Here we go: Step 4

Step 4: Examine the consequences

- Overall  is the ad memorable, persuasive, informative or believable?

- Consequences ( how would individual respond emotionally to the message)

- Will the advertiser accomplish his goal ?

- Customer response about the ad ( what do you think their response will be)

- Restate the thesis ( reason of the ad, is it effective or not, why or why not)

The final step is by far the easiest... It acts as a conclusion to help you gather your final thoughts and observations of the advertisement

Here we go: Step 3

Step 3: Determine the target audience

- Target audience for the ad ( be specific by defining the target audience it terms of:

1. Demographics (age, gender, family size, family life cycle, occupation, education, income race, generation , religion, and nationality)
2. Psychographics ( social class, lifestyle, personality)
3. Geographic location (nations, regions, states, countries, or cities)
4. Behavioral factors ( product usage, knowledge, attitude or responses to a product)

- The benefit the ad promised for the target audience

- Appeal ( emotional or logical appeal used to persuade the consumer)

- Positioning strategy used

- What brand image is being communicated

- Elements used to make the message or the ad memorable

- Creativity or content-driven?

This step requires you to look deeply at what the advertisement is really communicating..

Here we go: Step 2

Step 2: Analyze the ad based on what you think is the advertiser's goal behind the ad

Reminder ! the intention of the ad is always to sell a product!!!

- Product .. include details on the ad’s placement:

- What is being sold?, is the product appealing to you? Why or why not?

- Is there any emotions that the ad is trying to relate with the product presented? Was it successful or not? Why?

- What type of media( newspaper, magazine..etc), Media vehicle ( name of publication where it appeared)

- Timing ( when it ran)

- Present your evaluation of the ad’s effectiveness ( thesis)

- State the reasons that influenced your evaluation of the ad

- The objective of the ad.  think about the ad’s communication goals, what the advertiser’s goal  behind the message)

This step puts you into the shoes of the advertisers.. To get the maximum analysis from this, you have to think like an advertiser!!

Here we go: Step 1

Step 1: Make observations about the ad and its technique

Below we have mentioned all the points that you have to focus on to complete step 1 of deconstructing the advertisement...

- Begin with a statement that helps the reader to understand your approach to analyzing the ad.

- Make observation about the ad and the appeal of the type of product being advertised and the adjectives that describes the ad

- Provide an objective description of the ad ( visual appearance, and the message itself )

- What gender is represented in the ad? What do they look like? ( if any)

- Their facial expression

- Camera angle ( level of the camera: is it above, eye-level, or below the subject) ( close to the subject or far)

- Lighting ( is it natural or artificial)? Why?

- Are there any parts that are highlighted in the ad while others are not? Why do you think the purpose behind it?

- Layout and design (Colors used, check contrast and brightness)

- Text (what kind font, is more than one type of font used, how big is the text, what color is it, one or more colors used) and what does the text say?

- Headline ( does it attract attention)

- Body copy ( length, emphasis)

- Slogan ( relates to the company image or not)

- Company logo ( familiarity and corporate image)

To make it even easier...Think of it in this way, the first step is like your initial apprasial

Easy as 1..2..3..

Here are 4 easy steps to deconstructing an advertisement:

Step 1: Make observations about the ad and its technique

Step 2: Analyze the ad based on what you think is the advertiser's goal behind the ad

Step 3: Determine the target audience

Step 4: Examine the consequences

This is a great way for beginners to start analyzing advertisements! Think about how combining these steps will help make a difference to understanding advertisements.

Still confused?? Wait for more detailed posts explaining each step..