I used my DWF part 2 to practice analyzing advertisements, just like we have been doing in class. Here it is:
For my distraction free writing part 2, I decided to practice the analysis strategies we have discussed and learned in class to analyze an advertisement. I found an ad from the World Health Association, whose motto is “Eat Responsibly, Live Longer,”. This advertisement shows an illustration of a man holding a banana to his head, as if it were a gun. The words, “Healthy food won’t kill you, but junk food will,” are shown.
First off, the illustration of the man is in black and white. The banana is bright yellow, which is meant to draw emphasis to it. The words, “Health food won’t kill you,” are in black, but the words, ” But junk food will,” are in bright red, also emphasize it more. The emphasis placed on the banana and the words, “But junk food will,” are to bring attention to the suggestion that junk food is deadly while healthy foods are not. It also brings attention to the contrast between the two; the banana is healthy and good, shown by a bright and cheery yellow hue, while junk food is bad, portrayed by bold red lettering, the color red often having a negative connotation and being associated with stopping.
The words used in this advertisement are suggesting that junk food will be the cause of your death, while no harm can come to you whilst eating healthy food. However, the ad does not dive deeper into the concept of “junk food” and “healthy food”. The only example we are given is the banana, labeled as “healthy food”. We are not given any hints or suggestions as to what “junk food” may be, it is just left to our own personal opinion.
The placement of everything in the ad also plays a factor. The banana, bright yellow and hard to miss, is placed nearly in the center of the ad. The words, “But junk food will” are a little ways below the banana. This is designed in this way so your eyes see the banana before anything else, take in the rest of the image, and then rest on the phrase about junk food.
The picture and the words work together to portray the message of the advertisement. The picture, showing a man holding a banana to his head, resembles the posture of a man holding a gun to his head in order to commit suicide. The words portray that junk food is deadly while healthy food isn’t, which is why the man is unharmed by holding the piece of fruit to his head.
Overall, the color, placement, image, and words all play a big part in the persuasiveness and effectiveness of this ad.
palomatapia 