Analysis Of Advertisements For Two Different Things

Analysis Of Advertisements For Two Different Things Essay, Research Paper Analysis of Advertisements for Two Different Things In order for advertisements to succesfully portray a product, they must be directed to the appropriate intended audience. Magazines, in general, are usually geared towards a specific audience with distinct interests. Therefore, the `ads’ need to be carefully designed to attract the attentions of the magazine reader. This very concept is well displayed in the two selected, yet very different, magazine ads from the software magnate Microsoft Corporation. The first ad is taken from Computer Games Strategy Plus – a gaming magazine, as one might infer from the title. The product `Monster Truck Madness’ is a computer video game designed, quite

obviously, for entertainment purposes. The second ad is from PC World, which is of a much more technical nature than its previous counterpart. The product in this ad is `Microsoft Project for Windows 95′, a software used for businesses and project development teams. The `Monster Truck Madness’ ad encaptivates the casual browser with its bright yellow background with a large purple type set across the top of the page accompanied by the words: `Size Matters”. This leads the reader to ponder the meaning of this rather unusual phrase and to further read the smaller print. Here, the reader encounters an irregular font of different sizes to accentuate certain words. While this may be annoying to many, its overall purpose is to create a lively playful environment through the usage

of fonts. This, of course, is an attempt to appeal to a younger gaming audience. On the other hand, the `Microsoft Project’ ad does not envoke any visual desire read further into the text. The sections are divided into fine print paragraphs with a slightly larger heading above. Everything is set plainly and unassumingly. This can be justified to mirror an American professional’s lifestyle: simple, neat, and organized. The first four lines in the `Monster Truck’ ad: “bigger tires, bigger competition, bigger thrills, bigger mud-splitting” uses repetition to accentuate the fact that this game is bigger and better than all the other racing car games. Microsoft then introduces the product in a rather blunt manner but just stating the title of the game. The reader is then

asked to “strap yourself into a 1,500 horsepower tower of American pig iron, punch it when the light turns green, and you’re in for the biggest race of your life.” Having read this far, the reader should be overwhelmed by the forceful way the ad delivers its message. From this, one can derive the intent to parallel the `brute force and run over everything attitude’ that only a monster truck can possess, in the text. The `Project’ ad explains very straight-forwardly what the software is capable of doing for the readers and their businesses. What this lacks in excitement is made up for through a very complete description of the product. This is appropriate for the intended audience: no-nonsense, no-hassle businessmen. Strangely enough, the `Monster Truck’ ad, in sharp

contrast, discusses absolutely nothing about the actual game itself. Instead it elaborates on other parts of the ad more important to persuading the intended group of people. The pictures and images are, of course, `everything’ to an advertisement. They retrieve preconceptions from each individual without using words at all. Consequently, these pictures must express a meaning related to its intended purpose – in this case, to sell the product. In the `Monster Truck’ ad, the first image the reader should notice is the massive blue and yellow monster truck. Certainly because it is the largest picture, but also because it is seemingly `standing’ on its back tires. My first impression of this picture was one of pure awe. I imagine hearing the powerful revving of the engine