ADVERTISING

HOW TO READ AN ADVERTISEMENT
Reading advertisements is a complex skill, but some ads are easier to read than others, and it sometimes helps to ask a series of questions about an ad in order to make sense of its meaning and to understand exactly how it works.
 
These questions are a framework which you could use with any print or TV advertisement. You will not always want to ask all of them; you will not always need to read every ad this closely. However, they are here for you to use whenever you need to, as a checklist of the different techniques by which ads construct meaning.

a) Reading the image; what’s in the picture?
 
What can you tell about the age, sex, class, race of the different people shown in the ad from:

• clothing/facial expression/the direction of their eyes – who or what are they looking at?
• body language – the way they are posed, grouped or what they are doing/their relationship to each other in the frame.

 
What other objects are featured prominently in the ad, and what do they suggest?
 
Where is the ad set?

• Where is it supposed to be – and how do you know?
• What can you see in the background, and what does it suggest?

 
What is the product?

• What kind of product is being sold?
• Where is the product placed in the frame – if at all?
• What can you tell about it from the other elements in the ad?

 
b) Technical codes – how was it constructed?
 
What visual techniques does it involve?

• Drawing, animation, still or moving photography, or just graphics?
• Why have these elements been used?
• Is it black and white or colour? How has colour been used, and what effect does it create?

Lighting

• How has it been lit?
• What effect does the lighting create?

 
Use of the camera in print ads

• Where was the camera placed to take the photograph?
• What kind of shot has been used, and what effect does this create?

Use of the camera in TV commercials

• What variety of shot and camera movement do you notice – and what effect does it create?

 
Composition and framing

• What is your eye drawn to within the frame, and why?
• Has the image been cropped, and if so, what might be happening outside the frame?

 
Editing

• Has the image been edited or treated?
• Has anything been left out or removed, and if so, why?
• In a TV ad, how have the shots been edited together – neat cuts, mixing from one to the next, or fading in and out of each other? What effect does this create?
• Pace and style – how many shots, how quickly or slowly do they follow on from each other? What effect is created by the speed of the editing?

Focus

• Are all elements in the image in focus? If not, why not?

 
Reproduction

• Do you notice any other photographic effects used to reproduce the image – e.g. filtering video/film, increasing the contrasts, airbrushing out bits of the picture, over or under-exposing the picture, enlarging it, etc? If so, what effect do they create?

 
Layout

• How does the image fit in with the overall design of the ad?
• Where is it in relation to the text/copy?
• How much space does it take up?

 
c) The text of the advertisement
 
Brand name of the product

• What does it suggest?

Slogan

• How does it work? How does it relate to the images?

 
Copy in print ads

• What does it say about the product?
• How does it relate to the images?
• What kind of language does it use – and who is it talking to?
• Does it remind you of any other type of ad – or another media genre?

 
Soundtrack in TV or radio commercials

• What different sources of sound do you hear on the soundtrack – e.g. voice-over, music, sound effects, dialogue?
• What kind of music is used, and who might it appeal to? What atmosphere or mood does the music convey?
• What sorts of voice-over are used – male or female? received pronunciation or dialect? formal or informal language? What tone of voice or mood does the voice convey?

 
Typography and graphics

• What different typefaces are used?
• Why were they chosen?
• What other design elements have been used to illustrate or explain?

 
d) The genre of the advertisement

• What kind of ad is this?
• What else does it remind you of?

 
Narrative

• Does it have a story, and if so, what kind of story?

 
 
Who is the ad aimed at?
How can you tell:

• from the choice of images
• from the product
• from the text/soundtrack?

Where might the ad be seen?
If print:

• What sort of publication, aimed at which readers?
• Where might you buy the publication?
• Who else might see it?
• Whereabouts in the publication might the ad be printed – inside cover, middle pages, classified ad section, etc? Why?

 
If TV and radio:

• When and where would it be scheduled?
• Alongside which programme?
• At what time of day?
• In which geographical areas?

Who was it made for?

• What can you tell about the producers of the product itself?

 
Why was it made?

• Can you tell anything about the thinking behind the ad?

 
Is it part of a larger campaign?
How does it relate to:

• different ads for the same product?
• ads for the same product in other media?
• ads for other products made by the same company?
• other ads made by other people?

What overall message does the ad give?
 
What roles, models or stereotypes are represented in the ad?
 
What ideas, lifestyles or desires does the ad seem to suggest?
 
What values are associated with the product?