Reading #2 - Melissa Granahan

Chapter 7 discusses many different advertising tactics and examples of each.  Reading through I was able to apply these different approaches to advertisements that I have seen in the past.  For This Chapter I found the Ad for Boeri to be effective. I think by using a play on food and what is already learned information to the audience, this advertisement is able to get the point across with very little words.  The words “It’s your head” plus the images with helmets are a clever solution for this ski/snowboarding company.  In Chapter 8 typography and its use in advertising is discussed.  For this chapter I thought the “All of the Caffeine” and “Wearing a Pacemaker” ads were an effective way to show this contrast explained in the chapter.  The font style is varied in the ads, which attracts attention to and puts greater emphasis on specific words, which gets the point they intend to across to the audience.  In chapter 9, the overall presentation and combination of font and image is discussed. I found the “Melted People” campaign to be most interesting.  The colors used in the images create a “fun” look but keep the ice cream the main focus. The font is very small and in the lower corner, which helps to keep this minimal look. The simple font style is small, simple, and readable so that it doesn’t take away from the cursive font on the ice cream. 

The Ad I found is for Australian Post which is a mailing company.  This advertisement is promoting the use of mail in letter form.  The slogan “If you really want to touch someone, send them a letter”, sends across the message that mail is more personal and sentimental.  The ad is simple in the way that it is a girl and a letter with a person hugging her.  This shows the letter in between the hug, essentially bringing the two people together.  The font used on the letter is a cursive font, which is the most effective style for this idea.  Cursive is often associated with letters and a writing style before technology.  I think this ad uses an interesting tactic that entertains as well as asks the audience to participate in writing letters and using their services.