Advertisements Critiques
Evaluate two or three techniques used by advertisers in their effort to sell products, services, brands, etc. Look in a couple magazines, (fashion or lifestyle). Notice the full or half page glossy advertisement. Which techniques can be identify. Basic persuasion Techniques. Association, bandwagon, beautiful people, bribery, celebrities, fear, humor, intensity, testimonials, warm and fuzzy. Focus on advertisements for products or services you are not likely want/buy. Select one advertisement to analyze as examples of the techniques you are focusing on. (A digital copy of the ad will be attached to the back of your essay.) In your analysis, consider any of the following questions; not all of these questions will be relevant to YOUR analysis; remember to focus on the particular techniques you have chosen: Who is the target audience for this ad, and how can you tell? How is the advertiser trying to make the product (or service or brand) appealing? Look at the details. What information given is factual? What information is left out of the ad? Where could you go to get more accurate and complete information about the product? What are the potential gains or risks for the consumer from this advertisement or from the product itself? What are the potential gains or risks to the environment? To your community? Introduction: Make a general claim about how advertising works, and quickly focus in on the specific technique(s) you will be evaluating in your essay. In the last sentence of your introduction, state your overall assessment of these techniques (your main point) Come up with main point by answer the question What should consumers be aware of when they are looking at advertisements that use these techniques? In the body of the essay, include three or four (or more) fully developed TEA paragraphs: one body paragraph for each of the techniques (Topic). The Evidence supporting the topics of these paragraphs will come from the details of the ad itself (images, text, special effects). After presenting the evidence, you will Analyze it by explaining how the evidence helps to support your claim about the technique. Also include at least one more body paragraph about the impact on consumers: why do these techniques work and what can people do to become smarter consumers? The concluding paragraph is your chance to reinforce your main point. Do not be afraid to get passionate. Consider especially the negative impacts on individuals and/or communities of certain kinds of ads, and remind us of what people can do to be smarter consumers. I) Introduction with thesis statement II) Body Paragraph on Technique A III) Body Paragraph on Technique B IV) Body Paragraph on Impact and Becoming a Smart Consumer V) Conclusion
