Advertisement Exercise

The following exercise will require you to become a critical thinker when analyzing arguments that we are bombarded with everyday-ADVERTISEMENTS!!! Take a flip through a magazine, newspaper, website, youtube etc and choose and advertisement to analyze. Be sure to fully consider and analyze all parts of the advertisements and also what lead you to the conclusions that you draw about them. Each group will share their answers with the class.

What is the ad trying to convey? Be very specific. What lead you to your conclusion?

What types of visual stimuli does the advertisement utilize? Pictures? Words? Colors? Font? Look at everything that is going on in the advertisement. How do all these aspects contribute to the overall message? Explain.

Who is the target audience? Describe the audience in as many details as possible- age, sex, background (where do they come from? What cultural influences do they have?), income. Be as detailed as possible about whom you think the ad is meant to reach. Be sure to support your conclusions with support you see in the ad.

What persuasive techniques does the advertisement utilize? What is the advertisement promising? Are the claims that it makes true? Why or why not? What connections does the advertisement try to establish? Why do you think the marketers wanted to establish such a connection?

Are fallacies or unfair claims made? How are these claims presented? How do the advertisements try to make these claims believable?

Do you think society is responsible for critical thinking when it comes to advertisements and media, or do you think the companies are to blame? Explain.