Original



Photoshopped

This is the front page of the Spring issue of the 2010 Victoria Secret magazine. The original ad depicts a Victoria Secret model sitting seductively on what looks to be a beach. I'm sure the beach setting is added for aesthetic appeal. The ad has text that reads 'spring sale & special' across the bottom and highlights the special deals in the magazine on the right side. The technical meaning of the ad is to inform the reader of the clothing deals in the issue so they will buy clothing from Victoria Secret. The hidden meaning (which really isn't that hidden) is the sexual intent behind the ad. The model is posed in a very seductive fashion with fairly skimpy clothing on. The ad appeals to both men and women because it convinces women that by buying Victoria Secret clothing they can achieve the 'look' of the pictured model. The ad appeals to men because they see the model as a sexual figure. At first, you may think men would not play a huge role in the Victoria Secret clothing scene, but they can. When women who are potential buyers of Victoria Secret see the reaction males have to this particular ad (generally a positive male reaction) they want to look like the model and therefore buy Victoria Secret clothes. In light of that explanation, the ad effectively reaches a fairly large demographic of people ranging from men to women but mostly women. I'm sure of the women who are targeted it is mostly young women who shop at Victoria Secret because of the models in the magazine, however, older women (by older I mean 30s and 40s) are targeted by the ad as well. I think the makers are trying to draw in the consumer who wants to look good and pretty, which I'd say is safe to say every girl. With this particular ad the model is caucasian, young, beautiful and probably wealthy. I think there is definitely a bit of classiness and nobility that is also being sold through the ad that one may be able to achieve by wearing their products. However, I don't believe this particular model's race plays much of an issue because of the diversity of the rest of the models. The ad seems to be promoting a relaxed casual but sexy lifestyle. I personally think the ad is extremely effective and appealing. Obviously, I would never buy any clothing from Victoria Secret, but I may tell my girlfriend how attractive Victoria Secret models are, which in turn may cause her to go out and buy their clothes. In conclusion, I believe the ad is selling more than just clothes, but also the sexuality and the belief that one can attain such sexuality by wearing their clothes.



Original



Photoshopped

This ad was ran in the January 2010 issue of Sports Illustrated. The ad is selling camel cigarettes. The overall layout of the ad is very simple but in my opinion very visually appealing with the color scheme. The camel is a huge part of the ad because that is camel's marquee logo. It is recognized by everyone and is key to the advertisement here so that people instantly recognize the brand. The meaning behind the ad is to buy the "new, dissolvable, cleaner" cigarettes. Those are key words used in the ad because of the dangers that people are aware of when smoking cigarettes. When people see the word 'new' they immediately assume their was a new technological breakthrough and it never really crosses their mind to think it could be the same product as before but just marketed differently. Then people see the word 'dissolvable' which may make them feel safer about their smoking experience. Lastly they see the word 'cleaner'. Cigarettes are notoriously bad for your health, but "hey, since it's new technology maybe smoking is safe again" [that's the consumer talking]. People see all this in the ad and it makes the cigarette much more appealing and marketable. The hidden meaning behind the ad is that they want you to buy it and get addicted to it to buy more. It may be sad, but it's true. No matter what cigarette companies do to make their cigarette's 'cleaner' or 'newer' they will still have nicotine in them, which means people will keep coming back for more. The audience viewing the ad could be a wide range of people but mainly men between the ages of 18 and 50 because it is in a Sports Illustrated magazine. Also, I'm fairly certain the slogan at the beginning of the text at the bottom of the ad, 'the world is changing, including tabacco' was not used on accident with Obama's election campaign being about change (I could be wrong). I think for the reasoning behind the key words in the ad that I just explained the ad is trying to target responsible people who still enjoy smoking. They are trying to turn smoking into something that may not be harmful to your body anymore. The ad has a youthful vibe to it but they're aren't any clear distinctions on who the ad was targeting as far as gender, ethnicity, race, class, sexuality, etc. The text in the upper right hand corner simply says, 'break free'. Much like the Victoria Secret ad I think this is promoting a casual more care free and chill lifestyle that is popular among my generation so in some ways you can argue the ad is slightly biased towards the twenty something readers. The ad indirectly says that by smoking you will break free and become cool in a sense. I think the ad is very effective. It's aesthetically pleasing and you immediately see the words fresh, mellow and enjoyable. Despite my knowledge of the danger of cigarettes the ad makes you forget about the health risks for a little bit. In conclusion, the ads hidden meaning is that the producers want you to think that by smoking you will attain a mellow fun lifestyle and hopefully you become addicted to their product, which is the reasoning for my alteration.

[Props to Joe Maleski for the Photoshop help]