Assignment #1 - Advertisement Analysis
• The assignment must be submitted as either a microsoft word file (.doc or .docx), a rich text file (.rtf),
... [Show More] or as an adobe pdf.
Advertisement Analysis
For this assignment, you must select and analyze an advertisement for any product that you find advertised either online or in print (e.g. magazines, newspapers). Make sure the ad is appropriate to be turned in to your instructor (i.e., X-rated material will receive a failing grade). Also, the ad must not be one that was discussed in lecture or the textbook. In order to receive credit, you must attach the advertisement to this assignment or provide a (working) web link if the ad is in video format. Print or non-video ads are strongly preferred.
Your paper should be 3-5 double-spaced pages in length and the following questions must be answered.
1. Where did you find this advertisement? Please specify where you found it by supplying the exact web address or, for print advertisements, providing the title, issue, and date of the publication.
2. Describe the ad—the product it advocates for, its general features, characteristics, etc.
3. The main purpose of this assignment is to assess your ability to apply course concepts to actual advertising content. With this in mind, below are 15 key concepts that we have covered thus far in class. At minimum, your ad analysis must include a discussion of at least 6 of these concepts. Moreover, you will be expected to provide a well-reasoned analysis concerning how and why a given concept applies to the ad you have chosen. Therefore, in choosing your ad, you should ensure that it reflects a minimum of 6 of the concepts listed below.
- Market Segmentation Strategies (What general segmentation strategies does this ad reflect— aggregation, differentiated, niche, micromarketing?)
- Market Segmentation Bases (Which bases of segmentation are being utilized— demographic, geographic, geo-demographic, psychographic, behavioral?)
- Positioning Strategies (How is this product being positioned—as a “leader,” a “follower,” and/or in relation to segmentation bases?)
- Product Life Cycle (Which stage of the life cycle does this particular product fall into— introduction, growth, maturity, or decline?)
- Sensory Thresholds (Which common sensory threshold principles does the ad utilize— absolute threshold, just noticeable difference, Weber’s Law?)
- Selective Attention (What specific voluntary or involuntary influences does this ad employ to increase consumer attention?)
- Saliency (How does the ad attempt to create saliency through novelty, intensity, and/or complexity?)
- Vividness (What characteristics of the ad represent an attempt to create vividness?)
- Learning (How does the ad incorporate elements of classical and/or operant conditioning?)
- Misattribution of Memory (How does the ad attempt to create misattribution via mere exposure or truth effects?)
- Suggestibility (How does the ad attempt to create memory distortion through suggestibility?)
- Persistence (What elements of the ad contribute to memory persistence—traumatic events, jingles, slogans?)
- Minimal Thought (Are purchase decisions toward this product often done with minimal thought?)
- Impulse Purchases (Would this product represent a common impulse purchase for many consumers?)
- Priming (How does this ad utilize priming and associated concepts such as assimilation and contrast?) [Show Less]