Essay: Analyzing an Advertisement

The Task

Write an ANALYSIS of a current ad, looking specifically at how it reflects American values in the twenty-first century. You may use one of the fifteen appeals to narrow your focus and guide your analysis. Be sure to include the ad in your essay.

Some Ideas:

1. Colors -- What colors are used? What do they suggest or evoke?

2. Models -- How many are used? What gender? What do they look like? What are they wearing/doing? What are the expressions on their faces? What are they looking at? What are their body positions? What are these details meant to imply or evoke?

3. Setting -- Where is the scene set? What does this setting suggest about mood or emotion? How do the models relate to the setting? Are they pointing to, leaning on, standing on or behind, looking down on, or approaching anything in the picture or anything outside the frame of the picture?

4. Text -- What words are printed in the ad? What is the proportion of words to images? Where are the words placed? What do font size and style suggest about the message in the text? How do they connect with the images? Are there any key words? How do you know? What moods do the words evoke? What promises do the words make?

5. Omissions -- Consider not what is shown and said but also what is not shown, what is not said. What is implied through leaving certain things out?

6. Audience -- Think more consciously about this intended audience. Who would most likely fall for the pitch? What are this consumer's needs or desires? What might the consumer feel is lacking in life or desirable in life? Does the ad suggest anything interesting about an audience from the past?

Your Audience

Write this analysis for college-educated people who are not familiar with the advertisement you have chosen as your text. Include your opinions and inferences in your analysis. Do not assume that your audience will reach the same conclusions. We want to know what YOU have to say about it.