Ad Analysis Assignment - EXAMPLE

Retailing/marketing/CRT 10/11/12
 Ad Analysis Assignment - EXAMPLE
Retailing/marketing/CRT 10/11/12

1. What is the main idea of the ad? Every ad has a purpose…what’s this one?
i. The main idea of the ad is to sell a Daihatsu mini van. The ad tells you that
this vehicle “picks up 5 times more women than a Lamborghini, implying
that this vehicle will improve your chances with dating women.
2. What is the tone of the ad? Is it serious? Funny? Sarcastic? Think personality
traits!
i. The tone of this ad is meant to be funny. It is a pun on “picking up women”
in terms of dating, and physically “picking up women” using the vehicle.
3. Break the ad into parts – how much space is given to each? What is the thing
that catches your eye most? Why do you think that is?
i. Parts of the ad
• Just over half of the page is filled with large, bold lettering.
• The bottom 1/3 of the page is a picture of the mini van vehicle
• A very small amount of the page is devoted to small text listing the
features of the vehicle
• The brand name is very small, and red, in the corner of the page and
it stands out
• There is a small slogan at the bottom of the page
ii. The part that catches my eye the most is probably the large, bold lettering.
I think this is because the car company wants to catch your attention with
the humorous phrase and draw you in. The ad also uses their competitor’s
name in the message, which makes you interested as well.
4. We learned about classical conditioning, operant conditioning, perception, and
sensation so far in the course. How can you relate the course content to this
ad?
i. Classical conditioning
• Lamborghini is a luxury brand, and this ad is associating Daihatsu to
it, making Daihatsu feel luxurious
• The ad associates the vehicle/brand to picking up women/sex
appeal, which will invoke positive feelings as well
ii. Operant conditioning
• Picking up women can be seen as a reward, which would fall under
operant conditioning (positive reinforcement)
iii. Perception & sensation
• The ad uses bold lettering to draw your eye in
• It uses the colour red to stimulate the viewer
 Ad Analysis Assignment - EXAMPLE
Retailing/marketing/CRT 10/11/12

• There is not too many elements on the page which helps with our
perceptual selectivity
5. Are there any “subliminal messages” in the ad? Anything that is hidden, or not
apparent right away?
i. The bottom strip has very small writing in it that says “no nonsense
vehicles”
6. Who do you think the audience for this ad is?
i. The target audience for this ad is people who are attracted to women.
7. What kind of elements are included in the ad?
i. Interesting layout
ii. Bold text
iii. Colour
iv. Plain background, bold picture
v. Small text paragraph
8. List your sources you used.
i. Google images
ii. Daihatsu Ad (Hijet MPV)
iii. https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2013/10/08/funny-ads
iv. Miss Lex lecture notes (learning, p. 3)
v. Miss Lex lecture notes (sensation & perception, p. 3)