revised 3 exercises and one essay
Bader Almutairi
Nicole Eneshen
ENGL113A
4/02/2013
The Incredible Car
When used in a good way, pictures can communicate information very effectively. This is because pictures utilize visual shapes and colors and create a lasting memory in the mind of the target audience. The potential presented by the use of advertisement image as a form of marketing is huge and very applicable in the field of marketing and advertisement. This paper will endeavor to analyze the message communicated by the advertisement billboard picture. The objective of this paper will focus on how this billboard picture will most likely be perceived by the target audience. Was the billboard picture effective in communicating the intended message to the audience?
The objective of the advertisement is to lure customers especially women to buy the land rover car being advertised because it can be family car. For starters, the advertisement image contains a combination of pictures all sharing the same surroundings which are looking at the car. The top half of the image consists of an environment filled with air and an island in the background. The lower half of the image is filled with the sea as its dominating environment. At the center of the image, there is a model of a land rover vehicle which is submerged in the sea halfway. Overshadowing the land rover is a cruise ship that is white in color. Beside and partly behind the cruise ship there is an island covered partly with green vegetation. In the bottom part of the advertisement image, there is a human being swimming inside the sea and there is also a lot of fish swimming in the sea. There are also three sections of writings and a logo of the vehicle manufacturer all positioned in that order. One of the writings states ‘FORGET THE CITY. I CAN REACH BEYOND!’ The writing is very ideal because it communicates to the audience the fact that this model of the land rover will offer them more freedom and options, also this tells a lot about how far it can go.
However, the controlling picture in the advertisement is not very clear. This is very
unfortunate because the main objective of the advertisement is to market the land rover. “The
center of the page is the most effective ‘center of attention ,’ it is the point of greatest
attention” B g M (2000). All o her pictures in the advertisement should be supporting the
main picture and not diverting attention from the controlling picture. One would be forgiven if one thinks the cruise ship is the controlling image. This is because the cruise ship, the island behind it and the sea that is occupying half of the image are bigger in size than the actual
controlling image which in this case is the ford land rover image. The first impression of the
image is the same as that of a holiday destination advertisement. The visual appeal of the image is mostly that of travelling to an island in an ocean and having a good time. The intended audiences for this advertisement is women who are raising families; this is showcased by the size of the land rover in terms of capacity and the use of cool and warm colors in the advertisement, this colors are meant to auger well with the target audience.
The advertisement image communicates about moving from the ordinary way of doing things to the extra ordinary. This is evidenced by the author of the advert placing the vehicle submerged in the sea; it communicates something that most people are not conversant with. In normal circumstances, when a vehicle is submerged halfway in the sea, it stops working well. This is because the water will get into its parts and hinder the running of the engine which will then make the vehicle not to be an object that enables easier movement. The idea of moving from the ordinary is also portrayed by the words at the bottom of the advert, ‘FORGET THE CITY, I CAN REACH BEYOND”.
At the bottom of the image in the middle position, there are some writings about ‘challenge’ that vehicles used to face in the past and ‘solution’ which is what the vehicle being advertised will be able solve. I think this information is very important to the audience because it is solutions that they want when they are deciding whether or not to buy a vehicle. But the advertisement image has these important words placed at the bottom of the image; the bottom part of the image is usually not paid attention to by the audience; the reason behind this argument is the fact that humans are conditions to consider as less important what is at the bottom of the list. “The bottom half of a picture feels more threatened, heavier, sadder, or constrained; objects placed in the bottom half also feel more grounded”, Band M. (2000). However if well utilized, the bottom part of the image can be a good position to place the writings because if something attracts the attention of the audience when placed at this part, then it depicts the fact that it has weight and should be considered seriously.
In the advertisement, there are some few assumptions made about the way the intended audience views the world. For example in my opinion, it assumes that the audience views the world in an unconventional manner. I am referring to the fact that the vehicle is portrayed as floating in the sea. I would also say the advertisement assumes that the target audience value speed and comfort; this is seen by the author of the image making a lot of effort to depict speed using the cruise ship and comfort using the island in the background to signify this fact. The advert also makes the assumption that the target audience wants a vehicle which will take them to the next level and this is evidenced by the writings at the bottom of the advertisement, ‘FORGET THE CITY, I CAN REACH BEYOND”. Finally, there is also the assumption that the target customers are conscious about the environment and want a vehicle that is environmentally sensitive; this is depicted by the numerous efforts by the author of the picture in depicting the land rover surrounded by the fish and coexisting well with the marine environment.
In conclusion, I would like to state that the image could have been more effective if more attention was placed on the main picture which is the land rover; a good way to achieve this is through enlarging the picture of the land rover in the advertisement. This would ensure the land rover gets more attention in the billboard and chances of the audience getting attracted to the surrounding pictures are reduced. “….where the readers imagination makes still pictures come alive”, Me Cloud et al (1994). However the colors used were ideal in that they made me feel light and comfortable and the content used was also good especially the wordings at the bottom. The advertisement therefore needs some few adjustments and fine tuning and the picture will effectively communicate the intended information to the intended audience in the right way.
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Almutairil
Bader Almutairi Nicole Enchen ENOL 113A 4/2/2013
Advertisement
The advert speaks about his self. It’s all about comfort and flexibility. It’s in the center of the image and surrounding with the ocean which give impresser of flexibility and comfort. The color are light it make you feel the ad is crossing easily without any problem. The colors are cool giving lots of details on the flexibility. This is just to show how flexible it is in different environments because there is sand and sea and they maybe want to say it capable of walking on both of them.
The blue is cool and calm just like a sea. The advertisement shows some of the movement as it showing in the image. There are many things looks like they moving towards the ad surrounding it. Like the fish and the diving man. The environment in the image shows peace, safe and comfortable. It might not be perfect but there are solutions to the challenges posed. This makes any buyer aware of the challenges ahead and their solution. It make them feel it’s safety and comfortable and it can take a lot of people inside it.
With a human being swimming next to it and fish following as it moves ,it is clear its energy efficient and it doesn’t smell ,no pollution whatsoever therefore the coexistence with fish and human beings. Beside it a ship moves along an indication of strength in the waters. Just like a ship can move in the waters.
Almutairi2
In the background beautiful nature is visible. Calm clouds and a beautiful green tree standing tall. The cool backgrounds suggest how cool and comfortable it is. Underneath it a screen with people beneath it is visible these give different location that owner can take as it goes by the sea or beneath the waters. This defines the taste of the owner if he like everyone looking at him and feel more confident.
In conclusion, it can survive different temperature given that it can move on land and in the sea as shown in the advertisement. The light blue color in the advert associates it with stability and depth. It symbolizes loyalty, confident, heaven and truth among other. Like how it’s moving everything looking at it. This gives you more confident and feeling you made the right choice. The water, the sky and the trees it’s maybe like heaven as we hear from people. Therefore one would find all these in owning it. The size is big enough to accommodate a family or a group of friend while its shape is streamlined, guaranteeing speed and swift movement in the city and beyond. Its swift movement along the waters gives a feeling of comfort and stability.
Almutairil
Bader Almutairi Nicole Enchen ENGL 113A 4/2/2013
It’s Not What You Think
The image above illustrates the kind of effect the vehicle would undergo if the conditions become terrible. These points out the fact that the vehicle would not be flexible and it would not be comfortable when faced with tough and unexpected conditions. The adult
people will not buy it because it shows the opposite of what it supposed to do. People will not buy it because it’s not comfortable. The red color implies danger and gives the viewer the
impression that flexibility is not one of the qualities of this vehicle . The vehicle should
including these qualities which is the flexibility and comfortable. The wordings are cautious and are meant to advice the audience that this vehicle should not be exposed to unfavorable conditions. The vehicle should therefore be restricted to predictable and normal conditioned to ensure that it maintains its form and performance.
Almutairil
Bader Almutairi
Nicole Enchen
ENGL
1
13A
4/2/2013
The various shapes and objects in the image are located in different positions in the image. The most important objects are positioned at the center while the supporting shapes and objects are placed on the surroundings. The main object is also placed in a horizontal bearing which has the effect of giving the object a strong sense of the stability. The surrounding objects on the other hands are diagonally placed towards the central object. Diagonal objects exude energy and dynamism in the image. They depict movement. It is because of the surrounding shapes and objects that the object at the center exudes an even
stronger feeling of stability. The logo of the product could have however been placed at the
top left position of the image. This is because the upper half of a picture is a place of triumph,
freedom and happiness. When you are high up, you are in a stronger tactical position and able
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to see any forthcoming danger as opposed to being at the bottom, where you are vulnerable
because you cannot see what is above you. Therefore placing the logo at the bottom makes it weak and in a position that is not strategic. If it was placed at the top, it would have a higher pictorial weight and would get more attention.
The caption that is placed at the bottom left however is okay because objects placed at that position feels grounded. It is viewed as being close to the earth which in this case can be
translated to mean it is real. It also has the effect of having more weight and that’s why it is close to the earth and not high because the gravity is working on it.
The color of the sea has a calming effect which gives a feeling of relaxation. Because many people go to the sea for relaxation and when you see the color of the sea it seem soft. The color not strong on eyes and when you see it you feel like freedom. The color is appealing. The sea also gives a feeling of coexistence. The island on the background gives the feeling of a rough texture. This depicts a rough terrain but it could also depict comfort amid chaos and confusion. The island and the ship are placed on the upper side of the picture. This gives the island and the ship more clarity in the image.
The author however has made a great effort to position the most important elements at the center. This is where the center of attention is usually located at. The movement at lower side of the poster is the opposite of the calm and tranquility on the upper side of the poster. The ocean has curved edges which signify the feeling of embrace and protection. The color choice is also ideal as blue is a calm color. Because it make you feel relax.
The size of the fish is small. This is because the size of an object signifies its weight and importance. It is therefore critical that the fish are smaller than the main objected otherwise they would have grabbed more attention than the main object. Since we also associate objects according to the colors we see similar to them in the surroundings ‘, the sea seems to have surrounded half of the main object. The other half of the object is also placed with the surrounding brightness all over it. Color grabs more attention than shapes and it is important
to ensure the color used is ideal. This poster makes good use of contrasting colors. For
example the upper half of the poster is bright and sharp while the lower half is dark, and soft.
Almutairi3
This employs the principle of contrast. It reaches out to our emotions because when we see sharp and bright objects, we get the feeling of motion and feel more alert while when we see dark and soft colors we get more relaxed as we associate darkness with the night and sleep.
There is also overlapping objects in the poster. By overlapping, one object covers part of the other object. This has the effect of making the overlapping objects seem like they are connected to one another or seem like they can be used interchangeably. This would be different if the two objects were placed in separate positions. It would suggest that the two objects operate independently.
