Paper
#4: Analysis of Two Ads
Readings: Allyn & Bacon Chapter 9: Analyzing Images; You can also refer
to Chapter 5: Seeing Rhetorically.
To help you with this
paper, pay attention to the following sections of Chapter 9: Analyzing Images
1.
How Images Create a
Rhetorical Effect (213-216)
2.
How Advertisers
Target Specific Audiences (220-222)
3.
Sample Analysis of an
Advertisement (222-224)
4.
Cultural Perspectives
of Advertisements (225-229)
5.
Sample Student Essay
"How Cigarette Advertisers Address the Stigma Against Smoking: A Tale of Two
Ads" (Bean 230-233)
Assignment: Choose one of the following types of ads that are selling either a
product or a viewpoint:
a.
two print
advertisements that sell the same kind of product but appeal to different
audiences (for example, a car advertisement aimed at men and another aimed at
women; a beer ad aimed at upper-middle class consumers and one aimed at
working-class consumers).
b.
two ads (either print
or from a website homepage) from organizations and advocacy groups representing
different perspectives on the same topic/issue (examples of issues—Arctic
oil drilling, medical research using animals, gun control, etc.; you could even
use the topic/issue you used for your Exploratory Essay.)
c.
two military
recruiting or political ads
Describe each
ad in detail so that an audience can easily visualize it without actually
seeing it. Analyze each
advertisement and explain how each ad appeals to its target
audience. To what values does each
ad appeal? How is each ad
constructed to appeal to those values?
In addition to analyzing the rhetorical appeals made by each ad, comment
on the images of American culture that they convey.
Make sure you answer the following questions about your ad:
See "Shaping and
Drafting" (234 in your Allyn & Bacon textbook) for a recommended structure
for your paper.
Minimum word count
requirement: 750 words (you can
write more, up to 1200 words)
Rough Draft DUE:
Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006
Final Draft DUE:
Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006