Although the main focus of the first ad is the picture , there is also a side picture of the products being sold They are placed in such a way that they don’t drag the attention away from the picture yet in a way demand some attention. The wording on the product is moderately big and the phrase ‘age resisting’ stands out to inform the viewer that the product is for older or generally older looking females. Of course given to the world of advertising, the use of the phrase ‘age resisting sets up anxiety in women, who the advertisers hope, will want to go out and buy this product.
The shades and coloring on the Ad is generally of light, pastel colors which match apart from the striking color of the lips.
There is some information about the product and persuasive language is used to gain customers. A phrase like ‘we are real people with real skin’ is used ironically as it is printed beneath an image of a doll.
Looking at the second advertisement, drawn from an Italian economic magazine, it is not clear at first what the advertisement is ‘selling’. It features a woman standing with a ‘perfect expression’ on her face. She looks straight on at the viewer and in the neutrality of her expression, the viewer might find it hard to decipher whether it is an image of a real woman or that of a doll. The clothes and jewelry she is wearing show she is of an affluent class. She is shot against a background which features the logo in different languages which suggests the woman is a cosmopolitan traveling between fashionable European cities. The ad is mainly printed, for the moment, in the world language English and the logo is placed in the centre of the ad.
The colors used in the ad are complementary and there is no apparent display of color which ‘shocks’ the viewer except for the bright red lipsticked lips which by contrast draw the casual magazine page turner’s attention.
The second advertisement can be compared to the first one in that they both feature stereotypes of how many women would like to appear. Where the first advertisement features a flawless and perfectly made up face, the second one shows a woman of a typical upper middle class background. The irony of this is, in both ads, the pictures are of dehumanized women. Does today’s society encourage women to want to look dehumanized?
A third and very contrasting advertisement features an active woman cycling on rough terrain, the lighting is such that the woman stands out from the rest of the picture. She is shot from a low camera angle position. She doesn’t look at the viewer; rather she looks straight on, giving the impression that she is totally engrossed in the activity partaking in.
Even though there is a picture of a trainer shoe- the advert is selling more than just their shoes. The model is wearing sports clothes with the puma logo too. In a way the advert s insinuating that to be like this ‘perfect’ model, all you need is clothes stamped with their logo.
The ad is in a way selling the lifestyle of the woman, she is active, has a perfect body as well as being to standards, attractive. She rules out the idea that sportswoman are unattractive.
This advertisement has been created to appeal to both woman and men. It appeals to the woman as it gives them a role model. The ad appeals to men as the model is quite pretty and has an attractive body.
The advertisement is targeted at woman of all ages. This differs to the first ad which was mainly targeted at middle aged woman and which also differs to the second advertisement which appeals to women from the affluent classes.
It is fair to conclude that although advertising companies seek more customers in general, their advertisements are targeted at particular groups rather than at the undifferentiated public which shows that we, as potential customers, have been studied quite intently, so much so that advertising companies know what will and won’t persuade us to buy a product.
