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PWR 2
Assn #1: Ekphrasis on Advertising
Lee
Rhetoric of Visual Design
in Print Advertising
ASSIGNMENT #1
A practice of Greek rhetors, ekphrasis
originally meant an exercise in which the
speaker describes and explains a visual
image, be that a picture or a statue.
In this assignment, you will be asked not
only to describe and explain the rhetorical
strategies of two print ads of your choice
but also reflect on how well its slogan (or
product identity) has been effectively
translated into a visual message.
Schedule:
Sept 30
Oct 5
Oct 7
Oct 12-14
Oct 14
Select ads/analyze
Write transcript
Presentation “draft”
DUE: Assn #1
Reflection on
assignment.
Grade Value:
Assn #1
Oral Presentation
Transcript
Fig. 1. “Wake Up to Aktins,” San Francisco
Chronicle Magazine, December 2003.
20pts Ttl
20
Mandatory
Purpose:
1) First, the purpose of the assignment is to revisit the rhetorical analysis skills you’ve
learned in PWR 1 such as identifying ethos, logos, and pathos strategies, and examine
how these particular strategies reveal themselves in the visual/graphic layout of
advertising.
2) Second, the assignment will introduce you to particular visual design analysis
discussed in this course and ask you to apply it to the two ads you’ve chosen for
ekphrasis. You can analyze any of aspects of the three “Ls”: layout, language, and lexis
(culture context that defines its style)
3) Third, the assignment will help you get a jumpstart on your final ad campaign by
identifying some trends in a given industry. You should view this assignment as the
FIRST step in a three (assignment) step process toward your final goal—performing a
presentation on a well-researched ad campaign. The ads you choose might not reflect the
ultimate product that you will be using in a final campaign, but it should be within an
similar industry category (for instance, technology industry might include cell phones,
MP3s, computers, Operating System programs, web browsers, etc.)
4) Fourth, you will learn to organize and orchestrate your oral presentation by writing out
pre-emptive transcripts of your rhetorical strategy, language, and your presentation cues.
You will be using PowerPoint only to display your ads. The focus here is only your oral
delivery and your analysis.
Goals: Best student ekphrasis on advertising display
a) careful analysis of these two visuals,
b) aptitude in applying the information on visual design analysis discussed in class,
c) creativity by telling us more than the obvious, and
d) ability to provide an organized, sustained, and convincing argument in 10 minutes.
It explains concisely the “standard” advertising strategy and proves it with evidence. It
clearly points out the advertising trends in a particular product market and demonstrates
how new advertising techniques are being applied in the advertising examples.
Directions:
There are four steps to this assignment:
Step One: Product analysis: Select & analyze two primary ads. The ads must be one of
the five categories of industries listed.
Step Two: Construct oral strategies; outline oral argument, which takes into
consideration time limitation.
(For instance, you might begin to outline your argument based upon how much time
you’ll allow for your intro, body and conclusion: 2 min for intro; 3 min for ad #1; 3 min
for ad #2; 2 min for conclusion)
Step Three: 1) Write transcript with synopsis. 2) Embed your ads onto PowerPoint.
Re: PowerPoint use with Assn #1.
You can have a title page and you can include your supporting ads (as long as you don't spend too much
time talking about them). The focus should be on your two primary ads, but clearly the supporting ads
could be useful in the argument.
What I don't want you to do is include animation or other "bells and whistles" of PowerPoint. I have several
reasons for this: 1) I want you guys to focus on your delivery and argument; 2) I want you all to be on a
level-playing field when using PowerPoint (so you don't feel the "competition" on making a fantastic
PowerPoint, etc.); 3) I want you to learn that PowerPoint, in this academic context, should be used as a
supporting visual aid.
Step Four: Give presentation and turn in transcript and synopsis.
To help you through these four steps, I have provided detailed directions below.
1. Choose two primary advertisements of products in one of the five
industries/categories: technology, food, personal care, transportation, and public
information . (if I have left anything out that you’re interested in, please let me know!)
ADDED CHALLENGE (OPTIONAL): compare two ads (selling similar products),
identifying the trends in marketing strategies.
* One advertisement should reflect the “standard” advertising strategy for products in a
particular industry. To do this, you will need to find at least two other products in the
same market which have similar layout techniques, pitch to the same or similar audience.
You will not necessarily analyze these ads in great detail, but it will help to introduce
these other products, because they will prove why your “standard” is a standard at all. It
will also help you analyze the “standard” by comparison.
* The other advertisement should reflect an “alternate trend” in advertising strategy:
something about it must stand out as critically different—this might be a shift in target
audience, a shift in what makes the product “sticky” to potential customers, such as a
dramatic shift in strategy of interaction or engagement.
In asking you to analyzing one “standard” and one “trend-setter,” I do not mean to imply
that the “standard” ad might be less persuasive or effective than the new techniques or
advertising strategies. One might find that the common strategies used in these standard
ads might be quite persuasive (hence, the reason for being commonplace).
2. The two ads must be the same type of product in the same industry, aimed toward
similar audiences (but products by different company/producer). For example, if you
choose the market field of cars (and more specific Asian cars that are marketed in the
United States), then you might look at an ad for Toyota versus Hyundai. The reason why
you might make this close comparison is that both brands are in a similar situation: they
must convince the American public (in the throes of patriotism) to buy their Asian
product. The “Asianness” may or may not matter—if not, what do they do so that
potential buyers aren’t reminded and that they think about the quality, reliability, fun
factor, etc.? Which one is the trend setter and the trend follower?
The narrower you make the comparison in rival products, the better and focused your
analysis in broad trends and new trends in that niche market.
Some industries to consider: food products (chip industry, soda industry, diet industry);
transportation products (cars, boats, planes—although this seems to be a rather rarified
field of consumers); technology products (computers, computer-related
services/products, television, cell phones, radio, mp3 gadgets, etc.); personal products
(makeup, hygiene care, hair care products, clothing, etc.). I’m sure there are more that
you can think of.
3. Choose an industry that you will use and later research for your advertising campaign
Consider Assn #1 as part of your research for your final assignment project. If you have
a particular product that you wish to revamp in an advertising campaign, you will need to
know a) the major competitors, b) the history of the advertising campaigns in that
industry, c) the target consumer market (audience), and d) current advertising strategies
and trends.
For instance, you may be interested in the mp3 player market and you might have noticed
that “Rio” isn’t as popular as Apple’s I-pod. While there may be many factors that
contribute to this (including the design of the product), your job in this class is not to
change the product itself. Your job as an advertising is to re-package (re-sell) the product
so that it will be more appealing to the audience. This means that you will need to study
the advertising campaign of the “Rio” against other competitors including I-pod. As I
noted in the previous page, Assignment #1, then, is an opportunity for you to
scrutinize the marketing strategy of mp3 players in print advertising. Assignment
#1 will lay the strategic groundwork that will be the foundation for your advertising
proposal (Assignment #2) and then your campaign (Assignment #3).
When analyzing the ads for its effectiveness, it is important that you reflect on our earlier
discussion on visual design strategies and rhetoric: layout, language, and lexis. Please
refer back to the handout and lecture presentation on “visual design” and “logos of
advertising.”
3. Write a transcript of your oral presentation.
A transcript provides the reader with detail of the presentation or discussion that had
taken place. Usually, it’s taken after an event has taken place so that the words
transcribed are exact. In this class, however, you will be turning in the transcripts on the
day of your presentation. It will be a pre-emptive transcript of what you anticipate/plan
to say during the presentation, your speech. We do this for two crucial reasons. First, it
will force you to orchestrate your slideshows carefully with your argument. Second, it
will help you to think about how you will articulate your points (what language you’ll
choose for instance).
*Orators often have two approaches to writing speeches. One will write it out, practice it,
and repeat it exactly. Another will write it out, practice it, and then adlib when giving it.
Either way works, but the latter speech allows for impromptu adding of lines and deletion
of lines (depending on the situation); it allows the speaker to appear to talk naturally as if
speaking on the issue for the first time (as if he or she had not rehearsed it). Remember, I
do not expect you to follow your transcript word for word—nor do I encourage it. Best
talks appear “natural”—but they are also well-composed, articulate, and clear.
* You will not be permitted to read the transcript straight (use flashcards/cue cards). You
should try to maintain at least 70% of your eye contact with your audience.
* In your printed transcript, I should be able to read the words you’ve spoken in the
presentation (or plan to speak) alongside your presentation cues (when you changed
slides in the slideshow, when you presented an object for viewing, directed questions to
audience, etc.). There is no formal structure for the transcript, but you should include the
following in the beginning:
“Title of presentation” (in quotation marks)
Presentation by (your name),
Course, Instructor,
Room and date.
Change Slide (print out this cue and other presentation cues if needed for clarification).
Below is a sample introduction of a research paper in transcript format:
“The Rhetoric of Paranoia”
Presentation by Josephine Cardinal
PWR 2-05, Professor Lee,
Wallenberg Hall, room 123,
May 15, 2004
[Opening slide: image of the two WTC towers burning.]
We all remember where we were the morning of September 11th
We remember the image of the planes crashing into the WTC towers
We remember watching the towers fall
We remember seeing the faces of the terrorists for the first time
We know the anger we felt then, the anger we feel now, and the anger we ill always feel
toward those who committed such atrocious acts of hatred and murder.
[Change slide: a picture of aid workers helping survivors.]
In one sense this anger is constructive. As this picture shows, it allowed people to work
together.
We unite as a nation;
We reconstruct;
We give, we thank, and we are thankful.
[Change slide: picture of hate crime]
On the other hand, though, our anger remains largely impassioned and restless
In this sense it is dangerous.
It is easy for our anger to become misdirected.
It is easy for our anger to direct itself at innocent victims.
It is easy for our anger to lend itself to discrimination towards the Muslim
American community.
[Change slide: thesis slide with timed points (marked by dash).]
Given this danger and this threat of discrimination towards the Muslim American
Community, it is urgent that we step back and look critically at tolerance and prejudice in
the context of the United States government.
--They preach tolerance
--yet there is more violence.
Given this disparity, we must be skeptical. For the sake of the safety of a large
constituency in our society, it is crucial that we question purported tolerance.
I will do this by:
--establishing the prevalence of discrimination and substantiating the urgency
for this topic
--looking closely at the social context within which the governemnt’s support of
tolerance is heard, and how this context undermines even the most explicit
rhetoric of tolerance
--looking at how political rhetoric [BUSH, ASHCROFT, GUILIANI] houses
subtle but very real elements of prejudice.
NOTE: Remember that in this exercise, you will be using the PowerPoint only to
DISPLAY your ads, not to enhance your presentation in any other way. You will
not be employing animation or any other tricks of PowerPoint at this time.
4. Write a brief analytic synopsis of each ad (in narrative form) accompanied by the
picture of the ad and a listing of credit. The synopsis, picture, and credit listing will
end the transcript of your presentation like an appendix. It will be graded as part of
the transcript.
The synopsis should be approximately four to five sentences long and include:
* a summary of the theme of the campaign,
* a brief description of the ad (with identification of slogan if applicable),
* target audience(s) as deduced from the advertisement,
* your brief assessment of the advertising strategy and how WELL the ad
translated the idea/slogan/words in ad into an compelling image.
The picture should include a caption with source citations following MLA
documentation guidelines.
The listing of credit follows the synopsis and picture. It identifies the following:
1) client of the ad
2) where the ad was found
RECAP: As a recap, you’ll be accomplishing the following when you work on this
assignment:
1) Selecting and analyzing two ads within the same industry (which you want to work on
in your final campaign)
2) Writing a transcript of your analysis argument
3) Orally presenting your analysis argument with PowerPoint as DISPLAY only
4) Submitting transcript, synopsis (w/ picture and credit) on day of presentation
JUST FOR FUN: PRINTCRITIC POLL ON PRINT ADVERTISING
PrintCritic presents a public online forum for those with professional and personal
advertising interests. It’s a great place to read about current advertising campaigns
and trends and how the rest of the advertising community thinks about them. Visit
http://www.adcritic.com/printcritic/email
Here’s an example of the responses to
DeBeer’ ad campaign for the new
“right hand” diamond ring for women
(August 9, 2004). The picture is taken
from PrintCritic’s web site.
Last week's Rate the Ad. This
multifaceted — sorry about that —
diamond idea went over like a Liz
Taylor pole dance, pulling a deeply
flawed 33/67 Good/Bad ratio,
comparing the top half of the Sweet
Meter to the bottom half. And a
whopping 48% of votes are in the
lowest third of the meter — better
known as the Grimace Zone. However,
we must point out that, based on the
comments, the majority of voters are
more receptive to da brewskis than
DeBeers. There's a substantial amount
of male rage being aired at the sheer
effrontery of the conspicuously
consumptive concept, with many middle fingers being raised on the right hand, the left
hand, and in some cases, both hands. There was also trouble with the bizarre lens flare, as
well as the model herself, who was frequently deemed too masculine to support this
feminine idea, even by some female pollees. Though no one pointed out that, like Maria
Shriver, the model looks like she could cut a diamond with her face, which is the ultimate
in strength and independence.
Responses (0 – 5, 5 being best)
0 Aarrgghh. I've been blinded by the searing brilliance of an overly dramatic copywriter.
5 Strong visuals. Strong layout. Strong copy. Strong campaign.
3 I can see where they wanted to go with this ad. However, she looks more like she's
holding a light saber than wearing a shiny ring. The copy bored me to death and now my
right hand wants to tear up this ad.
5 I've seen other ads from this campaign, and the first one I saw made me stop to read the
copy. Layout and image drew me in because the design approach is unusual for a jewelry
ad, and I got the underlying message right away.
0 It's like Hallmark creating new holidays to sell more cards, but a thousand times more
evil.
2 If it's about women's strength and independence, why do they have her trying so hard to
look like a man?
4 Part of a great campaign. Good copy and approachable glamour. Just one point: which
women can afford diamonds for their right hands? The "women of the world" or just the
rich ones?
4 Wicked, rebellious, sexy and androgynous. She could hurt you with either hand, and it
draws you straight to the point. Men'll hate it.
0 What are they implying? That by wearing a diamond on your right hand, you're now a
member of the cause for womanhood? I find this insulting.
4 As a single female professional, I must say it makes me want to buy a ring for my right
hand. Like being entitled.