisy to Gatsby's party. The ad should catch Daisy's eye using creativity, show the setting of the party, and use a literary device (figurative language) as the slogan and/or caption. The marketing rep, aka student, will then pitch their ad to Gatsby, the client, convincing him to use this ad from their agency instead of someone else's. Students must turn in the visual ad along with their written pitch notes to the teacher.

MA Standards

RL.9-10.3

Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

SL.11-12.5

Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

SL.9-10.4

Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, vocabulary, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and tas

W.9-10.1

Write arguments (e.g., essays, letters to the editor, advocacy speeches) to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Resources

Pitching an Ad to Gatsby Task Template (PDF) PDF · 154 KB
Pitching an Ad to Gatsby Task Template (Word) DOCX · 1.59 MB
Student Directions and Graphic Organizer DOCX · 45.4 KB
Pitching an Ad to Gatsby Rubric DOCX · 1.54 MB

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