Analysis of Advertisements for Two Different Things
In order for advertisements to successfully
portray a product, they must
be directed to the appropriate intended audience. Magazines, in general, are
usually geared towards a specific audience with distinct interests. Therefore,
the `ads' need to be carefully designed to attract the attentions of the
magazine reader. This very concept is well displayed in the two selected, yet
very different, magazine ads from the software magnate Microsoft Corporation.
The first ad is taken from Computer Games Strategy Plus - a gaming
magazine, as one might infer from the title. The product `Monster Truck
Madness' is a computer video game designed, quite obviously, for entertainment
purposes. The second ad is from PC World, which is of a much more technical
nature than its previous counterpart. The product in this ad is `Microsoft
Project for Windows 95', a software used for businesses and project development
teams.
The `Monster Truck Madness' ad encaptivates the casual browser with its
bright yellow background with a large purple type set across the top of the
page accompanied by the words: `Size Matters". This leads the reader to ponder
the meaning of this rather unusual phrase and to further read the smaller
print. Here, the reader encounters an irregular font of different sizes to
accentuate certain words. While this may be annoying to many, its overall
purpose is to create a lively playful environment through the usage of fonts.
This, of course, is an attempt to appeal to a younger gaming audience. On the
other hand, the `Microsoft Project' ad does not envoke any visual desire read
further into the text. The se ...