What are they really selling?
Your first longer essay for this course builds on the argument analysis work we have been doing since the first day of class. This essay asks you to take these skills and use them in crafting an extended analysis in the form of a longer piece of writing.
For this assignment, find a unique advertisement (in a newspaper, magazine, or online -- a static, 2-dimensional ad; not a video or other multimedia commercial) that is designed to sell a particular product to a particular audience. In your analysis essay, make an argument for what the ad is "really selling," to what audience, and why it would appeal to that audience. You will need to look beyond the obvious product being sold and think more about the lifestyle, the character, the state of mind, and/or the emotion being "sold" through this product. For example, is the ad advertising a feeling of "cool" or promising success or selling nostalgia or promoting a certain lifestyle choice. Be very specific and think about how the ad accomplishes this through the makeup of the image and words. Also, why is the ad selling this specific image, message, or worldview? What is the appeal? Why does that help sell the product to the target audience.
Don't pick something that is too obvious or too simple because you won't have enough material to work with. Remember that an argument is something that needs to be proven to your readers, not something obvious to your readers immediately. Also, your essay will need to include a detailed description of the advertisement, but don't just summarize what you see. The description is your evidence that you will analyze and use to help build your argument of what's really being sold, but the description itself is not the argument.
The final draft of the essay needs to be 700-1000 words long.
For Tuesday Feb. 12th, please bring in:
1) the ad
2) notes taken on describing the ad (detail everything you see)
3) notes taken on the analysis/argument (brainstorm on what you see being "sold")
4) tentative thesis statement (or a few to choose from)
For Thursday Feb. 14th, please post a first draft on your blog and bring hard copies of the essay to class, enough copies so everyone in your group can have one to take home for peer review.
The final draft of this essay is due on Thursday Feb 21, as noted on the syllabus.
If you need help in constructing your essay, please read Chapter 7 in our textbook as that may be helpful. Also, here is an excellent web resource: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/725/03/
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