Assignments - Magazine Analysis

Magazine Ad Analysis

For this assignment you must select a magazine. It can be any kind of magazine (You might want to look at the newsstand on Main St. for some unique magazines. Also, I have magazines if you would like to borrow one.) Select an advertisement from the magazine and analyze it. Think about the following questions (although you certainly don't need to answer all of them in your essay):

• Who is the target audience of the magazine you selected and also the ad?
• What strategies are used to sell the item?
• Is beauty being used to sell the item? If not, explain. If so, explain how beauty is being used.
• How are colors used?
• What is the point of the ad?
• In your opinion, does the ad effectively sell the product?
• What assumptions does your ad make about people or our society?
• If there are figures in the ad, what are they like? What does the ad say about age, sex, ethnicity, education, gender, etc?
• How does the text contribute to the ad? How does the font of the text affect the ad?

Think about these questions and create an argument about your ad. Develop your point in about 3 pages. Please attach the ad or a copy of the ad to your paper.

[Submitted by Michelle Filling]

Return to Resources Page