This assignment asks you to write an essay that analyzes a television video ad. (An analysis is an examination that focuses on details to explain how a given subject works.) This essay requires no research.
If you want to discuss rhetorical appeals, your essay can, but this assignment is more specifically interested in the questions detailed on the Center for Media Literacy, “How to Analyze an Advertisement,” handout on Canvas that we’ve discussed in class. (See the schedule). Also, it could incorporate ideas from Hirschberg, or even the Modes of Communication from last term.
To put this into a more immediate context:
The genre of the ad is clear; it is a video produced by a company.
The purpose of the ad is clear: it is designed to persuade you to buy a product.
The audience is clear: it is intended for tv viewers.
However, the specific details of your ad are worth exploring. For example, what/who is the specific audience for the ad you’ve chosen? Not all t.v. viewers would be interested in the same products. (For example, if I see an ad for diapers, even though I’m viewing the ad, I’m not in the audience for that product; I don’t have kids. So, who would that specific ad appeal to?) Your essay should be understandable by anyone, even if they haven’t seen the same ad, so part of your task will be briefly describing the ad also.
***So, to be clear, the purpose of this assignment is for you to find and choose an ad that meets the requirements listed above. Then, you’ll write an essay that analyzes the ad by answering the questions found in the Berger, Center for Media Literacy, “How to Analyze an Advertisement” handout that we’ll discuss in class. (Your essay probably won’t answer all of the questions separately, but should make an attempt at most of them.)***
The assignment should be 900-1200 words (3-4 pages). It requires no research outside of class materials (other than finding the ad). Remember, the assignment is asking you to analyze an ad for a product, not the product itself. It doesn’t matter if you’ve ever used the product or if you know anything about the company. (I could analyze an ad for Huggies diapers, even though I’ve never bought or used them. I could use an ad for a Japanese brand of soda, even though I’ve never been to Japan or had the soda. Analyze what the ad gives you. This assignment isn’t a review or critique of a product or a company.)
THESE QUESTIONS CAN BE HELPFUL
Berger, Arthur Asa, “How to Analyze an Advertisement: Finding Ads’ Messages”
1. What is the general ambience of the advertisement? What mood does it create? How does it do this?
2. What is the relationship between images and words and what does this tell us?
3. What signs and symbols do we find? What role do they play in the ad’s impact?
4. If there are figures (men, women, children, animals) what are they like? What can be said about their facial expressions, poses, hairstyle, age, sex, hair color, ethnicity, education, occupation, relationships (of one to the other)?
5. What does the background tell us? Where is the advertisement taking place and what significance does this background have? (In other words, where is it set? An office? A gym? A street? A yard? Etc.).
6. What action is taking place in the advertisement and what significance does it have? (This might be described as the ad’s “plot.”)
7. What theme or themes do we find in the advertisement? What is it about? (The plot of an advertisement may involve a man and a woman drinking but the theme might be jealousy, faithlessness, ambition, passion, etc.)
8. What about the language used? Does it essentially provide information or does it try to generate some kind of emotional response? Or both? What techniques are used by the writers: humor, alliteration, definitions, comparisons, and so on?
9. What typefaces/fonts (what the letters look like) are used and what impressions do they convey?
10. What is the item being advertised and what role does it play in American culture and society?
11. What about aesthetic decisions? What significance do long shots, medium shots, close-up shots have? What about the lighting, use of color, etc.?
Berger, Arthur Asa, “How to Analyze an Advertisement: Finding Ads’ Messages”
There’s more to advertising’s message than meets the casual eye. An effective ad, like other forms of communication, works best when it strikes a chord in the needs and desires of the receiving consumer — a connection that can be both intuitive and highly calculated.
The following questions can help foster an awareness of this process.
1. What is the general ambience of the advertisement? What mood does it create? How does it do this?
2. What is the relationship between images and words and what does this tell us?
3. What signs and symbols do we find? What role do they play in the ad’s impact?
4. If there are figures (men, women, children, animals) what are they like? What can be said about their facial expressions, poses, hairstyle, age, sex, hair color, ethnicity, education, occupation, relationships (of one to the other)?
5. What does the background tell us? Where is the advertisement taking place and what significance does this background have? (In other words, where is it set? An office? A gym? A street? A yard? Etc.).
6. What action is taking place in the advertisement and what significance does it have? (This might be described as the ad’s “plot.”)
7. What theme or themes do we find in the advertisement? What is it about? (The plot of an advertisement may involve a man and a woman drinking but the theme might be jealousy, faithlessness, ambition, passion, etc.)
8. What about the language used? Does it essentially provide information or does it try to generate some kind of emotional response? Or both? What techniques are used by the writers: humor, alliteration, definitions, comparisons, and so on?
9. What typefaces/fonts (what the letters look like) are used and what impressions do they convey?
10. What is the item being advertised and what role does it play in American culture and society?
11. What about aesthetic decisions? What significance do long shots, medium shots, close-up shots have? What about the lighting, use of color, etc.?
https://youtu.be/MrfD2RwubYQhttps://youtu.be/MrfD2RwubYQhttps://youtu.be/MrfD2RwubYQ
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