University of Missouri Kansas City Ford Motor Advertising Campaign Paper

Paper Two Assignment: Analyzing an advertising campaign

150 Points

Technical Requirements

3-4 pages

12-point, Times New Roman font

Double-spaced

Citations for all information beyond common knowledge

Objects of analysis may simply be described in the text (e.g., “In an advertisement titled ______, the advertiser claimed …)

APA-style Bibliography and in-text citations

Grammar, spelling and syntax should reflect college-level work

Topic must be approved at least one week before the due date

Overview

You will be analyzing a commercial advertising campaign. You will need to analyze three different advertisements for the same product. These advertisements could appear in a variety of media (e.g., television, radio, internet, print, billboard, etc.). Your analysis should be organized around an argument about persuasion. Throughout the essay you should demonstrate how the advertisements exemplify concepts discussed in class and/or the textbook.

Getting Started

I suggest you pick a brand with which you are already familiar. Then identify the potential advertisements you could analyze, and narrow it down to three. Before writing, note what strategies you think are present. It is never a good idea to begin writing without a notion of what you want to say.

Structure of the Essay

Introduction (no more than one page)

Set the scene by describing the product. Is it new? Who is the target market? Do you know its market share? Sales?

Briefly describe the advertisements you will be analyzing.

Present your argument.

Preview your analysis.

Analysis (no more than two pages)

This section is about proving your argument, by doing what you previewed in the Introduction. There are two obvious ways that you could organize the analysis:

1)Each main point could cover a specific advertisement. Be sure that you discuss the advertisements in relation to course concepts.

2)Each main point could be a course concept. You would then explain how one or more advertisement exemplified that course concept.

Conclusion (no more than one page)

In this section you will summarize your argument and offer insights. Some topics you might cover here include:

What did you learn about advertising while writing this essay?

What sorts of advertising do you consider ethical or unethical?

What are the positive aspects of advertising?

Should the public be educated about advertising? If so, what should they know?

You might also speculate on the future of advertising in this section.