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Journalism & Mass Communication Educator 68(4)

a poem by Richard Brautigan to help us imagine the possibilities. But another more
encompassing work explaining what is happening all around us awaits the end of this
revolution. Because, sometimes, when we are drowning in muck, we forget that our
initial aim was to study the swamp.

Nancy R. Tag
Ad Critique: How to Deconstruct Ads In Order to Build Better Advertising. Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE, 2012. 189 pp.

Reviewed by: Jerilyn Hynes Kamm, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA

DOI: 10.1177/1077695813506997

Critiquing ads is a very individual, confusing and somewhat daunting task. Who is the
audience? What is the message being communicated? What are we ultimately trying
to accomplish? These are questions we may ask ourselves, others, and students.
Nancy Tag builds a strong case for “why we need constructive criticism to make
great ads” (p. 3) in her textbook, Ad Critique. Many take the very familiar approach of
examining ad elements, while Tag suggests deconstructing ads to determine what
makes them successful.
I wholeheartedly agree with her thought that the critique process begins with print
advertising. I am a self-admitted ad geek who loves the rush of meeting deadlines,
coming up with that great big idea, and making the pitch. We must first take a step
back and develop our critique skills with print before we move on to other mediums.
The book is rather short but packs a great deal of thought and discussion into the
pages. Tag believes the book is a dialogue about advertising in a meaningful and skill-
ful way through critique. It allows us to determine, on our own, what is meaningful
and successful rather than relying on others to tell us. This is a different approach than
many other textbooks, and I give Tag credit for taking the risk.
She further builds a case for Ad Critique by discussing the importance of logic. For
advertising to be successful, we must understand the verbal and visual communication in
it. Tag introduces this in the opening of the text by discussing that when creative minds
and business minds have a shared skill and language known as “critique,” they will be
able to believe in their product (advertising) and ultimately reach their “shared goals.”
Critique allows communication and sharing through discussion. The purpose of the
text is to encourage this discussion in a classroom or professional setting. By dissect-
ing an ad, we are able to see how each part may or may not contribute to the “whole.”
This approach is very valuable and needed in group and professional settings.
Tag opens the second half of the book saying:

The ultimate goal of Ad Critique is to help create a more collaborative and productive work
environment where the creative product is not just respected and understood. Where agency
executives and brand managers not only look forward to meetings with creative professionals
but engage in meaningful dialogue. (p. 139)

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