Deconstructing Ads By: Rachel Murphy

Ad #1

Text This ad tells a story by tying the message into our need to feel desirable and the need to be in shape. This is an ad that would get most of the attention of people who aren’t in shape and would like to be wanted by either a man or a woman. The category that this ad falls in is either humor or health. The formula that this advertisement follows is that if you are tired of being fat and ugly then you could just be ugly if you go to this gym. This ad persuades people into going to their gym just by their slogan. A lot of people today are worried about what other people think and this will make people want to get in shape because, even if they don’t want to admit it, they are tired of being fat and ugly so they will start to think that they should go to the gym and call the number on the sign.

Audience This text appeals to me because its slogan catches people’s eyes and makes me want to go to the gym. I do workout a lot but this slogan makes me want to go to their gym. I like that its bright and bold and gets right to the point that everyone’s thinking. The intended target audience would be people who are simply not in shape and would like to be. This text appeals to its audience by making them feel like they need to start getting in shape. People today tend to care what people think so they want to look good for everyone they see. People consume this and think that they should go to that gym because this ad seems to promise to get people in shape. I would put a picture of a few people from before to after they go to this gym to show how people can get in shape.

Production The person who created it is the owner of the gym trying to get members. This text is distributed to the public by a small sandwich billboard. The company would profit from this billboard because it draws attention to it and connects to humour. The ad was made in this case by someone randomly taking a picture of this billboard and putting it online. I could create the ad again by taking a similar picture of a billboard just like some random person did, and put it online for lots of people to see.

Ad #2

Text The story of this ad is telling people to only use the amount of water you need; don’t waste water. It’s showing people this by using the bench on the side of the street because most people, who can walk fine and sit on the bench, tend to take up too much room, and this is keeping people, who can’t walk as well and need a bench, from being able to sit down. The category that this would be in is the conservation of water. The formula that this ad follows is that you should save water and use what you need just like you should only use the amount of bench space that you need and not waste the whole bench. This shows a symbolic code by how they use bright colors on the sign to catch people’s eyes to tell them why most of the bench is gone. This ad is promoting Denver Water and how people shouldn’t waste it (or water in general).

Audience This ad appeals to me by helping me learn not to waste water because this ad actually makes a bench represent the water instead of just putting on a sign. That’s one of the things I like about this ad. There aren’t many things I don’t like about this ad. The intended target audience is everyone in Denver because it’s promoting Denver water. But the general message is targeting everybody telling them simply not to waste water. This ad appeals to its audience by using bright colors and a physical comparison (in this case, the bench). People could use or consume this ad by thinking that its an ad for people to just keep running and not take a break and sit down. People could see this because most of the bench is gone. I could add some form of water in the picture to make it more enjoyable.

Production This ad comes from either the company that promotes Denver Water, or a person just taking a picture of it and then putting it online. The company that promotes Denver Water created this ad. Therefore, that same company owns the ad as well. This is distributed to the audience by someone taking a picture of it and then putting it online. The company that is with Denver Water is going to profit from it. The town would profit from having this ad on the bench too because the people who own the ad company would’ve had to pay to put the ad on that bench. I could produce a similar text by finding something similar to this (like a bench) and then take a picture of it and then, also, put it online.

Ad #3

Text The story that this ad is trying to tell is that we need Pepsi to survive. They filled an IV bag, that usually has blood in it, with Pepsi so it looks like its filling a person’s bloodstream with Pepsi. The category that this connects to is food/drinks, promoting Pepsi. The formula is that drinking this drink is key to survival. The written code is at the bottom of the picture that says, “Come to Life”. This isn’t realistic because Pepsi is actually bad for you and no one gets it pumped into their bloodstream. The value of this ad is survival. It shows this by putting Pepsi in an IV bag and makes it look like its connected to a person.

Audience This text would appeal to me if I liked Pepsi or didn’t know what it tasted like because, if I just saw this Pepsi ad and have never known of Pepsi before, I would think that its good for you because they filled an IV bag with it. I like how they tried to persuade us to buy Pepsi, thinking that its good for you. The target audience would typically be anyone who drinks pop. This appeals to its audience by telling them that it’s key to survival. They use this text and tell themselves that they need to have this drink to survive. I could change this text to make it more enjoyable by making the words at the bottom of the page bigger so people notice it more and can connect it with the picture.

Production This text comes from most likely a magazine. Pepsi company created it and they own it too. This is distributed to the public through a magazine ad and Pepsi will profit from it whenever someone buys a magazine. The text was made by taking a picture of the IV bag filled with Pepsi, putting in a blue background, and then putting in the words. I could produce a similar text by filling a bag up with Pepsi and then putting in a background and put the words from Pepsi over top.

Ad #4

Text The story of this ad is if you don’t want to have dry and dead hair like the Grudge has, then use Head and Shoulders shampoo. The people who made this ad were trying to say that their shampoo can make the driest hair smooth and shiny. The type or category of this ad is hair products. The formula of this advertisement is that using this shampoo will make your hair feel smooth and look shiny. The people who made this ad made the colors dull and dark in the pictures but in the “after” picture, they made the hair shinier and made it more eye-catching. The characters aren’t realistic because they took the girl from the Grudge to promote this ad but her hair in the movie has been made to look very dull and dry and they used computers to make her hair look shiny in the second picture. The girl (The Grudge) looks to be younger and that would make more young girls buy this product because they want their hair to look shiny and smooth. I do believe that this shampoo works well. Maybe not as well as it shows in the picture, but it does help with dandruff and makes hair soft and smooth.

Audience This text appeals to me because I am a girl who cares about having soft, smooth hair. I like that this shows mostly what this shampoo does through the character it used. I don’t like that it’s obvious that a computer was used to make the hair look shiny and smooth. Most people know this is from the Grudge and that her hair is dull the whole movie. The intended target audience is mostly girls through this ad but there is this shampoo for men as well. This text appeals to its audience by showing them how this shampoo is supposed to work. It appeals to them because girls want smooth hair because it makes them feel good about themselves and their hair. People could consume this text fully and think that the shampoo will automatically make your hair change from really dull to really smooth. I could change this text by using a real girl instead of the Grudge to not make it so obvious that the hair was changed by using computers.

Production This text comes from either a magazine or the Internet. The Head and Shoulders shampoo company created it to promote their product. Therefore, Head and Shoulders owns it as well. This text is distributed to the public through the media in magazines or the Internet. Head and Shoulders profits from this ad and the magazine it was in will profit from this as well because Head and Shoulders would’ve had to pay them to put their ad inside their magazine. The text was made by taking the picture of the Grudge and copying it twice to put them side-by-side, and then a computer made the right-side picture’s hair shiny and smooth, then putting the writing and shampoo bottle overtop. I could produce a similar text by taking a picture of the Grudge and then using a computer to change its hair and then take a photo of a shampoo bottle beside it.

Ad #5

Text This ad is telling people that when people litter, all their garbage travels out to the ocean and can either sink into the ocean or stay on the surface. Either way, animals and fish that live in the ocean will die and are dying from eating the garbage or the garbage getting tied around their neck. The type of this ad is either sympathy or health. The formula to this ad is that if you stop littering then the ocean wont look like this on the inside. The codes and conventions of this ad is that the background is an ocean setting so it makes people happy at first because most people love the beach, but then it shows the bottle underneath the ocean surface and makes people upset that this is where their garbage is going when they litter. This picture makes it look like the person is lifting the ocean layer like a blanket and finding water bottles underneath it. This represents the garbage being found on the surface of the water or the garbage that have sunken down to the bottom. I do believe that too much garbage is being left on beaches and therefore moving out to the oceans.

Audience This text appeals to me by showing me how much garbage is being pulled out into the ocean. I like that they made the ocean look like a blanket covering all the garbage that’s hidden underneath it. The intended target audience is basically everyone because anyone can litter and every piece of garbage can make it out to the ocean eventually. This text appeals to its audience by giving people a straightforward picture of what's basically happening in the ocean. This text appeals to them because it shows where all your garbage actually goes after you litter. People can consume this text from a magazine. I would put animals in the picture to make it more emotional to people and show that they are being affected too.

Production This text comes from a magazine which is advertising “Advertisements Without Borders”. The people that created this ad were the owners of the company “Advertisers Without Borders”. Therefore they own it too. This is distributed to the public through a magazine most likely. The magazine profits and the company who owns the ad profits. This was made through using the computer and taking a picture of an ocean/beach and Photoshop a girl in the picture and making the ocean look like a blanket and then put bottles underneath it. I could produce a similar text by using Photoshop and a picture of a beach and then adding words and a company name on top.

Ad #6

Text The story that this ad tells is that once you win the lottery 649, you can go from ironing all your clothes, to surfing in a tropical place. It’s telling you that you will never have to do your own chores again. The category of this ad is money and richness. The codes and conventions of this ad is that the background of this is completely one color for the walls and floor, and the iron board half is white/beige, which draws attention to the surfboard half because its bright and colorful. The Lotto 649 logo is bright too and the same colors as the surfboard so it makes people feel happy and want to buy more lottery tickets for a chance to win so they don’t have to iron and be in that “beige” life all the time. This ad in a way is realistic because if you do win the lottery, you can trade your lifestyle of doing chores, to a lifestyle relaxing and surfing in this case. This relates to age because people under 18 can’t buy a ticket but anyone above 18 can. I believe that this is true but not many people win the lottery that often so even if many people buy tickets, they most likely won’t win.

Audience This text appeals to me by showing me how easily my life can change if I win the lottery. I like how simple they are trying to get the point across. The intended audience would be anyone who is above the age of 18. This text appeals to its audience by showing them what they can give up and what they can gain if they win the Lotto 649. This appeals to them because most people don’t like doing chores so, they will get excited if there’s a chance they can give up the chores they have to do and buy a surfboard instead. People consume this text through a magazine most likely. I could change this text to make it more enjoyable by adding a background with palm trees and a beach on the half of the ad with the surfboard half.

Production This text comes from a magazine by the way it looks. The people who made Lotto 649 would’ve created it. Therefore, they own the ad as well. This text is distributed to the public by putting an eye-catching ad in a magazine. The magazine profits and the people who own Lotto 649 profits. This text was made by Photoshopping an iron board onto a plain background and then taking out half of it and putting in a bright- coloured surfboard where the missing half is. Then the logo was put on top of everything else. I could produce a similar text by finding any picture of an iron board and any picture of a surfboard and putting them together and then putting the logo of a lottery company over top of it.