Home Uncategorized Assignment #2 DUE 11.19

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Assignment #2 DUE 11.19

Required Format:

1,000 words

Double spaced

Times New Roman, 12 pt. font

1-inch margins all around

Microsoft Word Document (no PDFs)

Include a photo and a link to your advertisement or commercial at the beginning of your essay.

Prompt

This assignment requires you to “read” or analyze an advertisement or commercial. Commercials are usually broadcast on television, radio, Internet videos, podcasts, cell phones and other hand-held devices. Advertisements are found in print media such as magazines and newspapers.

Write an essay analyzing an advertisement or commercial based on its content and context. Do not just describe what is happening in the ad, explain how it generates and communicates meaning to persuade audiences to behave a certain way, to buy something, to think something. Your thesis statement should be a specific claim about the ad.

For commercials you need to select a limited amount of it, such as the first thirty to ninety seconds.

Make sure to include a photo and a link to your advertisement or commercial at the beginning of your essay.

MCS<

–

Ass

gnment #

Reading an Adve

tisement

Commercial

Due Date

Friday

/20

:00

Points:

pts

Required

Format:

1,000

words

Double spaced

Times New Roman

12 pt

font

inch ma

gins

all around

Microsoft Word Document (no

PDFs)

nclude a photo and

a link to your a

dvertisement

commercial

at the

beginning

of your

essay

Prompt

This assignment requires you to

“

read

”

or analyze an

advertisement or commercial.

Commercials

are

usually broadcast on television, radio, Internet videos, podcasts, cell phones and other hand

–

held

devices.

Advertisements

are designed to evoke emotions to the purpose desired by companies.

Elements in these advertisements combine to create meaning that could positively or negatively

affect our lived realities. Hence, it is important for us to be diligent in di

gesting messages

communicated to us from these companies everyday. In this essay, I will analyze how Nike

combats stereotypes and advocates for unity in their latest ad campaign “You Can’t Stop Us”.

Released on July 30th this year coinciding with the NBA’s

return, “You Can’t Stop Us”

is Nike’s third installment of a series of advertisement campaigns under the same title. Narrated

by the American soccer player Megan Rapinoe, the ad is edited in a split

–

screen style montage

that seamlessly captures the moveme

nts of athletes around the world. A diverse variety of sports

are featured in this ad, with clips from stadiums to neighborhood courts, of celebrity athletes and

everyday folk. Musical score plays in the background of the narration throughout the ad, which

ends with the message “You Can’t Stop Us” atop a black screen.

In typical modern-day fashion, the ad was published on Nike’s major social media platforms such as Youtube and Instagram, along with the conventional channels on television, and have since been viewed millions of times. The goal of the ad is to sell the brand and its core value of unity and inclusion. With its unique approach of not directly focusing on any specific product, the ad instead preaches a story with the message of hope and inspiration that is relatable to everyone, thus not limiting its target audience.

To analyze the impact of this ad campaign, it is important to first understand the context under which it was released. Debuting along with the return of the NBA’s season, the campaign is released in a time of uncertainty. The challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic, on top of the frustration with the oppression towards African Americans are weighing heavy on many of our hearts. Take the NBA’s return for example: while it generated a great amount of excitement, there were still questions raised regarding the safety of players, and its potential of being a distraction from the Black Lives Matter movement. People are cautiously searching for a glimmer of light, a sign of hope. Some say sports serve as an escape for people, and in this ad campaign, Nike uses sports as a metaphor to address the uncertainty in our society.

As shown in one sequence in the montage—gyms and ballparks are empty due to the fact that sporting events have been cancelled as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, people are forced to stay home and responsibly social distance from one another. Despite these unfortunate circumstances, athletes have found creative ways to bring sports into their home, showing their dedication and resilience. When someone sees the inspiring clip of kids playing tennis in their living room and backyard, it could inspire them to also not allow their circumstances define their reality. The challenges presented by the current pandemic is a collective experience that we can all relate to, and knowing there are others going through the same experience can provide us with hope from the sense of unity.

While the split-screen style editing is well-received by many, its role in this ad is much more significant than a gimmick, it also serves brilliantly as a commentary to society. Through visually blending the movements of a diverse cast of athletes from one side of the screen to another, it highlights the commonalities in diversity. Regardless of someone’s ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or circumstances in life, sports is an equal playing field. It is a powerful visual in a society where marginalized groups of people are denied the same respect and opportunities.

Moreover, conveyed by visual representation, togetherness and inclusion is at the center of this ad. “Us” includes all the different groups of people represented in this ad, and everyone that identifies with them. Thus, when it is said in the ad “nothing can stop what we can do together”, diverse groups audiences feel like they have a stake in this message. By seeing someone that looks like each of us in these powerful images, it informs us of our possibilities. For example, there’s traditionally been discrimminationa against women in sports, reflected by the lack of investments and coverages of their games, and also the pay gap compared with the male athletes. This montage includes many scenes of fierce, and powerful play by female athletes. Which not only directly communicates their worth, but also shows to younger girls that they too can be great in these sports.

Taking it a step further with representation, Nike has made a concerted effort to amplify the voices of African Americans and women in particular in this ad campaign. Lebron James, Megan Rapinoe, Colin Kaepernick are featured in this campaign along with many other outspoken sports figures. James and Rapinoe share a powerful moment in the ad with the line “we have the responsibility to make this world a better place”, right after a montage of many participating in the kneeling protest against police brutality inspired by Kaepernick. Traditionally, representation can be diluted by tokenism, which strips its meaning. Marginalized people were shown, but their narratives were painted by white male. In this case, their voices are uplifted with their messages being shown directly on a bigger platform. It shows that Nike is taking a stand with the beliefs communicated by these athletes.

In conclusion, I believe this ad campaign from Nike is one of the most important advertisements of recent years, because it shows how brands can advocate for change. By visually breaking stereotypes, and allowing marginalized people to be the voice of their platform, Nike indeed put actions behind their words.

https://news.nike.com/news/watch
–
nike
–
you
–
can
–
t
–
stop
–
us
–
film

Advertisements are designed to evoke emotions to the purpose desired by companies.

Elements in these advertisements combine to create meaning that could positively or negatively
affect our lived realities. Hence, it is important for us to be diligent in di
gesting messages
communicated to us from these companies everyday. In this essay, I will analyze how Nike
combats stereotypes and advocates for unity in their latest ad campaign “You Can’t Stop Us”.

Released on July 30th this year coinciding with the NBA’s

return, “You Can’t Stop Us”
is Nike’s third installment of a series of advertisement campaigns under the same title. Narrated
by the American soccer player Megan Rapinoe, the ad is edited in a split
–
screen style montage
that seamlessly captures the moveme
nts of athletes around the world. A diverse variety of sports
are featured in this ad, with clips from stadiums to neighborhood courts, of celebrity athletes and
everyday folk. Musical score plays in the background of the narration throughout the ad, which

ends with the message “You Can’t Stop Us” atop a black screen.

https://news.nike.com/news/watch-nike-you-can-t-stop-us-film

Advertisements are designed to evoke emotions to the purpose desired by companies.
Elements in these advertisements combine to create meaning that could positively or negatively

affect our lived realities. Hence, it is important for us to be diligent in digesting messages

communicated to us from these companies everyday. In this essay, I will analyze how Nike

combats stereotypes and advocates for unity in their latest ad campaign “You Can’t Stop Us”.

Released on July 30th this year coinciding with the NBA’s return, “You Can’t Stop Us”

is Nike’s third installment of a series of advertisement campaigns under the same title. Narrated

by the American soccer player Megan Rapinoe, the ad is edited in a split-screen style montage

that seamlessly captures the movements of athletes around the world. A diverse variety of sports

are featured in this ad, with clips from stadiums to neighborhood courts, of celebrity athletes and

everyday folk. Musical score plays in the background of the narration throughout the ad, which

ends with the message “You Can’t Stop Us” atop a black screen.

[Type

here]

[Type here]

Example 2.3

Reading an Advertisement

In their advertisement, Belvedere Vodka markets their vodka as being smooth and

attempts to deliver the message in a humorous way. They target their ads to appeal to a male

audience as consuming hard liquor is typically seen as masculine in society. The in

tention of this

advertisement was to be humorous to male audiences in an unconventional way, but the impact

of this image is something darker as it contributes to the notion that women are to be taken

advantage of. The text, imagery, and innate weaponization of alcohol in the Belvedere Vodka advertisement reinforces the normalization of sexual violence against women.

The vodka company claims that “unlike some people, Belvedere always goes down smoothly”. The message can be interpreted in different ways. It implies that their vodka can be used to intoxicate a woman unconscious, inhibiting her ability to give consent. It can also imply that men should drink their vodka to be unaware of their own actions and avoid accountability. Despite the varying ways one can interpret this message, the underlying theme of these messages is that these actions strip away a woman’s autonomy over her body and spirit. The text is written in large white bolded text that stands out in the advertisement while the words “unlike some people” are bolded in blue. The “people” the ad refers to are those that resist and attempt to protect themselves, and through their message they insist that they are looked down upon. Belvedere compares their smooth alcohol to those that don’t put up a fight against assaulters, indicating that submissive women are desired as they are easy targets. This gives men the message that they are entitled to have a woman’s body at their disposal whenever they want. This gives women the message that they shouldn’t resist when a man wants to touch them even though they never consent to it. The text is written as if it’s only speaking to the male audience. What I believe to be most alarming is that the woman’s voice is not included. There is no mention of her giving consent. There is no advising against sexual assault and rape. There is only a dark joke about forcing a woman into performing oral sex in the middle of the image, taking up half of the space in the ad.

A man is shown trying to force a woman to perform a sexual act on him in the advertisement in black and white. As the man smiles from cheek to cheek, the woman’s face is filled with fear. She is desperately trying to escape the grasp of the man trying to take advantage of her. The man isn’t a celebrity or a well known public figure. He is an average man that can be found anywhere in our society. The presence of “an average joe” in a harmful advertisement such as this one perpetuates the idea that anyone can gain the ability to be able to force sexual services from a woman if they buy a certain product. In the ad, the crime of sexual assault is disguised as a fun pastime men can partake in while having drinks with their friends. The cruel contrast between the man’s joy and the woman’s fear emphasizes the extent to which men take this issue as a joking matter. In society, men are seen as the dominant gender and must fight for things they want and never take no for an answer. The product takes advantage of

this idea within toxic masculinity and creates a need in men that are insecure and have fragile egos. There is a problem created by society and this vodka company serves as the solution and markets it. The vodka company promises that if men buy their product, they will be able to assert their manliness and engage in non-consensual sexual activity whenever they feel like.

Alcohol has a long history of being used as a crutch for men to serve a lesser penalty for assaulting a woman. The weaponization of alcohol enables assailants to continue to invalidate the value of a woman’s consent. Alcohol is used as a tool to help men while it is used as a weapon against women. When a man is drunk he isn’t responsible for his actions, but when a woman is drunk it is her fault for letting her guard down. Advertisements like that of Belvedere Vodka reinforce rape culture. Some may say that it isn’t a big deal that advertisements like these exist, but they forget that harmful messages are embedded in ads all around us. From a young age, people are exposed to these misogynistic advertisements that promote the idea that women are objects, something inhuman, and undeserving of respect. As a result, women are disproportionately more likely to become victims of sexual assault compared to the male population. The ad catches the audience’s eye with the alarming imagery and utilizes society’s beliefs towards women to create a demand for its product.

Through their misogynistic advertisement, Belvedere Vodka is complicit in the normalization of sexual violence against women and markets it as accessible and desireable to men. Advertisements like that of Belvedere contribute to rape culture in our society and is just one of many other sexist ads in the media. It generates a message that women are objects and should be treated as such. Misogynistic ads imply that women don’t deserve respect, ownership of their bodies, and the right to say no. In the vodka ad, the man has a smile on his face while the woman has the look of horror on her face, convincing its audience that men should show no remorse when assaulting women. The objectification of women in the media is only one of the many rotten roots that grow into issues from sexism in the workplace to femicide. Belvedere’s advertisement sells vodka that is smooth going down the throat and burns in the stomach as we swallow the truth of the rampant degradation of women in the media.

Word Count: 1,001

[Type here]

Example 2.3

Reading an Advertisement

In their advertisement, Belvedere Vodka markets their vodka as being smooth and
attempts to deliver the message in a humorous way. They target their ads to appeal to a male
audience as consuming hard liquor is typically seen as masculine in society. The in
tention of this
advertisement was to be humorous to male audiences in an unconventional way, but the impact
of this image is something darker as it contributes to the notion that women are to be taken

[Type here] [Type here] Example 2.3

Reading an Advertisement

In their advertisement, Belvedere Vodka markets their vodka as being smooth and
attempts to deliver the message in a humorous way. They target their ads to appeal to a male

audience as consuming hard liquor is typically seen as masculine in society. The intention of this

advertisement was to be humorous to male audiences in an unconventional way, but the impact
of this image is something darker as it contributes to the notion that women are to be taken

Driving

Under the Influence

https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/print/ecovia_stop_the_violence_drive_safe

This advertisement features a young

male

getting hit by what looks like another

male

with great force. Both males have illustrations of cars; one on the young male’s face, and one on

the second male’s arm, with both the cars colliding against each other. There is a phrase below

the second male’s arm, stating “Stop the violence, drive

safe.” The young male that is being hit

appears to have been struck really hard because of the force of the hit. There is a dark

background that creates an emphasis on the darkness of drunk driving as well as the two males

colliding with each other. The ta

rget audience is geared towards younger adults between the ages

of eighteen to twenty

–

five, because that is the usual age demographic for drunk drivers. This

advertisement is not selling anything, but promoting an important public service announcement

repr

esenting the repercussions of driving while under the influence.

The young male being hit by the second male’s fist creates a metaphorical result of the

physical impact of drunk driving and its collision. The younger male’s facial features show the

brutal force of being hit or hitting an airbag or a part of the vehicle from the impact of driving under the influence. Included in the representation of being hit upon impact from a drunk driving experience, is his hair being blown backwards because of the force. This extreme impact can cause many types of injuries, ranging from temporary to lifelong disabilities such as simple bruising to permanent paralysis. The picture also displays the younger male’s impact from the hit, with his teeth being clenched with what appears to be saliva exploding from his mouth. His eyes are also shut closed which is a natural reaction from such an impact. Based on what the male is wearing, it alludes to the target audience being towards the younger adults because of his earrings and jacket. It shows a younger subject because young adults are prone to car accidents, especially under the influence because of their lack of experience, control, and overconfidence in their abilities to drive. This depiction of the male encourages younger adults to learn and become more aware of the blood alcohol concentration levels and its limit in conjunction with driving under the influence.

The dialogue “Stop the violence, drive safe,” is placed directly under the collision between the two metaphorical cars colliding with each other. This placement will guide the audience’s eyes to focus on the colliding vehicles and invoke a thought process of the imminent dangers and repercussions of driving under the influence. All the words of the phrase are capitalized, with the word “Stop” being emphasized even more by being a bigger font than the rest of the phrase. This will cause the audience to first focus on the word “Stop” and induce thoughts but also have the reader continue reading the rest of the phrase. “Stop the violence” is written in a white color, placed as a contrast against the dark background to make it appear more dominant in the advertisement. “Drive safe” is written in blue because blue is a color that is known to be calm, safe, and tranquil. These two combinations of white and blue create a more noticeable and appealing look for the audience. The word violence is specifically used to emphasize that drunk driving is in fact an act of violence. This is because drunk driving is an active choice that humans make to commit, knowing that they are physically and mentally impaired and unable to drive safely. The diction choice, contrasting colors of the words and vehicles will direct the audience’s attention directly towards the center of the advertisement.

The advertisement uses a specific method of demonstrating a literal repercussion of driving under the influence, which is typically a collision between two vehicles. The two cars are illustrated as a head on collision, which signifies how when one driver is under the influence, they may drive onto the opposite side of the road, unaware of where their surroundings begin or end. All it takes is one drunk driver for such a devastating collision to occur in the blink of an eye. The colors of the vehicles used in the advertisement are blue and red respectively, making it pop out more to the human eyes as well. This attention that it grabs from the audience contributes to the overall message of what will most likely happen from a drunk driving collision. The color of red is used in the vehicle to the left, as the color red represents the drunk driver because the color red is known to invoke feelings of aggression, anger, and carelessness. This is a contrast against the other vehicle to the right, which is colored in blue. The color blue is known to be more innocent and soothing, which is a direct comparison to the innocent or unexpecting driver that lays victim from the carelessness of the driver under the influence.

This advertisement combines the use of contrasting colors, facial expressions, and diction in order to relay an important life message that driving under the influence will most likely cause irreversible damage and consequences. The company that created this advertisement wants to tell the audience that drunk driving is an active choice that carries heavy consequences and that it can be prevented through cooperation and knowledge of alcohol and driving combined together. It is also selling this message to younger adults because statistically they are more prone to making these types of decisions. It is taught in early stages of learning to drive that alcohol will impair the driver which makes it dangerous for the driver themselves and other innocent road-goers that may be a part of collateral damage. Even though drunk driving is something that people should have a conscience and knowledgeable choice to not do, advertisements similar to these that are created also show that there are a large number of people who still choose to do this despite the warnings. The company wants the target audience to become more aware of their actions and possible consequences, hoping to reduce the violence involved in drunk driving accidents.

Word count: 1026

Driving Under the Influence

https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/print/ecovia_stop_the_violence_drive_safe

This advertisement features a young male getting hit by what looks like another
male
with great force. Both males have illustrations of cars; one on the young male’s face, and one on
the second male’s arm, with both the cars colliding against each other. There is a phrase below
the second male’s arm, stating “Stop the violence, drive
safe.” The young male that is being hit
appears to have been struck really hard because of the force of the hit. There is a dark
background that creates an emphasis on the darkness of drunk driving as well as the two males
colliding with each other. The ta
rget audience is geared towards younger adults between the ages
of eighteen to twenty
–
five, because that is the usual age demographic for drunk drivers. This
advertisement is not selling anything, but promoting an important public service announcement
repr
esenting the repercussions of driving while under the influence.

The young male being hit by the second male’s fist creates a metaphorical result of the
physical impact of drunk driving and its collision. The younger male’s facial features show the

Driving Under the Influence

https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/print/ecovia_stop_the_violence_drive_safe

This advertisement features a young male getting hit by what looks like another male

with great force. Both males have illustrations of cars; one on the young male’s face, and one on
the second male’s arm, with both the cars colliding against each other. There is a phrase below

the second male’s arm, stating “Stop the violence, drive safe.” The young male that is being hit

appears to have been struck really hard because of the force of the hit. There is a dark
background that creates an emphasis on the darkness of drunk driving as well as the two males

colliding with each other. The target audience is geared towards younger adults between the ages

of eighteen to twenty-five, because that is the usual age demographic for drunk drivers. This

advertisement is not selling anything, but promoting an important public service announcement

representing the repercussions of driving while under the influence.

The young male being hit by the second male’s fist creates a metaphorical result of the

physical impact of drunk driving and its collision. The younger male’s facial features show the

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