For this assignment you will be watching TV commercials from any time period.
1. Create a webpage on your site and call it Commercial Breakdown.
2. Answer the following questions after watching the commercial.
1. What is the product or service being sold? Can you easily figure out what the product is?
2. What is the general mood or feeling of the commercial? Since we know the product or service being sold, what methods are the advertisers using to make us interested? How do they portray the product or service in a positive light.
3. How does the soundtrack play a role in your interpretation of the commercial? Is the music cheery, dreary, suspenseful, whimsical, fun, or exciting? Does the music affect our perception of the mood? Is there a voice-over of someone telling us something? What is the voice over trying to tell us? Does the person speaking coincide with the overall mood of the commercial? Would our perception of the voice change if the voice was of a different gender or race?
4. How do the actors playing the characters affect your interpretation of the commercial?Would your interpretation change if the characters were of a different race or gender? What if the characters dressed differently or spoke differently? How would that change your perception of the character?
5. How does the commercial try to get your attention? Does it use flashy graphics with fast music? Does it alter the way we see the world, either through the use of special effects or through the story line?
6. Who is this commercial aimed towards? Is it you or someone like you? How do you know? Why do you think the advertiser created this commercial the way they did? Would it have been as effective if it was just black and white text on the screen? Why or why not?
Here are some television commercials that might be worth analyzing.
Classic Television Commercials (from Archive.org)
A History of Coca-Cola Commercials (from the Library of Congress)
Ads from Super Bowl XL (from AdvertisementAve.com)
2. What is the general mood or feeling of the commercial? Since we know the product or service being sold, what methods are the advertisers using to make us interested? How do they portray the product or service in a positive light.
3. How does the soundtrack play a role in your interpretation of the commercial? Is the music cheery, dreary, suspenseful, whimsical, fun, or exciting? Does the music affect our perception of the mood? Is there a voice-over of someone telling us something? What is the voice over trying to tell us? Does the person speaking coincide with the overall mood of the commercial? Would our perception of the voice change if the voice was of a different gender or race?
4. How do the actors playing the characters affect your interpretation of the commercial?Would your interpretation change if the characters were of a different race or gender? What if the characters dressed differently or spoke differently? How would that change your perception of the character?
5. How does the commercial try to get your attention? Does it use flashy graphics with fast music? Does it alter the way we see the world, either through the use of special effects or through the story line?
6. Who is this commercial aimed towards? Is it you or someone like you? How do you know? Why do you think the advertiser created this commercial the way they did? Would it have been as effective if it was just black and white text on the screen? Why or why not?
Here are some television commercials that might be worth analyzing.
Classic Television Commercials (from Archive.org)
A History of Coca-Cola Commercials (from the Library of Congress)
Ads from Super Bowl XL (from AdvertisementAve.com)