Advertisement analysis

Advertisements are immensely complicated and a great deal of thought, money, and research goes into crafting even simple advertisements. The following essay is an example of Ultius' writers' expertise and includes sample advertisement analysis for both Pringles and Vaseline products.

Advertisement analysis for Pringles

In the Pringles Sour Cream and Onion advertisement, there are no people, simply a cartoonish picture of homemade sour cream and onion dip spilling out of a bowl near an open fridge. These images al lude to the Pringles’ taste as if they were freshly made from a home kitchen. The text “So creamy they belong in the fridge” is spelled out in the spilling dip with accents of onions. This adds excitement to the image.

Analysis of the Pringles’ audience through advertisement

The advertisement seems to reach a number of audiences through a variety of visual cues and written text. These are essential advertising techniques, designed to increase sales.

1. The first message is the visual disarray of a sloppy kitchen and of the dip coming to life to spell out a message. This would indicate a youth market is the focus.

2. However, the homemade quality of the old-time refrigerator in the background with the fresh ingredients peppering the scene would indicate that the advertisement is being targeted to people interested in healthy options—namely moms.  

3. The word “creamy” is used in the description of the chips, which feels like the wrong word. It doesn’t sound like a word that would appeal to children (children are more drawn to words like “tangy,” “crispy,” or “intense”) or to moms. Some moms may be more conscious of how a food's creaminess may affect one’s health. This is because creaminess may indicate buttery or fattening foods, and so, these parents would avoid these choices for their families.

Advertisement analysis: Icons, color, and messages

Key components of the Pringles’ ad will be described in depth below.

• The bottom section of the advertisement feature the words “Bursting with Flavor”, which seem to be more in line with the hyperbolic language that is necessary in gearing ads to children.
• In the lower left of the advertisement is a Facebook icon, which may be considered another indication of youth marketing, although over the last few years Facebook use is not limited to younger audiences.
• The choice to use the specific color of green in the background is an interesting one because it is an intense version of grass green. Green indicates naturalness and health, but the saturation is punched up here to move the eye from a gentle effect to a neon one.
• It would make sense that this choice was made to appeal to the desire for natural products, while also remaining “cool” by upping the vibrancy and playing off of the product’s inclusion of green onion flavoring. The use of color to communicate complex ideas is well-known to designers working in advertising.
• There are also nuanced sexual undertones in this advertisement. The drenching creamy dip spilling out all over the place, as well as the words “creamy” and “bursting”, support this claim. This advertisement may subconsciously resonate with adolescent males because of these factors.

A number of these techniques, regarding text, icons, and color, are also featured in an advertising analysis of Budweiser. 

Pringles Advertising analysis and reasoning

The Logical Fallacies included in this advertisement are examples of Common Fallacies in Reasoning, and are as follows:

• Appeal to Ignorance
• Appeal to Tradition
• Appeal to Authority
• Hypothesis Contrary to Fact
• Red Herring
• Inconsistency

The fallacies of reasoning depicted in the ad are successful. Because the advertisement creates images that are reliable, made with authority, and rely on the ignorance of the viewer, it is able to appeal to diverse audiences. For example, processed foods are not fresh or healthy, and rarely does the term “creamy” have anything to do with good health.

Therefore the advertisement’s hypothesis is contrary to fact, issuing inconsistencies and red herrings in an attempt to sway its audience. All of these would point to the intent of the advertiser to market to an ignorant demographic. It could be said that children and adolescents, who are more likely to be ignorant about the veracity of a health claim would be effectively marketed to with this advertisement.

Advertisement analysis for Vaseline

In the Vaseline advertisement, people are omitted. Instead, three versions of the new products are shown. The following list describes the ad’s main visual features.

• The only human element are the words “feels good, does good,” which appear to be scrawled as if by a finger on a steamy mirror.

• The fact that there are multiple types of the same lotion in pastel colors, indicates this is an advertisement for a female head of household. The Vaseline customer needs products that are not overly feminized so that they will appeal to other members of the family. Although the colors are vaguely pastel, most people would be comfortable using these.

• The steamy finger font of the text indicates an after-shower message of a busy woman who didn’t have time to stick around and model the product. Readers who are interested in gender within marketing can read about problems with gender stereotyping in advertisements.

The Vaseline products rely on a great deal of text.

• There is a lot of fine print indicating which type is best for varying types of skin.This fine print also indicates that the product is full of healthy and new ingredients that will promote physical well-being beyond smooth skin.

• There is also a money back guarantee that is clearly written, which helps to remind the buyer this is a reliable company.

This large amount of text is marketed toward people who read labels and fine print—people who search out products and perform their own form of home-brewed analysis in coming to a purchasing decision.

An analysis of the success of the Vaseline advertisement

The “feels good, does good” phrase sums up all of the fine print into a nifty slug-line that the consumer can take with them. It appears that all of the analysis work has been done and included within the advertisement so that the busy consumer can rest assured that they no longer have to do it themselves.

In addition, the color choices are excellent for this product. The white background features the product, the green bottle infers nature and lightness, the yellow product infers the classic quality of the original Vaseline product, and the brown bottle infers richness and saturation.

Analysis of logical fallacies in the Vaseline advertisement

The logical fallacies that the advertisement uses to sell its product are ‘Appeal to Authority’ and ‘Faulty Sign’. Both are common fallacies in reasoning.

For example, Vaseline, having been in business for so long, uses phraseology that indicates the manufacturer has dubbed itself an authority and is now telling consumers authoritatively which are the best products to buy. The Faulty Sign comes with the assertion that “Stratys-3” and “pure naturals” are what make a lotion excellent. This is taken as assumption within this advertisement with no proof to explain what these ingredients are and whether or not the claim is true.

Summary: Vaseline advertisement analysis

It would appear that this is a successful advertisement despite these Logical Fallacies because of the fallacies themselves, combined with strong visual and textual elements. These are seemingly natural-themed options offered from a trusted source to busy consumers. These fallacies offer comfort which will inform how a consumer actually views the product even if it doesn’t meet their expectations.