Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement  For the second paper, you will perform a rhetorical analysis of an advertisement, piece of propaganda, or public service announcement

Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement

 For the second paper, you will perform a rhetorical analysis of an advertisement, piece of propaganda, or public service announcement. We are inundated with advertisements when we watch TV, flip through magazines, waste time on social media, and even when we walk around on campus. Sometimes, we see advertisements that seem to reflect exactly what we had just been speaking about with our friends. It feels like companies or other rhetors are attempting to manipulate us into either buying their product or agreeing with their perspectives. It will be your job to determine if the advertisement is successful and write about how it (tries to) manipulate the audience.

 First, you will need to strategically pick an advertisement that contains multiple visual details worthy of analysis. You’ll want to select one that has an important message about something relevant or controversial. In other words, picking a ketchup advertisement wouldn’t be a good choice (because who cares?). Any advertisement you view as problematic or controversial would work really well. All ads need to be approved by me!

 The advertisement pictured above are good examples. The first one makes a statement about gender and sexuality, and the second one uses tremendous amounts of symbolism and pathos to make a statement about drunk driving. 

For your thesis statement, you’d need to determine what the ads are actually saying. For example, in the first one: Gucci’s ad indicates that gender…? What does it say about gender? Or masculinity? Or the role of women? What is its overall argument? It might help to consider what stereotypes it seems to promote. What does the second one argue about drunk driving? If you can answer that question, then you have a thesis!

Introduction: In addition to having a hook, this introduction should also offer context for your ad. For the first one above, you might want to discuss how Chris Evans plays one of the most famous roles in the world. You may want to say something about Gucci. In the second one, you’d likely need to do a bit of research on MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and perhaps offer some of their statistics about why this is such an important subject. In other words, your intro should get us interested and also give us some background information about the people who put your ad together. 

 Organization: You’ll have some freedom here. You may want to focus on symbols in each paragraph. Or, you could focus on one particular detail from the image in each paragraph. For example, in the second image, you could create paragraphs about the empty space on the right side, the black robe, and the broken glass. Some, like the first one, might be making several arguments, so you might want to consider each argument in different paragraphs. For example, the Gucci ad seems to be saying that ideal men are rugged (hairy chest, scruffy beard, broad shoulders), that ideal women are submissive (barely visible, looking up, worshiping him), and, more generally, that sex sells. Those could each be a paragraph. Regardless of the direction you choose, you’ll need to divide your paper in a sensible way. In other words, put some thought into this (and maybe even run it by me). 

Thesis: write what you see and what the controversy is

Be aware of other potential objections to your argument 

 Analysis: We will discuss all kinds of ways to analyze images in class, but for now, here are some suggestions. 

·        What symbols or images are used? What do they mean? How might they be interpreted What is the effect?

·        How does it use pathos to impact the audience? Does it impact the viewer’s emotions? How so? If it evokes that emotion, what is the effect?

·        How does it use logos to impact the audience? How does it impact the viewer’s logic?

·        How does it cultivate an ethos? What is the ethos? How does it change the way we view the author/rhetor/company?

·        Does it enhance the viewer’s interest or attention? How? And what is the effect of that?

·        Does this element influence the viewer’s comprehension or understanding of the product? How so?

·        How might it impact the purchase of the product or understanding of the message?

·        What makes this part of the ad effective or ineffective?

 

Overall, you are doing your best to explain what this advertisement is arguing/saying and how it is doing that. 

 

Requirements: 

1. 2.5-4 pages
2. 5-paragraph format (use the 5-paragraph format as a template)
3. MLA format
4. Ad included as attachment but not as part of the page count

 

Rough Draft: 5 November 2024

Final Draft: 7 November 2024