My Advertisement

My ad is for DayQuil/NyQuil cold medicine. It has two pictures of Drew Brees that take up just over half of the page, under the two pictures is white space that is filled with the medicine's slogan and a picture of the two different kinds and the different packaging that it is available in. I got this ad from the Better Homes and Gardens holiday magazine, the target audience is mainly women. I think that this ad was definitely altered by the audience. If this ad was in a magazine that was primarily read by men, there would have probably would have been a different person in the photographs. The purpose of the ad is to make women think that if this cold medicine is good enough for an NFL quarterback, that it should be good enough for them to give to their families as well.

Elements of an Effective Layout

The analytical tools in this essay are balance, proportion, movement, utility, clarity, and emphasis. In my ad the balance is achieved with two side by side pictures that spread completely across the top of the page, and extend down just a little over half of the page. Movement is acheived with gaze motion with the guy in the first picture looking towards the guy in the second picture. The ad shows unity through the use of darker pictures on the top of the ad and then in the white space below providing the information about the product.

Of all the elements, there isn't one that is more important than the other, because they are all interdependant on each other. You can create an ad without one or two of the elements, but the ad will not be effective without the use of all of them. After thinking about all of these elements, I don't think advertising is ruined for me, I spent 3 years in high school creating all the ads for our newspaper and yearbook, so I was somewhat familiar with the different elements already.

Democracy of Goods

The article describes how a child of a very wealthy family is fed Cream of Wheat for both breakfast and dinner, and he follows a strict diet and exercise plan put in place by famous specialists. The story is followed up with a statement that appeals to the mothers who cannot afford famous specialists to construct diet and exercise plans or their children. The article states that "every mother can give her youngsters the fun and benefits of Cream of Wheat breakfast just as do these parents of the boys and girls who have the best that wealth can command". This strategy is still used in advertising today. It may not be nearly as blatant as it was in the past, but it is still in use now. Such as with an iPhone, you see photographs of celebrities with their iPhone's in the airport, leaving the gym, and shopping. Then you turn on your television and the commerical features everyday people who are using their phones and doing the same things that the celebrities were doing.

Advertising

A commerical that I think is effective is the Chik-Fil-A commerical, actually all of them are pretty effective. I like how even when they do a new commerical they don't go crazy with new ideas, they always have the "Eat Mor Chiken" slogan displayed boldly. The most recent one I've seen is the one where the cows The obvious goal of the commerical is to get people to eat at their restaurant, and while I do enjoy the commercial I have never actually eaten at the restaurant. 

A commerical that I think is ineffective is the commerical where the kid and his dad are eating the cereal (I'm not positive which company it's for) and you can hear them chewing the cereal. I can't honestly tell you what the point of the commercial is because I can't stand to listen to the whole thing. The sounds of the two of them eating drives me absolutely insane and I can't make myself watch the entire commerical without changing the channel or muting the tv.

Persuasive Essay Summary

Thesis Statement: Women have been working to be considered equals since the nineteenth century, they have won the right to choose whether or not they want to enter the workforce, and they have changed the way that people across the world view women.
Main Points: The History of feminism, how women gained the rights that they have today, how feminists are killing chivalry and losing some of the respect that they have worked to gain over the years.
Counter-arguments: Feminist beliefs and goals

*I totally spaced this entry. Sorry it's so late!