Suave Hair Product

I noticed this ad in a magazine and immediately my attention fell to the "before/after" picture of the girl's hair. I think this ad uses the Glittering Generality advertising technique because what it's basically trying to say is that if a person uses their Suave product and they have curly and frizzy hair, then this product will completely transform their hair into beautiful and straight hair. The girl in the ad also has a huge smile so it also implies that if one uses this product, then they will be happy. Furthermore, since a white girl is portrayed, the Suave company makes a general reality assumption that only white girls will use their product, which is being racist and sexist in a way because only one gender is shown. Another technique I noticed in this ad was "treatment for up to 30 days", which is a use of weasel words because the company doesn't guarantee that the product will last 30 days. Therefore, I think this wasn't the most effective ad that I have ever seen for a hair product because some people who'd want to use this product and aren't white or a girl could be offended by it, since a white girl is portrayed on the picture. Oh, and on the side note, throughout the whole magazine, I only noticed white girls in the magazine ads which shows a whole lot about the target audience of the People magazine.

Costco Ink Cartridge Refill Service

In this Costco ad for ink cartridge refills, I noticed some of the advertising techniques that we've been learning in effect. First of all, the meaning of the logo "Think Green. Save Green" on the ink cartridge has a positive connotation to it. The majority of the people today in our society our concerned with "being green" or preserving the environment; so, the majority of the people who read this logo will think that if they buy this ink, then they will contribute in preserving the environment. Furthermore, I think Costco Wholesale has created a sort of cult for some people. Some relatives I know, for instance, think that everything from Costco is great quality and is sold for a reasonable price. Therefore, the company made sure to include its colors, red and blue letters, in its ad so that the viewer would be ensured that Costco is selling this product. I also think that "starting at $7.99" is a bit vague and is a weasel word phrase because the viewer doesn't know what product is being sold at the starting price. "Save up to 70%" could also be considered to be in the same category of weasel words because one will not save 70% on ALL products, but only under a certain category of products. Overall, I think this is an effective ad because now I want to buy my ink from Costco because it made me think that I'll be contributing to preserve the environment and getting a good deal on the ink at the same time. What do YOU think? :)

Keven Star Political Ad

In this political flyer, a few advertising techniques could be noticed. For instance, the first thing I notice when I look at it is the phrase "A judge for the people." First of all, the obvious is that it's in front of a yellow background with all capital letters which makes it stand out and noticeable. The phrase "for the people" also carries a very positive connotation to it because it makes the viewer feel that the judge will serve him or her and is supportive of the people. So the word "for" can have more than one meaning in this case. One meaning is that he is not against and the other is that he is just right for the people. Furthermore, even though I don't know who "political interest groups" are, the statement above seems favorable to me because it has "DOES NOT" in capital letters creating the feeling that if he accepted contributions from political interest groups, then it wouldn't be a good thing.