A fair amount of the text is persuasive and includes phrases like:
“the best PC displays that your money can buy”
“not just about a pretty picture”
and words like
“Best”
“Unique”
“Richest, most vivid”.
All these phrases and words are interwoven into the sentences to try and persuade the customer to buy the product. This is a tactic used by many advertisers and it is obviously a successful one.
I think that this advertisement is effective in getting its point across. The advertisement is clear and can be read fairly easily. Full advantage has been taken of the space allocated and the text has been neatly wrapped around the pictures.
To make the reader more relaxed, a joke has been added. This is well done and doesn’t pressurise the reader into buying the product straight. The advertisement includes a useful paragraph dedicated completely to a helpline or places where the reader can find more information on the product.
The only criticism that I have is that I think that the advertisement should have included a price range.
Bananas
The next advertisement takes a completely different approach. Although the general layout is similar to that of the Blur and Vague (Blair and Hague) advertisement, the lexis used is completely different.
The main title, bananas, is very misleading as some people will think that it is about bananas, while, in fact, it is about something completely different: here bananas means mad or crazy The title is very bold and attracts attention. However, because it is ambiguous, the reader will need to read the text to understand its true meaning.
The main picture shows that there can be very “inefficient methods” of searching for something, but these are not part of this company’s philosophy. An old lady on her own seems to be checking each banana and to this company that seems a crazy and inefficient way of working. The picture requires effort to be understood.
I think that this advertisement would be found in some sort of financial newspaper or, more likely, in a computer magazine because the company is trying to offer an IT sourcing service.
The main purpose of this advertisement is to give the company in question some sort of recognition for its efficient IT services involving“products, services and solutions”.
I think that this company is mainly targeting businesses that are interested in finding the lowest prices for IT equipment. In addition this may be a company for families who are buying their first computer or upgrading and who wish to do so economically.
The text uses rhetorical questions like:
“Why stick to inefficient methods of sourcing IT products, services and solutions that waste your time and money?”
Not only is the company asking a question, it is also referring to the picture and hoping that the subtle attempt at humour is clearer to those who missed the pun.
The text is all in the centre and so focuses the reader’s eyes on only the middle of the advertisement. Orders or demotic language are used to command the reader to use this company instead of any other company providing the same service.
Examples of this are placed throughout the advertisement.
“Type in your request online…”
“Don’t buy it until you acequote it.”
To attract the reader’s attention even more, sharp snappy phrases are used.
“It’s fast, simple and costs you nothing.”
“It’s the sanity check for IT purchasing.”
Alliteration is also used.
“Acequote is the sane way to source and purchase IT”
All the underlined sections of the above has the same sound and so, on reading, it flows nicely off the tongue.
Overall, I don’t think that this advertisement is as successful as Blur and Vague (Blair and Hague). Quite simply this is because the advertisement seems too complicated. It is likely to mislead people and, as a result, potential customers may be lost. Something much simpler and clearer would have been better.
DVD video Recording
This advertisement differs from all the other advertisements. It focuses mainly on informing the reader. This is obvious from the vast amount of text compared with the number of illustrations.
A lot of the text is assumed knowledge, although the advertisement goes some way to informing the reader.
Persuasive language is also used. Words such as:
“Stunning”
“Vastly Superior”
“Incredible”
“Lifetime of top-quality entertainment”
absorb the reader into the advertisement and offer an insight into the nature of the product.
There is only one main picture of the product. The picture is fairly small and the artists who designed the advertisement should have made the picture bigger instead of having so much writing. However the text is wrapped neatly around the picture and is easy to read.
The main title is very bold and attracts a lot of attention. The size of the text is adequate and well chosen, allowing clear reading.
This advertisement is generally found in film and DVD magazines. The product is aimed at families who are interested in buying a ReWritable DVD player. Its main purpose is to inform people about the breakthrough in ReWritable DVD players and also about the capabilities of this product.
All in all, I think that this advertisement isn’t really that good. It spends too much time giving the reader very detailed information about the product, without comparing it with competing products. The lack of pictures is also disappointing.
However, the advertisement does succeed in bringing a lot of information to the reader and also provides a useful introduction to new technology.
Pioneer
The main focus of this advertisement is the illustration in the centre. It is clearly related to the text below it and also to the text at the very bottom of the advertisement.
The picture is clear and can be understood quickly after reading the text.
Also at the bottom of the advertisement is a picture of the product. This picture is fairly small and it is difficult to make out details. The company logo is easily recognised as it is coloured bright red.
The main paragraph in the centre has humorous overtones and links well with the main illustration. Interwoven in the text are the places where the product can be taken; evidently it is suitable for all terrains!
The main bulk of the text (at the bottom of the advertisement) specifically tells the reader more about the product and its capabilities. Again there is slight humour involved.
In the text there is a lot of persuasive language, including words like:
“Amazing”
“Incredibly”
“Perfect”
All these words help to sell the product.
There is a fair amount of assumed knowledge, for example
“DTS Surround Sound”
“Twin wave Laser”
These words may confuse the inexpert reader and so discourage a purchase.
I think that this product is going to be aimed mostly at people who constantly on the move. Business men and women are a prime example of this.
The advertisement would generally feature in DVD magazines or some film magazines. I don’t really think that this type of advertisement would be seen in mass circulation newspapers because it is aimed at a niche market.
My overall impression is that this advertisement is very successful. Bold colours make the advertisement easy to read and the several layers of humour make the reader feel relaxed and unpressurised. The advertisement is uncluttered but conveys adequate information.
