Writing Your Ad Analysis
I. Introduction
Sentence 1: Your introduction needs an attention-getting device: Question, surprising statement,
interesting example, a comparison, a statistic, or other.
(Who needs Visa? Life takes Visa, or at least what the CEO’s of this credit card company want Americans
to believe.)
Sentence 2 or 3: Identify the magazine, date of issue, product, target audience for the ad, and purpose
of the ad.
(In the October 2009 issue of O Magazine, Visa, the credit card company, is trying to persuade adult
middle-class consumers to sign up for this card that the company suggests they need in order to keep up
with their busy lives.)
Sentence 3, 4, or 5: identify the appeals from Murray’s list or the online glossary sheet. Do at least 3.
(By portraying a fork and spoon dancing on a stage and a Disney play, Visa appeals to the need to
nurture, the desire to achieve, and the need for autonomy or independence….)
II. Body: Each body paragraph should begin with a transition and a topic sentence.
Body Paragraph 1: Describe and explain
Topic Sentence: (At first glance, the ad presents a false reality that portrays a fork (man) and spoon
(woman) dancing in the spotlight on the black stage. The ad places the stage in the center of the page,
with the fork and spoon in the lower forefront. Using the color purple which is associated with wealth
and royalty and the background color, Visa is suggesting the image of money. Using a fork that
represents a man dressed up in a black tuxedo with a meatball in the prongs suggests a movie star
atmosphere. The spoon has a string of pearls and red heels, implying the two are out for a fun-filled
evening on the town. ----Visa cleverly does not plaster lots of words on the ad; it lets the images do the
suggesting to the consumer…..
Body Paragraph 2: Explain and describe more
Topic Sentence 2: (Clearly, VISA is telling you that you need their credit card. In fact they state it in
white letters in the ad, “No matter what you do in life, LIFE TAKES VISA.” (O Magazine). They cleverly
use food and a night on the town to draw you in, like a bee to honey. VISA tells you they are what you
need to succeed in life.)
You may use an additional paragraph to discuss other things the ad is doing or portraying.
Body Paragraph 3: The Appeals
Definitely, the appeals are evident. The need to achieve in order to be able to have a night on the town,
fine clothes, and be in the spotlight targets people’s desire for status….Another need present is the
desire to nurture. Who doesn’t want to take their children to Disney World? That is the all-American
dream that proves how much you love your children. The successful middle class couple takes their child
to the greatest theme park know to humans…..Probably the most important appeal is the one that
suggests that you have the autonomy to make this choices. With this card you can be happy and
successful and your children will thrive….
The Conclusion: Analyze
(What does life take? Life doesn’t take VISA. The reason VISA is so successful is that society is unable to
resist the temptation that surrounds them in their everyday life. Visa is counting on the financially
upwardly mobile woman reader of O to succumb to their ploys. But if people would have the selfdiscipline to live within their means, credit card companies, like VISA, would not be a dominating force in
today’s societal financial problems.)
Last
Works Cited
“Visa Ad.” O Magazine. Nov. 2008. Print.
Fowles, Jib. “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals.” Common Culture: Reading and Writing About
American Popular Culture. Eds. Michael Petracca and Madeleine Sorapure. Upper Saddle River:
Prentice Hall, 1998. Print.
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