Greetings fellow classmates:
This module we have been learning
about deconstructing an advertisement. This was a very interesting topic for me
as I have not really ever stopped to think about the psychology behind an
advertisement or the meanings of all the parts of an advertisement. This
journey made me stop and think beyond the apparent message and realize the
subtle ones as well!
I learned that there were 4 Steps
of deconstructing an advertisement from the Media Education Foundation. The
first step is to Make Observations. Here I looked at and evaluated the aesthetics
of the advertisement. I started to explore the meaning behind the way light and
colors are used. Also, I tried to determine why they chose the person they did
for the advertisement. After this I attempted to determine the complete purpose
of the advertisement. I first looked to determine if it was attempting to sell,
inform, teach, or inspire. I looked to see what the initial product was. I then
determined if I felt the advertisement met its purpose. The third step was a
difficult one for me as it was looking beyond the actual upfront content and
tried to think about what assumptions were being made by the advertisers. The
fourth step was even more difficult as I was asked to consider possible
consequences of the message. What does this mean, Consequences? I really had to
stop and think about this. I never thought about the social impact or nonimpact
of an advertisement. Then I saw that advertisement from Home Depot and it hit
me- WOW!!! There are consequences about the images, words, even the layout of
an advertisement. It is about how it affects you and everyone around you!
This was truly an amazing journey
for me to view media in a new way!
What advertisement did you choose? Like you, just going through the process, regardless of what the actual ad was, was very enlightening. I actually watch commercials differently now to try and see the psychology and hidden messages. I chose the Budweiser Super Bowl commercial with the horse (Clydesdale) and trainer. A lot of the deconstruction guidelines were not applicable because this was a different type of commercial than most, although there were small interesting things I noted by doing the activity that I had not noticed as a casual viewer. This commercial tended to focus more on creating positive feelings towards a brand by telling an emotional story through touching images and music than promoting the direct use of a product. This took the deconstruction activity down a slightly different road. For example, like you it was hard to think about "consequences." Had this been a different Budweiser commercial, where they show people partying and drinking, then it would have been easier.
ReplyDelete