Image Analysis; Informative Essay

Draft a 3-5 page (approximately 800-1300 words) informative essay; image analysis. Select an advertisement to analyze. Draft an analytical essay that examines the audience, context, and purpose of the advertising image you’ve chosen. Your analysis should lead to a conclusion about the ad’s effectiveness, based on an examination of its components. Include the image with your draft.
The advertisement you choose should be directed towards a specific audience. To identify the intended audience, think about the members of the potential audience for the advertisement that you have chosen. Who are they? Ads for a beauty product, for example, may be aimed at young girls. The thesis must inform the reader of the topic and purpose. Use objective language and a neutral point of view.

o Double-space your draft and use one-inch margins.
o Use an easily-readable 12-point font.

ANSWER

Image Analysis; Informative Essay

Image Analysis

Advertisements are paid forms of communications delivered through media platforms such as television, radio, magazines, social media, or newspapers. Advertisements are often attractive meant to attract specific groups of people, for example, gender, age group, and social status (Abdelaal & Sase, 2014). Objectives of commercials include informing, persuading, and reminding potential consumers of the product. Creativity is vital in advertising as it is meant to attract new customers and maintain old ones. This article analyses a hair shampoo image by Garnier, a cosmetic brand that specializes in hair and skincare products. The Garnier Fructis shampoo advertisement uses a lady holding her long braided hair to illustrate how capable the shampoo is to strengthen hair.

The target audience for the shampoo is middle-aged women between 18 and 40 years, either married or single. The target consumers hold beauty and cosmetic products highly and intend to keep up with current trends. The commercial implies that the shampoo is a perfect product for the ladies as it will help strengthen their hair and maintain its length hence remain glamourous and fashionable. The company was strategic in choosing the model for the advert; she is the societal depiction of a perfect lady with flawless skin, symmetrical body and face, and long shiny hair, characteristics that most women seek to possess. When women see this image, they subconsciously wish to resemble the model, and they get the notion that using the shampoo will bring them closer to having such a look.

This advertisement aims to address the beauty concerns of the target group. Successful brands know the crucial role that graphics play in appealing to consumers’ emotions. Hair is a great contributor to a woman’s appearance; women seek the most appealing products to enhance their beauty. The advertisement is ideal in addressing womens’ insecurities to boost their confidence and make them feel more beautiful. Colors play an integral role in advertisements to deliver different messages (Abdelaal & Sase, 2014). Green is dominant in the image, an illustration of nature, and that the shampoo comprises natural ingredients. Potential consumers will find the shampoo safe to use since it contains natural products rather than chemicals.

A closer look at the image shows fruit as one of the ingredients, which attracts the target audience since fruits are associated with health and beauty. Fruits are essential in maintaining a healthy weight and smooth skin; Garnier adopts the name Fructis from fruit, as it is one of the significant ingredients. The appealing color green further puts more emphasis on the fruit theme. Additionally, the written message ‘Nutritive fruit micro-oils’ matches with the pictorial illustration. The idea of fruits makes the shampoo attractive since consumers get the notion of natural ingredients that are healthy and safe for the body and hair rather than artificial products.

Language is another language that speaks significantly in advertisements. To avoid vagueness and obscurity, the language in the Garnier Fructis shampoo comprises simple, understandable words that are easy and simple to read and comprehend. The message delivered through the language further emphasizes the idea of beauty and confidence. The words longer, stronger, and better appear in bold, white, and capital letters, making them more eye-catching. The use of white signifies safety and simplicity. Most women associate long, strong hair with beauty. The image emphasizes the text by illustrating the long hair that seems as strong as a rope. In addition to having long, strong hair, the advert promotes strength and confidence and seems to drive the message that once women use the shampoo, their strength increases as they become more confident. The model grasps a huge chunk of the hair with so much force, portraying her strength and the hair’s resilience.

To fulfill the logical appeal, the advert puts across the message of being stronger and sleeker than other brands, with no clarity of what the others are or how the comparison was made. As such, these are just mere words meant to market and make the product attractive. Since consumers do not pay attention to the details or critically analyze the words used, the simple, attractive language appeals to them.

The advertisement is appealing, and any lady wishing to have stronger hair can easily be persuaded to purchase. The ad emphasizes the importance of physical beauty, and more so, having flawless skin, long sleeky, and strong hair. This kind of beauty plays a crucial role in making young women more confident. The commercial strategically addresses womens’ insecurities and seems to define a beautiful woman like that who possesses the qualities of the model in the advert. Women who lack these features may feel less confident in themselves and feel as though they fail to measure up to the societal standards of beauty. The cosmetic and beauty industry seeks to appeal to women’s appearances rather than qualities such as intellect, compassion, hard work, and determination.

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References

Abdelaal N. M., & Sase, A. S. (2014). Advertisement analysis: A comparative critical       study. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 5(6), 254-259.

Doi: 10.7575/aiac.alls.v.5n.6p.254