Your analysis will depend on the type of advertisement and the type of analysis your teacher wants. There are many ways to analyze an advertisement, but one way you might want to consider is a rhetorical analysis.
Basically, rhetoric is the art of persuasion. What are advertisements designed to do? They are designed to persuade you in some way. Once you have decided on an advertisement to analyze, you can complete a basic rhetorical analysis pretty easily.
First, ask yourself what the purpose of the advertisement is. Is is trying to persuade you to buy something? to vote for someone? to donate money?
Once you have discovered the purpose, ask determine who the "speaker" is, or who is trying to persuade you. Analyse the speaker's "Ethos" or credibility. Is the speaker believable or not? Why or why not?
Next, try to determine the targeted audience of the advertisement. Who is the speaker trying to persuade? The target audience will shape how the speaker frames his/her argument.
Finally, determine how the speaker tries to persuade the audience. Does the speaker rely on evidence--facts, statistics, specific examples? If so, the speaker is using "Logos," or the logical appeal. Does the speaker rely primarily on getting an emotional reaction from the audience? In other words, does the speaker try to make the audience feel happy or sad or scared in order to persuade them? If this is the case, the author is using the "Pathos," or emotional appeal.
In most cases, talented speakers will using a combination of all three appeals-ethos, logos and pathos. Keep in mind that all of the appeals can be visual and/or verbal/written. Be sure to cite specific examples from the advertisement which showcase the different appeals.
For further information, you may want to research the "Rhetorical Triangle" or the "Three Rhetorical Appeals." I hope this helps.
While there are many different kinds of advertisements (print, radio/podcast, television, etc.), many can be analyzed in a similar way.
The first and most basic question you can start with is "What is being sold?" While this may seem obvious at first, you can look far more deeply than you may realize. Perfume commercials, for example, are trying to make money by selling perfume, but the commercials always show gorgeous, glamorous people and settings. This could be interpreted as saying "If you use our perfume, you can be glamorous, too!"
In a similar vein, you can ask "What is the problem this product is trying to solve?" Is it a legitimate problem? Is the product a legitimate solution? This is extremely subjective, but often produces interesting results.
Next, very similar to the first question, "How is it being sold?" Are they listing the merits of the product? Are they painting you a picture of how ideal life would be if only you had the product?
Continuing from #3, "What else does this make me think of?" Advertisements, like books and movies, don't exist in a cultural vacuum. Does this ad allude to another ad, or another piece of media? What sort of trend in advertising is this following? How is this similar to or different from ads for comparable products?
When thinking through these questions, you'll be able to keep in mind not only the design, format, and medium of the advertisement, but the larger cultural values and mores at play.
While this question may seem intimidating, if you focus on the following advertisement elements, you should have an easier time.
Elements of advertisement:
Who is the company/group?
What are they advertising?
Who is the intended audience?
What advertising techniques (flashy, pulls at emotional strings, etc) are used?
What is the design of the ad?
What is the mood of the ad?
Once, you have answered the first questions, you can move on to a category/type specific analysis. In the advertising category, there is Radio, Podcast, Television, or the Internet. Each of these subcategories will use specific techniques that you can discuss.
Radio, Podcast, Television, or Internet Specific Advertisement Categories:
In the Radio and Podcast advertisement category, consider:
Is there a hook? In other words, does the ad catch your attention and how or how not?
Does the sound volume increase when the ad begins? If so, what impact does that have on you as a listener?
Is there music or other accompanying sounds that draw you into the speaker’s voice?
What is the speaker's voice like? Is it jarring, pleasant or excited?
What is used to entice the listener? For example, are there unique adjectives that make the product enticing?
In the Television category, consider:
What visual elements are used to draw you into the advertisement?
Does the advertisement move quickly from scene to scene or does it focus on one image? What impact does the pace of the images have on you?
Does it attempt to produce a specific emotion in the viewer? For example, is it an image of a starving child that produces empathy?
In the Internet category, consider:
Is it a pop-up ad? If so, what were you doing when the pop-up occurred? Then, who do you think is the intended audience of the ad?
What visual elements are used?
Color
Font
Size of font
High or low resolution of images
Did you see the ad through a social media website? If so, why is social media a good place to advertise in?
Overall, when you look at or listen to the advertisement, take notes on the experience you have with the content. Once you have taken notes, reflect on “how” the company was able to produce that experience for you. Then, you can discuss the advertisements use of sound, imagery, or pace.
I hope this was helpful and good luck!
Firstly, there are different types of advertisements: print, radio and television commercials, and Internet ads, which may still be images or commercials similar to what one would see on television.
In the case of a radio advertisement, the focus is on the message:
What does the announcer tell us about the product or service?
What adjectives are used to describe it?
What tone of voice does the announcer use? For example, you may have noticed that announcers who are promoting retail sales tend to speak loudly and excitedly. Those who are selling an insurance service will speak more calmly and in a softer tone.
Is the speaker male or female? Why might the advertiser have chosen a male or female speaker for this particular product?
What kind of music (if any) is playing in the background? What sound effects (if any) are used?
In the case of a print ad or still image, the focus is on the image and the brief message that accompanies it:
What kind of font does the advertiser use? Why? What is the size of the font?
How does the image draw attention to the quality of the product? For example, a recent Heinz ad creates a bottle of ketchup out of a tower of sliced tomatoes. The message below reads, "No one grows ketchup like Heinz." Heinz is clearly emphasizing the freshness of its product and its use of all-natural ingredients. It does not matter if this is true or not, it is what they want you to believe.
Many print ads use models or celebrities. In these cases, think about why they may have chosen that particular person. To whom might they be marketing this product? How does this particular person appeal to that demographic?
In the case of a TV commercial or other moving image, the focus is on the narrative:
Who are the characters in the commercial? You may have noticed that in commercials for household cleaning products, the main character—sometimes the only character—is a middle-aged woman, usually white, who is doing housework. Very often, advertisers reinforce our social prejudices.
Once again, when a celebrity is used, why have they chosen this celebrity? On which aspect of the person's fame is the advertiser capitalizing?
If there is music in the ad, what kind of music is it? Is it a famous song? Why might they have chosen this song?
What is the slogan and how do they provide it to the viewer? Is it merely spoken or is it displayed?
Who, if anyone, narrates the commercial? Is it a male or a female voice? What tone does the person use? What is the pace of his or her speech?
Is this a commercial that emphasizes diversity? How might that relate to the promotion of this product?
If the characters in the commercial are of a particular age group, race, or gender, why might the advertisers have cast in this way?
There are other things to explore, but this should help you get started.
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