Assignment One: 5 Advertisements

This assignment opened my eyes to the little time I spend thinking critically about the advertisements I come across on a daily basis. It's interesting to have a new viewpoint on something I see without really thinking about. My commute to work or school alone, I'm bombarded with advertisements. Any magazine you read contains advertisements as well. By breaking it down and looking at it them through the terms defined in Mediapedia, it allows me to better understand what I find appealing, interesting, and affective in regards to advertisement.

 Leica Camera Advertisement (Outdoor):

 

I found these ads really affective and interesting to look at. The product is the Leica V-Lux 1 and its 12x optical zoom feature. The structure is simple and formal--everything is evenly distributed.

Composition: The ads are both symmetrical--their arrangements are identical on both sides of the axis. The size factor is important to these advertisements. The area where it was positioned--in front of the blue wall or yellow brick building--gives the ad itself size (the photos in the ad are close ups of the background behind the ad, thus demonstrating the optical zoom of the product). Because of the visible lines, both these ads have a sense of direction or movement. Both ads position the logos in the upper left hand corner and the information about the product in the bottom right hand corner. Both these ads also have a sense of visual frequency because there is repetition and the distance is equal.

Ambiance Paint 

This ad was visually appealing to me. I enjoyed the sense of movement and the rich color choices. The ad seems to have a spiral structure, where everything comes from a central and shared center point.

Composition: I would say that this photo has visual weight and a balance. The figure of the woman, covered in the paint does have movement (from bottom center to the upper left hand corner), but is also balanced in the center. You can make out its main subject, or figure--again, the woman--which stands out from the darkened surrounding space (the ground). Like I stated previously, there is definitely direction in this piece. It directs the viewers eyes along, with help from the bright red color.

The Economist Billboard Ad 

I love this ad because of its simplicity. It's creative but not overpowering or overcrowded. The structure is formal and balanced. It uses a motion sensor to turn on the light within the lightbulb.

Composition: There is a definite sense of balance in this advertisement--with the large bulb front and center, it is weighed in the center. Size also comes to mind, but more so with the addition of the person on the bottom (when they walk passed, you get a sense of how big the bulb is). You can easily see what is the figure and what is the ground as well and the position of the bulb is front and center, whereas the font, The Economist is in the bottom right hand corner. The biggest thing you notice about this ad is the use of white space. The unoccupied area does a lot for the overall effect of the advertisement.

WWF 

I realized that I really enjoy the use of white space in advertisements. I feel that it adds something to it, without actually adding anything. This is an example of that. The majority of the add is white space and that is very affective.

Composition: Once again, this advertisement for the World Wildlife Fund is an example of balance; the match and leaf are centered and anchored and this single object is in balance and is in the center of the poster. It's also got a sense of size, being much larger than its equivalent in real life. Again, the figure and ground is very obvious here--the figure being the main subject, the match and leaf, and the ground being the surrounding space, the black background. Like previously mentioned, white space is a large part of this advertisement--the unoccupied or empty area takes up the majority of this poster.

Sony Walkman Ad 

This is an older ad, but one that I find myself instinctively drawn to. It's visually appealing to me and (surprise surprise) uses white space very affectively.

Composition: The photo is a bit of balance, leaning more so to the side than directly in the middle. It does have a sense of symmetry though. There's definitely a sense of movement here--it's got a definite direction and leads the viewers eye to all corners of the poster. The figure and ground can be easily identified as well--the main subject being the headphones acting as subway lines and the surrounding space being the white backdrop. Finally, this ad uses white space by including unoccupied area within the frame around the main idea and product.