Essay One—analyze an ad.
Option One:
Assignment: Find an ad that attempts the “rebel sell” or otherwise sells some sort of distinction. Your thesis
should tell me how that ad makes this sell: what appeals does it make? How does it make those appeals? How
is it selling distinction? This is an image analysis paper, so you should break the ad down into parts and show
the reader how the parts work together to make the ad's argument.
If you want to do more, you can also evaluate whether or not the ad succeeds. If you do, you can either
incorporate the evaluation into your thesis and make it part of the argument complete with supporting details in
your body paragraph, or else reserve it for the conclusion if you want to make it a parting observation. The
evaluation of the ads success or failure is optional.
Sample Theses:
1. Even though Xerox's print ad in Maxim 5/06 issue 45 attempts the “rebel sell,” it ultimately fails because
its rebellious features are too artificial and obvious.
2. The Pabst Blue print ad in the 78th issue of Stuff effectively makes a rebel sell because it is cynical and
self-aware, signaling that it is hip to “rebel” irony.
3. This ad for the H2 in National Geographic's September 2005 issue appeals to our desire for distinction
from mass-culture because it confers the distinction of financial success, absolute “otherness” in
comparison to everything else on the road, and the unique potential power to explore virgin wilderness.
Option Two:
Compare and contrast two ads that sell similar products. Point out the key “surprising” differences and/or
similarities. This is perhaps best done by identifying the different appeals each ad makes to its respective
audience.
Sample Theses:
1. The ad for Corona in Maxim's August 2005 issue differs from an ad in the same issue of Maxim for
Molson Canadian, also a light beer, in that it appeals to an “I am me” VALS segment while the Molson
ad appeals to “belongers” and “emulators.”
2. An ad for Corona Light and an ad for Molson Canadian, two light beer ads appearing in Maxim's August
2005 issue, both use humor and target young twenty-something males. Their key difference lies in the
memes they sell and their particular target twenty-something male. The Corona ad targets a male who
wants to be anything but ordinary, while the Molson ad pokes fun at cultural badges of distinction,
appealing to males who are secure, maybe even ironically unique (I'm the only one here being “myself”
and not trying to artificially make myself different), in their traditional manliness.
Your paper should include
1. a strong thesis-claim.
2. a summary of context—the magazine it appears in, the readership of that magazine.
3. image analysis.
4. analysis of the intended audience.
5. detailed support.
Length: 3 pages.
First Draft Due Sept. 28th
Final Draft Due Oct. 5th