1. Analysis of an Advertisement There is more to advertising than meets the casual eye. An effective ad 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. Answer the following questions about the ad given – you may be surprised by the messages and meanings you uncover.

2.  What is the general ambience of the advertisement? What mood does it create? How does it do this?  Who is the target audience? How do you know?  How is the name of the product significant?  How does the advertiser try to convince you to buy this product?  What is the relationship of between the pictorial elements and written material and what does this tell us?  What is the use of space in the advertisement? Is there a lot of “white space” or is it full of graphic and written elements?  What signs and symbols do we find? What role do they play in the ad’s impact?  If there are figures (men, women, children, animals) what are they like? What can be said about their facial expressions, poses, hairstyle, age, gender, hair color, ethnicity, education, occupation, relationships (of one to the other)?

3.  What does the background tell us? Where is the advertisement taking place and what significance does this background have?  What action is taking place in the advertisement and what significance does it have? FYI – this could be described as the ad’s plot.  What theme or themes do we find in the advertisement? What is it about? Hint – the plot may involve a man and a woman drinking Coca-Cola, but the theme may be love, jealousy, ambition, etc.  What language is 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 copywriter: humor, alliteration, comparisons, etc.?  What is the item being advertised and what role does it play in American culture and society?  What sociological, political, economic or cultural attitudes are indirectly reflected in the advertisement? An advertisement may be about a pair of blue jeans but it might, indirectly, reflect matters such as sexism, alienation, stereotyped thinking, conformism, generational conflict, loneliness, elitism, etc.

5.  The ad tries to show the basic human need for fun. It’s a picture of a Pepsi drink being bubble blown by a middle aged business man dressed in a suit. The marketing technique used is avant-garde, specifically nonconformity. You’re blowing bubbles and acting as if you’re “forever young” while everyone else is sitting in their cubicles, typing away, writing about their sad lives. The image of a conservatively well-dressed man contrasting with the overflowing, bubbly drink immediately catches the attention of the consumers. And is then directed to the caption at the bottom right hand corner. It’s all a state of mind, and you can’t help but smile at the thought that no matter how old you get, you can still have fun in life.  The ad is meant to capture the viewers attention to the Pepsi. The background is gray, formal and business-like and this draws attention to the Pepsi glass in the business-man’s hand. This is supposed to be a funny ad, because it is ironic that a business man is blowing bubbles into a Pepsi glass. Pepsi wants the viewer to think that it will unleash the young person within and that no matter how old you are, with Pepsi, you will always be young.