10: advertising analysis assignment

Here's the assignment.

Here's a sample paragraph:

Association

One of the most common ways of selling a product is through association. With this technique, the product is linked to a desire to which the advertiser believes the target audience will have some attachment. In the 1971 Coca-Cola advertisement, the association is with idealism, unity and internationalism. Because the late 1960s and early 1970s were heavily influenced by the youth counter-culture movement of the anti-war protests and the ‘hippie lifestyle,’ these were ideas and desires that were important, especially to young people. Naturally, young people are the target audience of the ad. When the ad starts, a young woman is singing the song alone. Her natural appearance and the fact that she is looking off into the distant sky gives the impression of her sincerity and idealism. As the song continues, more people start singing with her, giving the impression that the song is gaining in strength as the voices, belonging to a group of people with various ethnicities and wearing clothing suggestive of national costumes. (I would then go on the describe the nature of the song, the outdoor setting, the girl at the end looking like she might cry, the slogan ‘The Real Thing,’ etc.)

Here's another:

ironic ad

Some advertisers will avoid the more mainstream advertising techniques and instead use ironic ads. Ironic ads make fun of traditional ads, and by so doing they make the consumer feel like the product trusts them. In other words, the consumer is treated like she is too smart to actually be advertised to. A classic example is the Volkswagen ‘Think Small’ campaign. Volkswagen wants to make a claim of a unique selling proposition, so they emphasize not only the differences between this car and other cars on the market, but also the differences between this ad and other car ads. For instance, the car is shown very small and on a neutral, white background, making it look somewhat ridiculous. Most car ads would show the car in great detail and in a highly associative context. The slogan ‘Think Small’ is the opposite of what one expects a car ad to say, thus making fun of that more traditional style of advertising. (Then you would keep writing about the other techniques in the ad.)