Global Strategic Alliance

Magazine advertisements contain various symbolic messages in an attempt to

reach their target audience. In this analysis, I will analyze two different full page ads in

US News and World Report. I will be using Jib Fowles' Advertising's Fifteen Basic

Appeals to analyze symbolic construction and basic emotional appeals. Fowles states

the goal of advertisers is to tug at our psychological shirtsleeves. Advertisers bombard

us with pleasing images to draw us in and get us to pay attention to their ads. Let's

take a deeper look at these two ads and what they are conveying to consumers.

The first advertisement is an ad for Philips Brand Computed Tomography

scanner, or CT scanner for short. The ad depicts a young boy standing on the beach

smiling and holding an umbrella to shade him from the sun. This adorable young boy

has been specially selected to stimulate our desires.

US News and World Report is a general interest magazine appealing to a broad

spectrum of audiences. The ads primary symbol is the young boy. This image calls upon

our need to nurture. The umbrella shading the boy from the sun furthers this need. When

we look further and read the text we find out that Philips has improved their CT scanner

and lowered the dose of radiation when this machine is used. Appealing again to our

need to nurture and protect. In the back ground we have the ocean. Though the least

effective symbol it appeals to our need to escape.

The need to nurture is often aimed at women. More nurturing by nature it is an

effective technique when used properly. Had this ad been seen in a magazine such as

Contemporary Diagnostic Radiology, I'd wager the ad would have been geared more

towards medical professionals, siting the technical aspects and benefits of the product.

Changing the appeal to the need to achieve. Using only the X-ray symbol and text,

the ad would still convey its' meaning to the audience. This ad would still be effective to

the target audience. Without knowing what a CT scanner is or why we would need to use

one, Philips tells us they care for us and are working to better their products for us the

consumers. In turn, this may cause people to look at all Philips products in a positive

light and possibly purchase them.

The second advertisement is for a Citibank American Airlines AAdvantage

program. The ad shows a woman relaxing in a canoe on a peaceful lake near snow

covered mountains. The ad has two of Fowles's fifteen basic appeals. These are

autonomy and the need to escape. The ad appeals to our sense of pride and self worth.

They (Citibank) want us to believe that by using their card for everyday purchases will

lead to our ability to take time off and enjoy ourselves.

The