Compare and Contrast Two Magazine Advertisements

Media is all around us: newspapers, television, radio, films and advertising. Society is continually confronted and manipulated by images, slogans and hidden meanings. The process of design is complex and each stage of development sheds light on the methods used to influence us, the audience, to buy. This essay will analyse the design process, review the various persuasive techniques used and comment on their effectiveness. Taking into consideration, the audience and purpose is an essential component of designing an advertisement.

Reaching and controlling your niche market starts when the accounts team undertake market research, which in turn influences the concept of advertisement. In the Gandalf advertisement, the target audience is probably women who will buy this sculpture for their partners, children or themselves. We know this because this advertisement was placed in a women’s magazine. It has been placed there so that people reading the magazine would see the product and think that it would be a great gift for their partners or children, etc.

However, with the Peugeot 206 advertisement the target audience is anyone who is wanting a new car. This advertisement will have a greater appeal to the younger generation of car owners as it has been designed with pictures and symbols with no writing which means it will draw their eyes to the advertisement. Advertisements have primary and secondary purposes. In both the Gandalf and the Peugeot 206 advertisements the primary purpose is to sell the product. However, their secondary purposes are different. The Gandalf advertisements secondary purpose is to inform the audience of the product.

Whereas, the Peugeot 206 advertisements secondary purpose is to inform the reader about the product whilst it entertains the reader as the reader participates in the advertisement. The layout of the Gandalf advertisement is well-designed as there is a large picture of figurine which is surrounded by text describing the product. Also, in the top right hand corner of there is a box which is explaining to the audience what the advertisement is about. On the other hand, in the Peugeot 206 advertisement the layout is unlike the Gandalf advertisement because there is no writing on the page.

It has all been done with numbers and symbols. All of the symbols are positive and are there to reinforce the positive subliminal message about the car. There is a picture of the car which is in the bottom right hand corner of the page. It is there because when the reader reads the advert their eyes work from the left hand side of the page to the right hand side where the car is. Linked to this, is the creative team who will consider how the audience ‘read’ the advert. Research into how the human eye looks influences the choices made by the designers.

For example, in the Gandalf advertisement the audience are drawn to the large picture of the product which is in the centre of the page, because this image is large it stands out and the reader’s eyes are drawn to it. In contrast to the Gandalf advertisement, the Peugeot 206 advertisement has the reader look at each of the symbols working from the left hand side of the page to the right whilst trying to depict them. Once the reader has done that they then notice the car in the bottom let hand corner of the page. The language used in the Gandalf advertisement is to persuade the reader to buy.

The language used in very persuasive. One of the most persuasive language devices used in the Gandalf advertisement is that of modification. The design team have used a series of pre and post adjectival modifiers to enhance the overall quality of the figurine. Examples such as, ‘fearless expression’, ‘superb sculpture’ and meticulous hand-painting’ (all pre adjectival modifiers) establish this superiority. The design team have clearly made decisions to focus on the figurine as high art as apposed to a product of poor quality to endorse the item as ‘classy’.

The Peugeot 206 advertisement doesn’t rely on language to persuade the reader to buy. The Peugeot 206 advertisement uses symbols to get the message across. All of the symbols are there to suggest the qualities of the car such as: the symbol of the ‘eye’ which is giving the expression of surprise and delight caused by the appearance of the car. The symbol of the ‘clock’ shows that the car is reliable and runs like clockwork. Also, the ‘film can’ promotes safety and protection with the tough canister protects the delicate film inside just like the car and the person inside the car.

Also, the symbols point to the potential customers such as the gender of the potential buyer. The ‘yin/yang’ represents the balance of masculine/feminine and that the car is suitable for both men and women drivers. In addition, there is the fact of how the car makes you feel as a driver. The ‘smiley face’ is happy which states that the car is joyful and pleasurable to drive. Additionally, there is the ‘heart’ which states love, once you’ve driven the car once you will fall in love with the car and want to own it.

In conclusion, both the advertisements set out to persuade the reader to buy their product. The Gandalf advertisement uses language to persuade the reader which is far more effective as the reader can read about the qualities of the figurine and see the detail in the design of the figurine. Where as, the Peugeot 206 advertisement uses symbols to persuade. These symbols persuade the reader but doesn’t do it as effectively as the Gandalf advertisement as there are no words which means that it is more difficult to understand and follow.