Provide a brief overview on the history of the product.
Provide a brief overview of the history and structure of the ad agency who produced the campaign.
Provide a description of the various media platforms used to advertise this product (television commercials, product placement, magazines, social media, website advertisements etc.). Show examples of the campaign in these various places.
Body (~ 600 words)
Analysis.
Reconstruct the ideal consumer of the product (you should be specific here and use lots of examples within the ads). Reference the Values and Lifestyles (VALS) strategy in Ch 11.
Identify the persuasive techniques used in this ad/campaign (famous-person testimonial, plan-folks pitch, snob-appeal approach, band-wagon effect, hidden-fear appeal, irritation advertising, the association principle, disassociation). Don’t just list the techniques, but explain how they work on the audience.
Be sure to cite at least 3 quotes from Chapter 11 to provide evidence and context for the concepts used (don’t forget page numbers and quotation marks!)
Interpretation.
Compare to 1-3 ads for other products you think this ideal consumer would enjoy (to help us get a fuller picture of this ideal consumer).
Identify cultural assumptions, norms, stereotypes, and/or ideologies built into the ad. Are they problematic if so why?
Conclusion (~ 200 words)
Evaluation.
Why and how does the ad/campaign speak to our current socio-political moment and/or reflect certain trends in popular culture?
What are potentially the social, cultural, economic and/or political consequences of an advertisement such as this?
Make one specific recommendation for improving the campaign: e.g., could be placed more strategically on other platforms, could include more age- and ethnically-diverse actors to increase target audience etc.
Advertising Analysis Grading Rubric
Organization (30 points)
Clear structure with intro – body – conclusion and good narrative flow throughout /5
Clear and underlined thesis statement /5
Supporting evidence for thesis is provided in the paper /10
Included visual example(s) of ad/campaign and platforms to support analysis /10