Choose a static, two-dimensional advertisement to analyze in a short paper. The ad should be static (not a video); it can be virtual or found on material support (think t-shirt, tote bags, poster, etc.). The ad may be in any national language and from any geographical region. (Please provide translation of the linguistic components if they are not in English.) It may advertise any product, institution or program, including commodities, cultural event, professional service or business, political or social campaigns and initiatives.
Format:
-text between 2 to 3 pages (3 to 5 paragraphs maximum) Word count at least 650
-double-spaced and a 12-point font (Helvetica, Arial, Times New Roman or equivalent)
-accompanied by the image of your advertisement in color (include in your paper or upload as a separate jpeg along with your assignment)
In your paper:
Identify. What object or program does the ad publicize? What institution/company is behind it? When and in which culture/geographical region was the ad produced and distributed? (If it does not have a specific date, provide the approximate period.” Is the ad a stand-alone artifact? Was it part of a series?
Describe the support/format/dimension. “Support” refers to the surface on which an image is applied (wood, paper, canvas, etc). In the case of the advertisement, the support is closely format and means of distribution (on a tote bag, on a billboard, on a website, etc.). In addition to format, describe the size of the work (example: the image occupies half of a full page in the New York Times; etc.).
Describe the subject matter or content. What does the image depict? What are the main objects and figures? What actions, if any, are the objects and figures engaged in? Does the work depict a particular setting (place or space)? How specific or generic is the setting? What objects in the work helps you identify it?
Describe the composition. Composition refers to how an image is put together. In a two-dimensional work, composition most likely refers to the artist’s division of the ground/space, and the arrangement figures and objects in relation to one another.
The following are examples of remarks pertaining to composition:
“Painting X is divided into three equally sized parts, each one containing two figures.”
“Photograph Y shows an array of objects closely grouped together in one corner of the table, leaving the rest of the table empty.”
Describe the facture. “Facture” refers to material qualities of the work, such as color, texture, and quality of the surface. These qualities may result from the kinds of mediums and instruments used, or the gestures of the artist.
The following are examples of remarks referring to facture:
“Each color is homogeneous and unmodulated.”
“The sketch in pencil is schematic and has an unfinished look.”
“The number of hues is limited but each is bright.”
“Much of the cardboard paper beneath the broadly applied crayon is exposed.”
“The terra cotta shows ripples and irregularities that result from the sculptor’s hands.”
“The colors of the photograph seem low in saturation, creating a grainy, faded effect.”
Analyze the rhetoric or message. Is the message of the advertisement clear or unclear? Straightforward, ambivalent or open-ended? What elements in this ad are most and least effective, persuasive, and compelling? Why? What linguistic (words) and iconic (images) signs are used, and what do they signify? Does any of the signs make references to other cultural products? (For example, the composition of the Anthropologie ads is based on compositions of Sanchez-Cotán’s seventeenth-century still-life paintings.)
HINT: Roland Barthes’s “Rhetoric of the Image” is the textbook example of how to analyze the rhetoric of an advertisement, paying attention to both words and images, and how both denote and connote messages.
Requirements: | .doc file | MLA | Essay | 2 pages, Double spaced