A Comparison of Two Advertisements

The term 'media' describes a way in which commercial organisations promote their products or corporation to the world in various manners, which are designed specifically at the target audience. Advertising is, generally, a way of getting a point across. This point may be of commercial or personal matter. Propaganda and advertising generally sport a biased, one- way argument that may, in the negative, critical point of view, be manipulative and/or deceptive. On the other hand, advertising can educate, and inform, not just be used to sell an ideal.

Advertisements affect the way in which the world works. From an un- biased view, advertisements are everywhere- on the television, on the radio, upon billboards- the list is endless. My chosen advertisements are from a ladies gossip magazine which centres on celebrity relationship and celebrity issues. The magazine is of an informal nature. The readership of "New!" I believe, is the Blue Collar working class section of society. In the magazine, the features and advertisements are suited to the audience, which are predominately women, aged 20 -30.

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As the advertisements are both from the same magazine, they would be stereotyped in being aimed at the same audience as the magazine. This is true, but the true intentions of the respective advertisements are different. Obviously, the main task put forward to the marketing teams is to sell the product, although in the "Herbal Essences" advertisement, it promotes a different attitude to hair-care as it promotes a wild, unnatural approach to the dying of hair.

This effect is achieved through the leopard print eye- lids and the vibrant and contrasting colours put forward by the advertisement.

In contrast, the "Head & Shoulders" advertisement is much more conventional, using more harmonious colours, and a much less "wild" technique than the "Herbal Essences" advertisement, although this difference does not affect the overall effect of the advertisement.

My chosen advertisements are both similarly single- page instalments, but both deviate from each other in various ways. An obvious example of this is colour- the vibrant, fresh greens and reds of one, plus the deep, mellow purple of the other. In the "Head & Shoulders" advertisement, purple is the dominant colour, which is meant to emphasize the golden colour of the model's hair. Purple is also a relevant colour in relation to the logo, and enlarges the fact of "Head & Shoulders" being a recognisable brand.

On the other hand, looking at the photographic angle of the picture in the "Herbal Essences" advertisement, it engages in some adventure and some excitement that enhances the effect of the advertisement. The close up- shot, with hair blowing in the model's face really emphasizes the undomesticated wildness of the advertisement. This may attract younger people. Another important aspect to consider is, as with all other beauty products, the stylistic features embedded within the advertisements' in question. The "Head & Shoulders" stylization embodies a crown- shaped plait that synchronises with the selling point of being "Crowned the Peoples Favourite."

In contrast, the "Herbal Essences" marketing team have offered a much more subtle effect, but an effect that houses a much more controversial, more show- stopping power. By this, I mean the leopard-skin design on the eyelids of the model really brings the pale skin and fiery red hair together without being too one- sided in terms of colour and contrast; this would lose the effect of the advertisement.

The lipstick used also has a similar power to the leopard-print eyelids, as it bridges the gap between the two main contrasts; plus, the lipstick adds to the animalistic and daring approach that the eyelids' make. None of the advertisements boast a headline, but the "Herbal Essences" effort sports a sub- heading at the bottom, which is very simple, but the use of orange on the word "colour" reinforces the main core of the advertisement which is "colour." The "Head & Shoulders" advertisement uses text that does, if only a little, ramble on while trying to explain a simple point.

A caption of "crowned the Peoples favourite" is located within an empty space next to the model, and is all that is really needed to express the point without losing focus. Technical language is not used to a great extent, but when it is used, it is used to good effect; an example of this would be when the advertisement uses words such as "Dandruff" along with other, simpler terms such as "soft and smooth" which may attract the customer.

The advertisement is centred on it being voted "Product of the Year" by an independent survey company "Product of the Year.com" The survey was of 10, 049 people; plus the fact that the survey was independent makes it more reliable. This device is frequently used in beauty advertising to impress the reader. There is use of repetition to convey the point that the "Head & Shoulders" conditioner was voted product of the year. This was used to drill into the readers' head that the conditioner is so good that is had won an award.

Small- print is used, not to mislead, but to explain the award won and as a footnote to comply with the strict advertising legalities. There is no real humour or rhetoric devices used to amplify the effect, but the text at the top of the "Head & Shoulders" advertisement is in a larger font than the explanation and small- print.

The chosen language is quite mellow and gentle, but simple nonetheless. "Crowned the Peoples Favourite"- simple yet effective. In collation, the "Herbal Essences" advertisement uses a slogan of "Go wild on your colour. Go easy on your hair." This language is in bold, which promotes an aggressive attitude; this in turn fits in with attitude of the advertisement.

There are no facts or figures to back up the advertisement plus there is no small print to confuse the audience. The "Colour that roars. Condition that purrs" phrase is repeated in the "Go wild on your colour. Go easy on your hair." Slogan not literally but in meaning, as both are about taking care of your hair, while letting go in terms of colour. This amplifies the animalistic effect of the advertisement.

The language is quintessential^ informal. Each advert is significantly effective, as it achieves its respective effect; but each advert achieves in many different ways, many of which I have illustrated. Both have put across a positive image of the product they aspire to sell by using slogans such as "Go wild on your colour. Go easy on your hair." And "Crowned the Peoples Favourite."

Generally, if the advertisement put across a negative view of the product, it would be considered unsuccessful. As they are both successful, they manage to persuade the reader to buy the products by using repetition, and reader- defined language e.g. Informal; bold type.

The "Herbal Essences" advertisement uses just the right amount of information by using a variety of sentence structures and vocabulary such as "dazzling" plus "stunning."

In comparison, my "Herbal Essences" advertisement uses a little too much text to convey a relatively small amount of information to the target audience, but as women, the general readership of the magazine tend to read more detail than men, this may add to the success of the advert. Small- print is used, not to mislead, but to explain the award won and as a footnote to comply with the strict advertising legalities.

There is no real humour or rhetoric devices used to amplify the effect, but the text at the top of the "Head & Shoulders" advertisement is in a larger font than the explanation and small- print.

The chosen language is quite mellow and gentle, but simple nonetheless. "Crowned the Peoples Favourite"- simple yet effective.

In collation, the "Herbal Essences" advertisement uses a slogan of "Go wild on your colour. Go easy on your hair." This language is in bold, which promotes an aggressive attitude; this in turn fits in with attitude of the advertisement.

There are no facts or figures to back up the advertisement plus there is no small print to confuse the audience.

The "Colour that roars. Condition that purrs" phrase is repeated in the "Go wild on your colour. Go easy on your hair." Slogan not literally but in meaning, as both are about taking care of your hair, while letting go in terms of colour. This amplifies the animalistic effect of the advertisement. The language is quintessential informal.

Each advert is significantly effective, as it achieves its respective effect; but each advert achieves in many different ways, many of which I have illustrated. Both have put across a positive image of the product they aspire to sell by using slogans such as "Go wild on your colour. Go easy on your hair." And "Crowned the Peoples Favourite."

Generally, if the advertisement put across a negative view of the product, it would be considered unsuccessful. As they are both successful, they manage to persuade the reader to buy the products by using repetition, and reader- defined language e.g. Informal; bold type. The "Herbal Essences" advertisement uses just the right amount of information by using a variety of sentence structures and vocabulary such as "dazzling" plus "stunning."

In comparison, my "Herbal Essences" advertisement uses a little too much text to convey a relatively small amount of information to the target audience, but as women, the general readership of the magazine tend to read more detail than men, this may add to the success of the advert.