Analyzing Advertisements
Elvira Paredes
Prof. Mora
ENG-1A
2 November 2016
‘Ad’dressing Society
“Hmm, this seems interesting.” A thought like this is very common and is demonstrated by all individuals when something of their interest appears before their eyes. Most people have their personal tastes and preferences in anything one can possibly name. It can range from siding with a political party that best fits their ideologies, or simply stating what their favorite dish may be. No matter what the situation is, it all comes down to what satisfies their wants, needs, or curiosity the most. Falling under the topic of choosing, people can also choose what type of media, entertainment, and literature they want to be exposed to, just to name a few. All of this exposure comes to terms with a common theme, and that is to persuade or change the receiver’s mindset in one way or another.
Advertisements, especially in magazines, are huge players in this persuasive click among the different groups of entertainment. There is a wide scope of topics to choose from when it comes to magazines, leaving a lasting impression that most if not all people can relate and connect with at least one magazine sitting on the shelf. Personally, business, politics, and socio-economic topics have recently been at the top of my interest list; therefore, I decided to analyze two advertisements in Entrepreneur, a magazine that deals with all of the mentioned topics above. The targeted audiences are business owners seeking for success, soon-to-be entrepreneurs, people working at companies, or anyone with an interest in the business world. Common themes demonstrated in this magazine are based on how being involved or working with business can not only benefit one as an individual, but the community as a whole. This is significant because the analysis of the ads will be informative and relevant since the themes displayed in this particular magazine focus on both the puzzle piece and the finished product.
The first advertisement takes up two full pages towards the center of the magazine. The background is set in a dark green forest with thick-trunk trees that require at least five people to wrap around it with their arms wide open. On the left page, there is a large grey rock with a middle-aged brunette woman sitting on the top. Her pose is quite confident, as she holds one knee to her chest with her hands firmly grasping it. Her eye-catching army outfit is hard to miss, for it is not the typical ‘stylish’ outfit one expects to be worn by women in magazines. On the right page, some text is revealed stating, “Now Recruiting: Vetrepreneurs. A surge of new programs is helping veterans transition into civilian entrepreneurship- and especially franchising”.
The main things this ad is promoting are the different programs offered to help veterans find an open career path after completing their military service. After one serves under any branch in the military, one may not know what to do afterwards job wise. This then brings in these programs to the picture, and possibly fulfills a previous goal of working in the business sphere, or gives this new job opportunity to an undecided veteran. Within the ad, the woman veteran is the most prominent, and is the first thing that caught my attention. If one comes to think about it, it could have been an older male in uniform instead of a woman; however, the female figure was demonstrated to show acceptance of diversity and differences in these promoted programs. The ad also claims that they will aid veterans in becoming franchise owners or entrepreneurs, as caught on by their play with words in the text.
This claim is supported with the text, but most importantly with the woman veteran, who is clearly the center of attention in this advertisement, to identify the different ways this ad can appeal to an audience. For example, the need for guidance, to achieve, and to feel safe stand out the most since the programs presented are meant to guide the veterans so they can achieve in life and have a safe, stable life ahead of them.
The second advertisement is also a two-pager, but focuses on a different targeted demographic with the display of their image and message. On the right side of this ad, there is a pastel blue background with a giant red heart in the center of the page. Right in front of this heart, there is a kissing couple; however, they are no ordinary couple since they are wearing business suits, and are carrying brown, leather suitcases. As the man and woman lean in for the kiss, their suitcases merge together and become one large suitcase with two handles grasped by their individual owner. On the left, one can read, “First comes love, then comes launching a business. Cofounders often joke that their relationship is as complicated as a marriage”.