Practicing Analysis (with Ads)

Writing Exercise: Some Basic Topic Sentences for Analyzing Advertisement (use book examples):

• Make a claim about how an image in your advertisement uses a specific emotional appeal.

• Make a claim about how the slogan/headline makes an emotional appeal. (How does the slogan connect to the emotional appeal? Explain yourself!)

• Make a claim about how the arrangement/placement of objects (words and images) in the advertisement support the emotional appeal you’ve claimed the ad is using…

• Make a claim about why the emotional appeal and specific content in the ad (things you’ve already discussed, perhaps) imply that the ad is geared to a specific audience – and, yes, identify within your claim who that specific audience is.

• Make a claim, reflecting again on the emotional appeal and target audience, about what the ad implies people value. To be even clearer in your claim also mention the product being sold!

***Your answers for each of the above can be what you use to guide your reader through your essay. Logically, if these become your topic sentences you can re-order them according to how you see them clarifying your larger thesis statement. (Each becomes a section of your larger essay, and you can transition between each topic with "hinge sentences"!)

• And you can also make sub-topic sentences for paragraphs that fall under each topic – this is how you can develop your essay. Use paragraphs to get as much in on the topic as necessary

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Writing Exercise 2: Global Introduction to Analysis on Emotional Appeal of an Ad

• Clarify “Who is being targeted in the ad?” and how you see this being the target audience. What does this say about what advertisers think this audience values?

• What emotional appeal is used the most? Identify and also explain why you answer this way by referring to characteristics of the ad.

• What part of the ad most represents the main emotional appeal, and what is the main reason for this claim? (Thesis statement)

Example Practice: Look at the Chris Brown “Got Milk?” ad as an example. Answer the three prompts above in a rough draft analysis of this ad. (We will share. If this Internet is not working we will use an ad from the back of the book.)