Ad Busting
HSP3M1; Introduction to APS
Mr. Heffernan
Original Ad
Wendy Ye
The original message of this advertisement is that this frozen pizza is made to taste just like the pizza served at real
Italian restaurants. The advertisement shows a rich and high class couple going on a date at an Italian restaurant that is
serving this frozen pizza. This portrays a larger than life style – otherwise known as mythology – in order to motivate people
to buy this product. It shows a glamorous couple dining at a fancy Italian restaurant in order to show that by purchasing this
product, you can feel like you’re in a similar Italian restaurant looking fabulous with the date of your dream. This point was
also shown in the video “The Ad and the Ego” in a segment called “The Dream Life”. A quote in the video states that
“Advertising is the dream life of a culture” and this ad is a perfect example of this quote.
This advertisement also uses social status to sell the product. Social status is the social standing, position or rank that
one has in society. By featuring a couple from a high social class, the advertisement is suggesting that by purchasing this
product, you can also feel like the high class couple show in the advertisement. The picture shown in the advertisement
provides a very empowering message associating the pizza with high social ranking, elegance and power. The makers of the
advertisement use very few words knowing that the majority of the talking will be done by the pictures.
This advertisement also uses the romantic and intimate environment in order to attract potential buyers. Environment
refers to all of the surrounding things, conditions and influences that affect your awareness or understanding. The
advertisers placed the couple in an intimate and romantic setting in order to invoke emotions of love, something that every
human being has in order to appeal to its consumers and target audience. By using the emotion of love, the advertisement
not only opens its target audience to all ages but it also appeals to both genders since love is something everyone needs
and craves.
During the film “The Ad and the Ego”, it is mentioned that advertisers associate produces with cultural myths and do
not make true or false claims about the tangible properties of the product itself. This holds true for this advertisement. The
advertisement does not say much about the actual pizza itself (aside from the fact that it has “Real Italian restaurant taste”)
and makes its focal point the couple on the ad. It does not mention any of the preservatives or cholesterol that is probably
present in most it not all frozen foods.
Deconstructed Ad
Leanne Wang
The original ad tries to add appeal to its product by appealing to the consumers’ aspirations to the “dream life”
(segment 10 of the video: “The Dream Life”) by connecting the product to high societal status (niche in social hierarchy, in
this case, the pizza was linked with a high rank in the original ad). The deconstructed ad shows the product for what it really
is: frozen pizza, and nothing more.
The image used to decontextualize (to separate from relevant context, in this case, the pizza would be a lot more likely
appear in a busy, middle-class family than in an Italian restaurant) the frozen pizza in the original ad placed it in a romantic
restaurant setting, with wine and an attractive, young, well-dressed, seemingly wealthy (the woman drips in jewels), happy
couple. As images are the more persuasive factor in advertising (segment 7 of the video: “Seeing is Believing”), this sends
a very powerful first impression of the pizza: that it is high-class and elegant. In contrast, after deconstruction, the couple
is replaced by a balding, somewhat obese man with a stained shirt holding a beer while eating the pizza. This is probably
closer to the truth, as most people that could afford to dine like the couple featured in the original ad probably would not be
buying frozen pizza for their dinner. This image is also what most people would first think of when the word “pizza” is
mentioned: greasy men with pot bellies drinking beer and playing video games.
The texts used help further (falsely) promote the product as a high-status food in the original ad. In the deconstruction,
the “truth” about the product is displayed. The frozen pizza will not taste like a “real Italian restaurant”, it will taste like
“real” frozen pizza: greasy, soggy, and perhaps slightly burnt. The ingredients used for the product is also not likely to be
“high quality”, despite what the company would have consumers believe. It’s a lot more probable that it contains
preservatives, colouring, and a lot of saturated fat. Also, the brand name was changed to “Dr. Obese”, because eating these
frozen pizzas everyday will most definitely lead to obesity. This brand of frozen pizza will probably not be very different from
other brands, but the ad tries to set it up as a high quality, desirable product by linking it with “sophistication” and quality.
It satisfies the human need for esteem and/or self-actualization, to “pamper” ourselves with “expensive” -- not just in the
monetary sense, but also emotional and mental -- products.
The pizza will also not lead to self-actualization (the feeling of fulfilment, in this case from eating “high-class” frozen
pizza), as the original ad seems to imply subliminally (subconsciously, as the brain makes subconscious relations all the
time). It is not the symbol (representation, in this case, the pizza does not represent success) of wealth and happiness
(segment 6 of the video: “Moving Masses”, the pizza brand is building a high-status image). Although thought out logically,
these connections are ridiculous; however, the average consumer would never pay enough attention to this ad to reach
these conclusions. Instead, they would flip through the magazine, and perhaps glance at this ad fleetingly before turning
the page. When they go to the supermarket, they would recognize the pizza brand and associate it with an elite status
unconsciously, even though this association would be entirely illogical and unfounded.
Original Ad
Deconstructed Ad