English 1301
Paper #1: What does it say/ What does it mean?

We have read “the Role of Advertising in Consumer Decision Making,” and while there were many parts of this article which were odd or unknown to us, the general message was that ads increase our desire to buy something, if we are interested in the subject being advertised. We have also looked at a few sample ads to see how they are telling us stories about ourselves.
Now, I would like you pick a static advertisement (a print ad from a magazine, newspaper, billboard, poster, internet, etc.) and analyze how the image uses popular culture, cultural beliefs and the viewpoints that underlie those beliefs to sell us a product.
The paper should not be based on opinion, but rather make claims about how the elements of the ad create a particular story meant to persuade us to buy this product. Ultimately, the paper should explore how the elements of the ad work together to have particular effects on us (its audience). For example, the “story” that a particular ad may tell us is that (if we have some item) we are better than other people. Another story may be that is we have something, then we will feel better about ourselves (more healthy, happier, stronger, younger, etc.)
To write this paper you will need to: 1. Pick an ad 2. Read it to uncover its story; find the individual elements that work together to tell us… 3. Create claims about those elements (i.e. the smiling people looking out at the viewer tell us that they are happy because of they are in your presence.) 4. Support those claims with evidence from the ad (i.e. Each person who is smiling is looking out of the picture frame directly at the viewer. They are smiling and laughing and acting as if they are at a party. Since there is no other cause for this joyful behavior within the ad, it suggests that the object of the people’s attention is the cause of this mirth. The object of their attention is the viewer of the ad, so the viewer becomes invested with the ability to make people happy……) 5. Write your rough draft.
Again, withhold any form of opinion or judgment that you might have. Instead, construct theories about why the advertisement works to persuade its audience.

http://images.christianpost.com/full/58813/nyc-teen-pregnancy-poster.png

* Ad suggests that teen pregnancy leads to a higher dropout rate amongst high school students. * Also suggests that finding a steady career and marriage all before having children will also lead to a successful life. * As gives the statistic of having an overwhelmingly large (98%) chance of not living in poverty if you finish high school, get a job and get married before having children. * The ad also ends with the statement “think being a teen parent won’t cost you?” implying that many teens think that they can live a normal life even while being pregnant, however in actuality they are jeopardizing their future. * The images of the babies on the left side show pictures of babies not as with the typical connotation of baby pictures. Rather than showing pictures of happy or laughing babies, the pictures shown have babies that are sad and more or less looking concerned. This is effective and powerful imagery showing pictures of the end outcome of teen pregnancy, having a baby, in an ominous and forbidding manner. * In regard of the layout of the ad, the text font is similar to that of what one associates with children and babies. Often times, this text art is seen on baby cards, clothing and baby shower items. The phrase “Think being a teen parent won’t cost you?” is highlighted yellow on the plain background, making is visually distinct to the viewer’s eye. It should also be noted that within the highlighted phrase the words teen parent are pink, putting more of an emphasis on the label of being a teen parent and the negative outcomes they may lead to. * There is also a number that the reader can text that will show the real price of teen pregnancy. This is in line with the overall theme of the ad in that teen pregnancy can not only cause people a toll financially but can also cost them their potential at further succeeding in life. Texting a number to receive this information shows that this ad is fairly current, given that we live in a mass media and technology age. Receiving information by text is also effective given that less and less people actually read articles and studies on the effects of teen pregnancy and getting a text message provides a condensed but informative way of conveying the same outcomes, especially to the current teenage generation who are very technology savvy and rely heavily on text messaging as a primary form of communication.