Stereotypes

Do you think that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people?

Advertising is an open source technique used to market products and entice others to buy them. Therefore it is somewhat accessible by everyone and anyone, depending upon the text type used to portray the advertisement, and should not be aimed negatively towards a race, culture or ethnicity. Marketing directors and advertising sectors of companies need to be aware of this fact as ads are not optional for the consumer to watch and should be monitored to suitable for all viewers (in correlation to the location of the Ad). Advertisements, unlike movies or other mass media, are not implemented to deduce a viewer based on uncontrollable variables (like societies, cultures etc.) they represent or contribute to. Their central aim is to promote a good or service and not ridicule a stereotype. Several advertising laws and regulations in various nations such as the UAE state clear boundaries on such acts, for example Al Tamim and Co state in their Advertising standards "instill respect for the local religious, cultural and social values which prevail in the UAE". or the Government of the UK say "The code specifies standards for accuracy and honesty that businesses must stick to, including causing offence". Thus, personally, I don't see why there is a need to mislead, instill fear or hurt individuals through the use of such stereotypes as, at the end of the day, the purpose of a TV commercial or Print Ad is to sell an item, not encourage a false, yet widely held belief or perspective.

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What does the ad reveal about the cultural/ social/ or historical context of its production?

The advertisement is a modern day commercial exhibiting Nivea beauty products and enticing the audience to buy their products. It seems to have aimed towards regions in South Asia, mainly highlighting India as it consists of current day popular Indian celebrities but could also relate to a general or international audience who could perceive the individuals as beautiful, yet plain folk.

According to the ad, what values or characteristics are the most important?

There are various important methods of persuasion as well as visual language techniques present within this advertisement. Tone, lighting and color are key factors implemented within this advertisement, as all eyes are centered towards the woman with brightly lit shining skin, developing a sense of encouragement towards younger women to buy and use Nivea beauty products to their advantage, exhibiting fair skin which is a wide form of attraction in the modern era. The presence of similar light blue colors on the product’s bottling is repeated elsewhere in the advertisement, such as on the woman’s and man’s clothing, as well as on the header and footer of the poster. This color provides a somewhat soothing and comfortable feeling to the mind, which is a factor of association Nivea wants customers to have towards this product. The texture is smooth, highlighting major details about the good, as its main goal is to provide a soft and natural look, as most of her skin is revealed to represent this and some light makeup is used to enhance the effect.

Who is empowered in this commercial?

It is very evident that the woman herself is the most dominant figure in the advertisement, as Nivea beauty products are centrally manufactured for and targeted towards women. She is also facing the spectators, proving that this advertisement is targeted towards them, as well as providing a sense of presence to them, ensuring to seek their attention. The product itself, placed on the bottom-right of the commercial is added to the scene to allow the audience to be able to identify the product before buying, instigating some logos alongside it which says that it repairs dryness in 24 hours and that Nivea celebrates 100 years of success.

Who is ignored or marginalized? For what reason?

The male actor included within the advertisement is somewhat cropped out of the photo and is displayed with no real lighting or makeup, depicting great ignorance towards the figure. He seems like a prop portrayed within the advertisement as a sign that Nivea beauty products attract men, as he has his hands wrapped around the woman, yet has no sense of great significance simply due to the fact that the product being promoted is not for men. He doesn’t even seem to have any connection with the viewers either, as he is positioned side onwards, gazing upon the woman only.

The Pitch Practice FOA

What main appeals did you use in your pitch? Why did you decide they would be the most effective?

The central appeals included within the presentation were to clearly identify and explain the target audience of this product, and with examples related to our main location (Suburban New Zealand), we could effectively display that. The second was not only to highlight the specific ways to exhibit this commercial, but what scenario to introduce to the people and what text-type it must be present in. The importance of visuals in our PowerPoint played a great role in this aspect.

What were some specific persuasive techniques you used (include examples) why did you believe these would be effective?

We implemented certain rhetorical questions, such as "Why buy the Phantom 4?" or "Have you heard of the Phantom 4" in order to engage the audience as well as attract them towards the content. Implicit claims were a key feature within this pitch as the product itself was a technological good, and specification details and updates on the new version of this product is perhaps the best way to promote such a good within the market. There were also glimpses of the use of New, along with promotional offers, to entice the customers to, not only come and visit the store or test the product, but to also guarantee that sales will take place for this item.

How did an awareness of audience and context influence your overall approach to this activity? 

Presentations aren't one of my specialties. I usually don't enjoy speaking to an audience and find it one of my greatest weaknesses. However, through experiencing this practice session, I've got a fair taste of what is required of me during this unit to achieve my goals, and, through watching my other peers present, I am now able to see how the emphasis on the persuasive techniques have been put to play. Analyzing and acting out various actions and tones presently seen in a number of  advertisement can be somewhat enjoyable and also demands some use of creativity.

If you were to complete this presentation again, what would you do differently in terms of content and preparation?

In the future, I will mainly focus towards and spend more time on practicing the presentation itself, as mentioned earlier, this is not one of my strengths and therefore I feel as if I need to invest greater time and effort on it. Creativity is another component I lacked, as significance towards persuading the audience to select our advertisement through adding prominence in tone and actions were not completely extant in my performance, unlike my partner's, and therefore with the collaboration in our group, I was able to learn from my peers as well as acquire several ideas from them to enhance our execution. Nonetheless, group work can be frustrating at times, especially when a clear form of communication with our group members outside of school is missing. This can lead to misjudgment of ideas and mislead one another, leading to a downfall in the final exhibition.

WIX Advertisement Analysis

The advertisement centrally targets an audience with little or no experience within the sector of web development. It portrays great visuals and convinces the members of how simple it is to craft a website to promote their businesses or household firms, providing a small sided tutorial of a jewelry designer using their product. The audience will be of a mixed group of ages, usually between 25-45 years of age looking to build startup companies worldwide. The software only requires its customers to have a basic exposure with computers, knowing how to drag and drop, scroll, click and carry out other such commands.

The ethos included within this advertisement is mainly seen through the implementation of the example website, displaying a stunning site designed by a Jewelry designer Yama. It can therefore be seen as a trusted source as the ad exhibits a person with no web design experience, creating her own website for her business through simple instructions and on a ready-made template specifically for her ease of use.

The strong visuals used to show the features available on Wix are a great example of the pathos used within this commercial. They provide the user with a snapshot lesson on how to use the product through easy orders being carried out in the ad from the dragging of various background pages to the selection of the online store option. Lines at the initial part of the video "You need a Website" is used as a command to draw the audiences attention towards the commercial. Following the sentence "Why not do it yourself?" is a rhetorical question, giving a quick summary of what this advertisement is about. It also depicts the fact that there is no need to depend upon and pay professionals to make your website when you can do it at Wix, which is repeated at the end in the form "Create your stunning website today.", making the audience's presence significant, allowing them to participate in the ad.

The artificial intelligence feature can be grouped into logos as it draws clear evidence that Wix can use your personal details to search for the website design that fits within your category. The lines "Its Easy and Free!" portray the great burden Wx saves us from learning a programming language, coding our website and then publishing it or going and paying a web designer for it. The free section of the phrase is a great technique used to seek attention and gain popularity.