Advertisement Analysis - Case Study Example

Paper Advertisement Analysis Introduction Seeing ads allows people to understand the wider cultural and social realities carried by the similar ads. First, ads constitute the media through which companies and other organizations promote their products. Evaluating the methods and reasons for the development of advertisements give people an opportunity to comprehend the role of advertisements in their lives and secondly, ads serve as the indicators of cultural directions albeit in distorted forms. Thirdly, adverts are products of an enhanced professional culture emanating from the discipline of advertising and showbiz. Furthermore, adverts carry aspirations of people and institutions that create and develop them. Q.1 The trend remains the same since the old generations of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth century through to the twenty-first century (Hong, Muderrisoglu and Zinkhan, 63). Therefore, analysis of advertisements requires critical evaluation of creators’ thinking behind them. The advertising industry started to feature men more intensively and frequently in the early twentieth century. The ad I chose was created back in 1956 by Falstaff Beer producers. The advertisement was published originally in the Vintage Magazine. The magazine features various lifestyle, home décor and fashion related news. The magazine is equally popular among both males and females in the society since the date when it was first issued. However, the fashion news and updated information is more of an interest to the female audience. The magazine targets female audience within the age range of 20-35 who are either starting their career or are in need of more dresses and up-to-date information on the society’s current trends (Zheng, Harwood and Williams, 268). The readership, as a result, includes young and middle aged men and women with interest in staying updated with the recent fashion trends and status standards prevalent in their community. The advertisement chosen is stressing the reader in a lively and more positive manner. It is creating an attractive picture of doubling the joy of spending time with friends and partners. The ladies portrayed in the ad are congenial and hospitable. Both of the female are busy serving or offering the beer to their male partners. The females are well-dressed, properly groomed and wearing ornaments showing their preparation for the event or the day. Hence, the ad puts forward and establishes a relationship between Falstaff beer and joyful family or friend gatherings. The male are equally involved in the scenario with the same passion and intimacy as their female counterparts. The men are busy working in order to serve for the event and provide a lively experience to their female friends. The gentlemen are no doubt interested in leaving a notable mark on the lives of their buddies from the opposite sex (Rhoads, 312). The culture of that time did not allow free interaction between males and females and therefore, the ad attempted to convey the message that the beer can do the trick for the men in terms of getting attention from the dream girl. Q.2 The ad was surely targeting the singles and their need to have a good time with the friends. The ad however did not have any particular age group in target but it is suffice to say that the singles of ages between 20 and 35 from both genders were attracted to the featured artwork. Q.3 The ad wanted the customers to go and shop the beer and that is pretty much evident to everyone. The ad is doing much more than that because it is attempting to tap into the unfulfilled psychological need of men to engage with women romantically. The social norms of that time were very strict and because this reason, the boys had to hold a party in order to get a chance to impress the girls and as one of the guests is holding a beer bottle in her hand and seeing the boy with the lovely eyes which means mission accomplished for the male. Now all he needs is to make some careful advances and they will have a long lasting intimate relation to manage on their hands in the near future. Q.4 Apparently, the intended audience of the ad included all singles between the ages of 20 and 35 years because those are the ones who like to have females in their company whereas, the juniors do not have enough money and time to sponsor such activities and the elders have already surpassed the time as they are with their families and do not need beer to prove their love and affection to the partners. Q.5 The humans are always known to respond to their emotions and this tendency is very significantly present in all cultures and societies of the world (Bagozzi, Gopinath and Nyer, 187). Additionally, the modern technique of advertisement called celebrity endorsement is based on the ability of the marketers to develop a logical link between the product being promoted and the celebrity. The same thing is happening in the being analyzed ad because it is addressing the psychological need to fraternize that seems to be present in both the genders. The party is just a cover for the society but underneath all the fun, the participants are looking to satisfy their need to have intimate relations. The next move belongs to the males and they have to decide the level of the new relations. Seemingly, the women are responding and now they are waiting for the males to make the next move. The ad linked the product with the most important need of males of that time to have an intimate girlfriend and therefore, it can be established that the rules of associational and emotional branding are followed exactly in the process of conceiving and producing the advertisement. Q.6 The advertisement attracts audience with the help of giving wind to people’s sexual needs to say the least (Soley and Kurzbard, 54). The cultural and societal norms of that time did not allow the males and females to have intimate relations. The males in the ad are grownups and so are the females. The party is arranged as a cover to have the females visit. The core reason for inviting the females over to the party is to get an opportunity to make moves on them and it appears that the males made them and they met success as well. The success is manifesting because the female is having a bottle of beer in her hand while, she is seeing the man with the craziest eyes and inviting him to take the relationship to the next level. The message is simple hey, man just offer the beer and get the girl. Q.7 The image is the first thing that catches the eyes of the reader and it is imperative for the image and words to have a logical and sensible connection with each other. The image is showing two couples having fun and the caption related the need to have a beer in order to keep the enjoyment ongoing because having a good time sometimes makes one thirsty. Q.8 The ad related to the social and cultural dynamics of the era because it is developed with the help of highlighting the need to have intimate relations with the females. The period of 1950s was very conservative and that is why at that time, the inter-gender relations had been governed with strict code of conduct. The marriage was a prerequisite to have sex whereas, people with history of early sex were considered bad and they were exiled from the community. In addition, they had to live a life of a single or a hooker. The times were different and only a kiss was enough to express interest and will to marry and other things were supposed to happen afterwards. Q.9 The ad is a representation of the era when people of developed nations were not that developed, open minded and liberal. The inter-gender relations were very severely managed in the light of ethical standards. The sex without marriage was not tolerated at all while, the males had to make luxurious arrangements to get the attention of the girls and beer was an integral part of the offering. The beer was an acceptable drink of the historical times because it was not nasty as wine and liquor but again it made the environment romantic enough to get the quixotic word across. The romance was altogether a different game in those days and it involved beers, parties and well dressed men and the company used the cultural realities to create a demand for their product. Conclusively, it can be argued that humans always responded to their emotional and sexual needs and wants. The companies on the other hand, are getting their products marketed by appealing to most powerful urges of humanity. The need to have a girl is used to promote beer in the past and now brands of cars are advertised in the same fashion. Works Cited Bagozzi, Richard, Mahesh Gopinath and Prashanth Nyer. "The Role of Emotions in Marketing." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 27,2 (1999): 184-206 Online. Hong, Jee, Aydin Muderrisoglu and George Zinkhan. "Cultural Differences and Advertising Expression: A Comparative Content Analysis of Japanese and U.S. Magazine Advertising." Journal of Advertising 16,1 (1987): 55-68 Online. Rhoads, Robert. "Whales Tales, Dog Piles, and Beer Goggles: An Ethnographic Case Study of Fraternity Life." Anthropology & Education Quarterly 26,3 (1995): 306–323 Online. Soley, Lawrence and Gary Kurzbard. "Sex in Advertising: A Comparison of 1964 and 1984 Magazine Advertisements." Journal of Advertising 15,3 (1986): 46-64 Online. Zheng, Yan, Harwood, Jake, Williams, Angie, Ylänne-McEwen, Virpi, Wadleigh, Paul, Thimm, Caja. "The Portrayal of Older Adults in Advertising A Cross-National Review." Journal of Language and Social Psychology 25,3 (2006): 264-282 Online. Read More