Commercial visual analysis
Visual Communication
Writing Assignment Two: Commercial Analysis Assignment
Overview: 98.1% of American households have a television, while 99% of people in America can read (2). This means that being able to read barely beats out having a television in your home.
Most of us were taught to read when we were very young, but did we ever learn how to watch television?
We watch our television shows, and many of us get annoyed when a commercial interrupt our program. But what if we stopped to consider for a moment, that we have it all wrong; maybe the television show is an interruption to the commercial? This is because the main way for a television station to make money is to sell commercial time.
This is why analyzing television commercials is so important. Below are some things to consider that will help you to understand the messages in television commercials better. We are exposed to these commercial every day, but we rarely realize their true impact on us. They can influence us to buy things we do not need, to vote a way we might not normally vote, and to desire a lifestyle that we wouldn’t necessarily agree with.
For this assignment, you will explore the various tactics used to make a TV commercial effective, but to do this, you must understand how the various elements function to influence a targeted audience; your analysis must move beyond the obvious, which is to sell their products.
Select one of the following videos for your analysis:
• 84 Lumber “Donald Trump Wall”
• Apple, “The Song”
• Gillette, “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be”
• Nike “Dream Crazier”
• New York Times, “The Truth Is Worth It: Perseverance
• Old Spice, “Running on Empty”
Length: In standard written English, write 700-word (800 max) essay using MLA conventions for formatting, in-text citations, and a works cited list.
Your essay should be an analytical essay that explains the overall message and/or effectiveness of a visual piece. You must provide an explicit thesis –located in your introduction- that will provide a focus for your paper.
Since commercials are more complex than many other types of media (including the addition of motion mixed with sound), there are more things to consider:
• What is the product or service being sold? Can you easily figure out what the product is?
• What is the general mood or feeling of the commercial? Since we know the product or service being sold, what methods are the advertisers using to make us interested? How do they portray the product or service in a positive light?
• How does the soundtrack play a role in your interpretation of the commercial? Is the music cheery, dreary, suspenseful, whimsical, fun, or exciting? Does the music affect our feeling of the mood? Is there a voice-over of someone telling us something? What is the
2.Visual Communication voice over trying to tell us? Does the person speaking coincide with the overall mood of the commercial? Would our perception of the voice change if the voice was of a different gender or race?
• How do the actors playing the characters affect your interpretation of the commercial? Would your interpretation change if the characters were of a different race or gender? What if the characters dressed differently or spoke differently? How would that change your attitude of the character?
• How does the commercial try to get your attention? Does it use flashy graphics with fast music? Does it alter the way we see the world, either using special effects or through the story line?
• Who is this commercial aimed towards? Is it you or someone like you? How do you know? Why do you think the advertiser created this commercial the way they did? Would it have been as effective if it was just black and white text on the screen? Why or why not?
To support your answer, reflect on the various visual and cinematic elements and persuasive appeals. Remember, the creator uses these elements to help guide readers to his or her message.
Your analysis will explain how these elements influence the audience and solidify the creator’s message.
Genre: This is a formal analysis paper; you may not use first or second person (example:
avoid “I think,” “I believe,” “I discovered,” “you can see,” “you should understand,” etc.) Also,
follow MLA formatting and documentation rules. Write your analysis in essay form, typed and
double-spaced.
Audience: For this essay, you will be writing to academic professionals. You are to dissect the
commercial, analyze it, and synthesize it, critically. Keep in mind, you are not arguing the issue,
but how effective the creator presents its message.
Visual Analysis Steps
1. Study the assigned commercial by watching it several times, focusing on answering the questions on the basic approach to analysis of the whole video.
2. After watching the video, choose four or five elements that contribute significantly to the commercial’s overall effect, and analyze, in some detail, the contributions of each. Use technical terms and concepts discussed in the text when they are pertinent to your analysis.
3. Use your analyses of the individual elements as the body of your paper; then add an introductory paragraph (providing context, a brief summary, and your claim), transitions, and a conclusion (evaluating the significance of the film) to shape the paper into a complete essay.
Visual Analysis Basic Essay Structure
I. Introduction (Two Paragraphs)
A. Introductory Paragraph One
a. Introduce creator and image (relevant background information)
b. Contextual information and that includes the rhetorical situation
B. Introductory Paragraph Two
Visual Communication
3
a. Brief and objective description of the commercial (5-7 sentences)
b. Explicit Thesis
II. Visual Technique One (if applicable, consider the proper persuasive appeals)
a. Controlling idea that explains the functionality (how) of the visual element to create meaning.
b. Support details with specifics that justifies your reasoning. Do not guess or make assumptions; make inferences.
III. Visual Technique Two (if applicable, consider the proper persuasive appeals)
a. Controlling idea that explains the functionality (how) of the visual element to create meaning.
b. Support details with specifics that justifies your reasoning. Do not guess or make assumptions; make inferences.
IV. Visual Technique Three (if applicable, consider the proper persuasive appeals)
a. Controlling idea that explains the functionality (how) of the visual element to create meaning.
b. Support details with specifics that justifies your reasoning. Do not guess or make assumptions; make inferences.
V. Conclusion
a. Emphasizes the success of the creator’s message as it pertains to the visual analysis you have analyzed.
b. Does not agree or disagree with the message or provide new information that was not explained in the body paragraphs
Editing Checklist
✓ Introduction presents the director/creator, publishing date, and rhetorical situation
✓ Keep your analysis in present tense
✓ Provides specific details; avoid using vague language
✓ References are cited accurately and properly
✓ Punctuation is inside quotation marks if there is not a parenthetical citation
✓ Essay has an original title; essay does not use the title of the article
✓ Paragraphs should begin and end in the author’s words
✓ If applicable, cite the appropriate page number (not the number of pages)
✓ Remove any rhetorical questions
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|
