Reference no: EM133679137
Selecting an Advertisement: You may choose either a print magazine ad, social media ad, or short (under 1 minute) video advertisement. The advertisement may be no more than 10 years old. For the purposes of this paper, you must attach the ad to the essay either by embedding the image in your document, or by including a functioning web link. Marks will be deducted if the ad is not attached or accessible.
Answer these questions: What argument is it making? Who or what do the people or images represent? If there are celebrities in the ad, think about who they are, why were they chosen for this ad, what values and ideals do they bring to the ad and the product? How does this ad sell products? To whom (be specific: middle aged white women? teenaged boys? Young girls? Middle aged professional men? Asian
women? Etc.)? What thoughts might go through someone's mind when they go and purchase the product that the ad is selling (ex. 'If I buy this car I will appear to be a wealthy man who is in control of his business and his women' or 'if I buy this perfume I will have the youthful yet
sophisticated sex appeal of Scarlet Johansson')
Write your thesis: Next you should be ready to formulate a thesis (argument) that answers the essay question. This thesis will form the basis of the overall structure of your essay. Your thesis should be in the form of an argument, which includes a central claim (the answer to the question), as well as the reasons to support your claim (premises). Your thesis should use the first person ("I"): "I think..." or "I will argue that..." By using the first person, you indicate that these are your ideas on the issue, not the objective "truth." In formulating your thesis, you should answer the essay question above. To do so you may wish
to break it down into its component parts:
What identities are being constructed in this ad? Who is being intentionally and unintentionally addressed by the ad and what are their intersections? What qualities, behaviours, interests, actions, life plans, aims, are constructed as "normal" and "ideal" for this kind of man or woman? How does this ad answer the questions: 'Who am I and what do I want?
According to this ad how will buying this product fulfil this person's fantasy of what is normal and ideal for their life? How does the ad answer the questions: 'How can I buy this dream life?'