Lately in my Language and Literature class, we have been discussing the world of advertising and what effect ads actually have in the culture and society that we live in. Most of our focused on this topic has been narrowed towards finding hidden messages in ads and identifying their intent towards it's audience. In the wise words of Arthur Asa Berger, "There's more to advertising's message that meets the casual eye." In order to investigate this topic even further, we were divided into groups and given a task to analyze an add and present it to the class.
This is an advertisement from the USA Army. Although there is no direct indication of the year that It was published, we can assume that It is rather recent based on our knowledge of current events such as the War in Iraq (American troops currently fighting). The intended audience of this advertisement is rather obvious as it is targeting American citizens and encouraging them to join the army in order to develop acceptable job qualities, making their chances higher in getting a job later on. Those interested in this particular profession surely must have military experience and a fighting passion to defend their country.
Both sociological and political attitudes are used in this advertisement which help reflect a certain message towards their audience. We can clearly see that the soldier in the image is striking a bold gesture, more significantly, currently in battle as the photo is being taken (the intention). As the image shows strength and boldness, this delivers a positive and encouraging reflection towards the advertisement's audience, with the intent to make it's spectators proud of their country. In addition, the advertisement promotes further awareness for those around the United States by bringing light towards the issue of war and it's relevance and importance in our present day world.
As for the content and theme of this advertisement, it follows the subject of war, roughness, boldness, and most importantly, independence. This can be reflected upon the reader by directly looking at the "message" being delivered while looking at this advertisement (i.e.: the characters, the objects, any determining factors).
Personally, my group and I did not agree with the use of space and organization in this advertisement as we found that there was a poor use of axial balance within the advertisement. While we were presenting, we used the example of "If we were to see this on the street, we wouldn't think it was an advertisement advertising the army."
As previously mentioned, the advertisement's audience can get a very direct idea of the ad's intentions by looking at it, without having to search for specific "hidden texts". In this image, we see an American soldier leaping from one rock to another. While he is doing this, he has a strong help and bold expression on his face, we assume that he is in the middle of battle. He holds his gun high up in the air majestically. Looking further into detail, the gun is very close to the sun, also having a possible hidden symbol of "strength" (Example: the sun is hot and we see it as a striking and empowering element of life, the weapon in his hands delivers this message as well). All in one, this creates an encouraging and rough ambience.
Following the fact that this is an advertisement, there is of course some kind of information or text found within the ad itself. At the bottom of this image, there is a small paragraph providing the reader with further information on the add's intentions. The text displays information on the benefits of joining the army in the US in terms of what this experience will bring you later in life, and how it will positively benefit you. There is slogan at the end saying "ARMY. BE ALL YOU CAN BE."as well as a vague claim that stands out within the text, "The best place to start a business career isn't always in business." There statements may or may not push the reader to inquire further on the information they were given, but will certainly leave them remembering words or expressions that stood out.
In conclusion, I definitely think that this advertisement marginalizes a particular group of people in society. In this case, the army is seen as marginal importance, influence, and power in our everyday lives.
Both sociological and political attitudes are used in this advertisement which help reflect a certain message towards their audience. We can clearly see that the soldier in the image is striking a bold gesture, more significantly, currently in battle as the photo is being taken (the intention). As the image shows strength and boldness, this delivers a positive and encouraging reflection towards the advertisement's audience, with the intent to make it's spectators proud of their country. In addition, the advertisement promotes further awareness for those around the United States by bringing light towards the issue of war and it's relevance and importance in our present day world.
As for the content and theme of this advertisement, it follows the subject of war, roughness, boldness, and most importantly, independence. This can be reflected upon the reader by directly looking at the "message" being delivered while looking at this advertisement (i.e.: the characters, the objects, any determining factors).
Personally, my group and I did not agree with the use of space and organization in this advertisement as we found that there was a poor use of axial balance within the advertisement. While we were presenting, we used the example of "If we were to see this on the street, we wouldn't think it was an advertisement advertising the army."
As previously mentioned, the advertisement's audience can get a very direct idea of the ad's intentions by looking at it, without having to search for specific "hidden texts". In this image, we see an American soldier leaping from one rock to another. While he is doing this, he has a strong help and bold expression on his face, we assume that he is in the middle of battle. He holds his gun high up in the air majestically. Looking further into detail, the gun is very close to the sun, also having a possible hidden symbol of "strength" (Example: the sun is hot and we see it as a striking and empowering element of life, the weapon in his hands delivers this message as well). All in one, this creates an encouraging and rough ambience.
Following the fact that this is an advertisement, there is of course some kind of information or text found within the ad itself. At the bottom of this image, there is a small paragraph providing the reader with further information on the add's intentions. The text displays information on the benefits of joining the army in the US in terms of what this experience will bring you later in life, and how it will positively benefit you. There is slogan at the end saying "ARMY. BE ALL YOU CAN BE."as well as a vague claim that stands out within the text, "The best place to start a business career isn't always in business." There statements may or may not push the reader to inquire further on the information they were given, but will certainly leave them remembering words or expressions that stood out.
In conclusion, I definitely think that this advertisement marginalizes a particular group of people in society. In this case, the army is seen as marginal importance, influence, and power in our everyday lives.
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