Deconstruction Ad

Analyzing an ad

Key Components of this

assignments

Key message

Execution

Positioning

Communications Strategies

Key Message

Experts opinion on headlines

as key messages
Experts suggest relating the picture to the
headline-assuming that the headline, For
example, a 1960 Volkswagen ad used a
headline, Think small, and had a picture
of a car that took up less than 3 percent of
the ads space, the rest being blank
(Armstrong, 2010, p. 249)

Primary Informational
Message

Some advertisements provide

you with knowledge about a
given product, but many ads
say nothing about the actual
product.

What actual knowledge/facts,

or lack of, have been
provided in the ad?

For example, car

advertisements focus on
mileage, acceleration,
comfort and style.

Secondary Messages
(techniques of structure):

These are the messages that are

designed to "seduce" the
potential consumer.
The may take the form of
appeals to emotion, associations,
or fear tactics.
They may appeal to the needs
and desires of individuals such as:
guilt, security, sensuousness,
social interaction, selfimprovement, community,
cleanliness, get up and do, desire
to own, status, power, the need
to help others.

What are the

associations the ad
makes with the
product?
What are the
advertisers trying to
get you to believe?
What messages is the
ad trying to send?

Advertising Claims
(techniques of language)

What techniques of
language have been used
in the ad?

What claims do the ads

make?

What are the claims really

saying?

Skin cancer advertisement

->

Composition of pictures
and ad copy

Characters

What people (number,

male or female, age,
etc), animals,
animated characters
are used in the ad?

Setting

What place, decor, time

of day, era, lighting,
natural or artificial
surroundings mark the
ad?

Copy

What words (written),

slogans or catchy phrases,
and logos are used?
How many times does the
name of the product appear?

Or how many times is it

spoken?
What is the location and
prominence of the product
itself in the ad?
How are captions used to
attract your attention?

Visual

How are the elements in

the picture arranged?

Is there any blank

space? Does the ad
contain juxtaposition
( seemingly unrelated
items placed close
together or side by
side)?

Visuals

(cont.)

Who or what is being emphasized? What

are the facial expressions?
What is the message connected to body
language?
Who or what is in the foreground?
Background?
What details may have been left out?

Color and Lighting

Every color suggests a mood

or tone. Is the color bright
and cheerful?
Warm and comforting? Cool
and professional?
What kind of lighting has
been incorporated: top
lighting, side lighting, bottom
lighting, back lighting
artificial lighting, or natural
lighting?
( Link to camera angles and
shots)

Point of View

What camera angles have

been used -- close up, long
shot, looking up (low angle
shot) or down (high angle
shot), looking in or out,
sharing a person's
perspective (eye-level
shot). (link to cameral
angles and shots)

Details and Accessories

What clothing,
jewelry, price
tags and other
details are
displayed in the
ad.
Remember that
every detail has
been chosen for a
purpose.

Execution

Types of Execution Styles

Straight sell or factual message

Comparison

Testimonial

Slice of life

Animation

Humor

Dramatizations

Demonstrations

Scientific combinations

Positioning

Where, When, What

Where and when does

the advertisement
appear?
What is the size of the
print ad?
What product or service
is the ad selling?

Target Audience

For whom is this

advertisement
intended?

What is the age, sex,

social class, values and
life-styles of the
intended audience?

What details suggest

this particular
audience?

Why? How?

How does the ad get our

attention?
What is happening in the
ad -- many ads tell
stories. What "problems"
will the product solve?
What are the advertisers
trying to get you to
believe?
Why are you convincing
you?

Communications
Strategies

There are lots to cover under

communication strategies. For the
purpose of this assignment, we will
concentrate on the summary of your
observation of the ad.

Intended and Unintended

Effects

What are the intended effects of

the ad?

What are the products trying to

do?

Identify the unintended effects

of the ad.

What other meanings

(oppositional readings) could
audiences construct from the ad?

What the Ad Does Not Show

What information is
withheld from the
audience? Labor
involved?Resources
Used? Environment
Issues? Health
concerns? etc...

Personal Reaction

How effective is the ad?

Why does it work? not work?

Does the ad conform to the

advertising codes in existence?

What codes are violated?

Is this ad controversial?

Does the ad use shock value

through sexual means or by
raising social issues?