Ad Analysis

Dalia Tavizon

English

10 September 2014

American Values:

https://www.hotchkiss.org/documents/USCulturalValues.pdf

1. Personal control over the Environment;

a. People can/should control nature, their own environment and destiny, future is not left to fate. Ex: The US is seen as an energetic goal-oriented society

2. Change/Mobility

b. Change is seen as positive and good, and indicates progress, improvement, and growth. Ex: The US is a transient society, geographically, economically, and socially

3. Time and its control

c. Time is valuable, the achievement of goals depends on productive us of time. Ex: Efficiency and progress can be emphasized often at the expense of interpersonal relationships.

4. Equality/Egalitarianism

d. People have equal opportunities, people are important as individuals, for who they are, not from which family they come. Ex: Relative to some other cultures, little difference is known or status acknowledged.

5. Individualism, Independence, and Privacy

e. People are seen as separate individuals (not group members) with individual needs. People need time to be alone and to be themselves. Ex: US Americans can be seen as self-centered and sometimes isolated and lonely.

6. Self Help:

f. U.S Americans take pride in own accomplishments, not in name. Ex:

• What are the ads explicitly or implicitly selling?

• Is there a specific setting, location, or time utilized? Why were these chosen?

• Are there slogans, mascots, or recognizable people in the ad? What effect do they have?

• Are the ads part of an overall campaign? Does this affect the advertisements?

• Who is the audience?

• What rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos) are present?

Your thesis should make an argument about whether or not American values have changed. In order to do this, you first need to analyze your ads thoroughly and come to some sort of conclusion about how the advertisements function...