Ad 1: Revlon: Charlie Ad 2: IKEA One Room
Paradise Ad 3: If Carlsberg Did Fitting
Rooms Ad 4: OCB: Stick it Up
1.Question(s) related to how individuals are represented in the ads Why was a woman used as the main character in the advertisement?
What do the consumers need to learn from the woman or character right from the time she arrives at the event? Why did the advertisement decide to use dolls?
What is expected to be learned by the consumers from the people who are doll-like in the advertisement?
Why is the man shown to be frustrated with shopping with the woman?
Why did the advertisement choose to compare the beer with shopping?
Why was the fitting room modified to have a lounge? Why did the advertisement use a naked woman and not a male or use both naked male and female characters?
Why did the advertisement decide to use a black female instead of using one from a different race?
2. Questions related to how groups and group
behavior are represented in the ad Why is it that the main female character in the advertisement is depicted to be in a place where most people are men? Why is it that the two characters in the advertisement show a lot of emotions? Why is it that only the women are shown to be shopping and fitting clothes?
Why did they use women to serve the beer?
Do most individuals lick and apply rolling sheets to their bodies to see how sticky they are?
Why is it that the crowd in the advertisement is dominated by Whites and why is it that the main characters in the advertisement are not diversified? Why did the people who made the advertisement choose an adult female and a young male?
Why does the advertisement have a section where the men can go and drink beer and get away from the shopping?
Why is the crowd used in the advertisement not diversified?
Ad 1: Revlon: Charlie Ad 2: IKEA One Room
Paradise Ad 3: If Carlsberg Did Fitting
Rooms Ad 4: OCB: Stick it Up
3. Questions related to how cultures and cultural identity are represented (or not represented) in the ad Are the dressing codes and how people talk to each other in the advertisement show or represent the culture in a given country?
What does the event, singing, naval officers and drinking of wine have to do with the perfume and is it specific to a given culture? How do different cultures view the doll characters used in the advertisement?
In America, will the advertisement be seen as normal? Why do the women who serve the beer wear green clothes?
How is the advertisement viewed in different cultures? Is the firm insinuating that only black people roll their cigarettes?
Is the firm depicting that only naked black females roll their cigarettes?
4. How do the ads compare to each other? The people in the ads are not diversified, the ads seem to target people belonging to a certain group or culture. Thus the ads have little or no depiction of the real world. All the ads show different cultural backgrounds. The first ad shows the culture in the fragrance and the way people dress. The second ad contained a lot of emotions. The third ad shows what we have to deal with in our daily lives and focuses more on white men and women. The fourth advertisement focuses more on the black community, especially women.
5. What overall observations might a social scientist be interested in studying in relation to the themes present in these advertisements? What larger questions about human interactions
might they ask? The social scientists would have an interest in how women are used in the ads and the roles they play; the way the women are depicted in the ads as they behave and do certain roles. Social scientists would have an interest in knowing how the ads psychologically affect the communities that view them and also the psychological effect it has on people who participate in the making of the advertisements.
In consideration of the various observations made, the following questions can be asked:
How is the self-esteem of both men and women affected by the advertisements?
By not using advertisements that have diversified groups, is the appeal the firms have on the public more or less?
Why was the IKEA ad made using, a mother and her son as the main characters?
Why do the ads have minimal or lack of diversity in terms of culture and race?
