Analysis of GTA San Andreas advertisment

Below this main image, there are four smaller screen shots of the game and what happens. The first of these two pictures show two black men, probably friends, riding a yellow motorbike together. They are riding it along the railway tracks showing they are rebellious and there is a train coming behind them and this shows that they are ‘solid’ and nothing can scare them so they ride a motor bike in front of a train, and pull off some spectacular stunts and make themselves look good. There is also another train passing them showing it is a busy rail line so it is a big dare to ride along it. Next to this image, is another one, but this time showing the same person as in the main picture, but is walking along a street with a white Cadillac parking diagonally across the street as if he had to get ot in a hurry. In the background of this picture, there is a building which looks like a casino with powerful neon lights glaring across the whole city. This connotes it is in a big city, possibly like Las Vegas. In the next picture it is the same person but this time he is running along an alleyway with a police helicopter in the sky and a sub-machinegun in his hand. There is a blue sky telling us that hit is daytime but he is wearing a big black coat and grey trousers so it may be winter. There is a power line going from one building to another showing us that it is urban but there are trees in the background which contradicts the fact that it may be urban, so it may just be a park in the city or a housing block in a rural area. The last picture is showing an orange sunset int eh background with tall trees in the foreground hinting at a rural area and there is a red pickup truck, or 4X4 to the side of the screen. This tells us that in the game the day changes to night and there are several stages between. These pictures tell what is possible in the game. The player can ride motorbikes, drive cars and use weapons, etc. These five images attract the reader because stereotypically men wan to be big and tough and in the game you can do things that you would not do in the real world and most people want to be a rebel at some point. The main picture shows a black man who looks in his twenties who probably has a substantial amount of money, He is probably heterosexual and it is a stereotype as he is twice shown carrying a gun.

Below all the rest of this at the bottom of the page there are some logos. The first is a blue Rockstar logo and Rockstar is the producer of the game and is the institution that has put all the money behind it. Then there are the Playstation and Playstation 2 logos and these tell us what console the games are available on. The next is the Interscope Records logo and Interscope is a music company who do urban music and they have probably provided the sound track to the game. The there is the BBFC-18 logo showing us the game is for people aged 18 or over and no one below this age should be able to buy or play it. But however, boys over 13 may wan to play this game because it appeals to them and makes them feel rebellious and cool because they are under 18 and playing on an 18 game. To the right of this there is a yellow Rockstar logo, again symbolising the production company and institution.

Starting from the top of the page we see some text saying “Rockstar Games Presents”. Rockstar obviously want people to recognise that the same people have made all of the other GTA games. If we go down the page slightly we see “Grand Theft Auto San Andreas” written in two different fonts. The “Grand Theft Auto” is written in one font similar to that of the previous GTA games which is brand identity. “San Andreas” is written in a different font in the style of how gangsters had words tattooed on their bodies at that time. Further down the page we have written in a smaller font “A Rockstar North Production”. This again tells us about Rockstar that they want us to know that they have made it. Then it says in a much bigger font “Out Now” which makes us really notice it because it is written in white on a black background and it is really big. When we see this it makes us think that we can go to the shop and buy it therefore giving the company more money. Then below the four screen shots it has a web site: www.rockstargames.com/sanandreas. This tells u that we can go to this website to find out more information about this game if we really want to. Below this is some text saying that there is a soundtrack available on Interscope records. This is telling us that if we bought the game and we like the music we could go to a music shop or the Interscope Records website and buy it there. Rights at the bottom of the page there is the legal statement with the copyright statement to the logos and names of the companies involved. This must be shown otherwise people can get away with using their logos.