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This is an ad by the French Ministry of Health for obesity and it is a bit shocking to look at initially. It only has one line of text on the bottom that translates to "obesity starts at a young age." The ad has one main focal point that is front and center, pink ice cream on a cone stylized so that the ice cream looks like are large belly featuring a belly button and skin like texture. The only other thing within the ad is the official logo of the French Ministry of Health within the lower right corner. The text at the bottom literally says the point of the ad but it is just as clear and obvious without the wording. It is easy to see that it is a warning about obesity and health, specifically diet and things that can cause weight gain like ice cream. The pink color of the ice cream allows for to draw attention and still show the skin like texture openly. The cone is similar to an arrow as it takes attention down from the ice cream to the wording at the bottom. When it comes to the text the viewer reads from left to right and ends at the logo for the French Ministry of Health. The image is similar to a metaphor, saying ice cream makes you fat. Even though it is stated that this is for a French audience it is clear that it is not meant for an American one given that our culture isn’t typically exposed to weight loss and obesity prevention campaigns that feature large bodies, symbolic or otherwise. 

Blog Post 1

     This Carlsberg Beer ad has a very simplistic and clean look. It does a great job of not overwhelming the viewer with too much information. All the ad consists of are two images, a banana and a Carlsberg Beer, with white text underneath them. The green background matches the color of the beer, which allows for the viewer’s mind to stay focused on the product that is being sold. But with all this simplicity, the advertisers have done enough to get their message across to the viewer. The message is that Carlsberg Beer is “probably the best beer in the world”. This message is displayed under the beer, while the words “probably a banana” are displayed under the banana. The advertisers are using the social code of a banana to get their message across. Nobody will sit and argue that they’re not looking at a banana because that’s what the image clearly is. Different cultures might have different names for it, but at the end of the day, those names will still translate to the word “banana”. By using this blatant statement, the reader is allowed to assume that the statement underneath the beer is also true.

     The advertisers also do a great job of using connotation and denotation in the ad. Connotation is the implied or associated meaning of a word, while denotation is the direct meaning. In this case, the banana and its description represent denotation. The Carlsberg Beer and its description represent connotation. The phrase “probably the best beer in the world” is something that the advertisers are trying to get viewers to automatically associate with the product. 

     Overall, the advertisers do a great job of keeping the ad simple, while getting their message across to the viewers. By using something as simple as a banana, the ad allows for viewers to easily make the assumption that Carlsberg Beer is “probably the best beer in the world”. 

Blog Post 1

        This advertisement for Electronic cigarettes' most eye catching element is the close-up of a female figures lower body. Particular attention placed on her navel and bikini bottom, upon which is written the name of the product. Our attention in drawn down the page to full ad proper by the used of the upside arrow shapes on her belly button piercing and her shape of her bikini bottom.

            The Ad though featuring a woman is not marketing to her, but to a male audience. Her face and body are hidden save for her lower body, which is shown in an intimate close up shop and is meant to attract the attention of male reader. This also corresponds to how much of the page the picture takes up compared to actual product, seen in the lower right. The target audience is further elaborated on by the paradoxical placement of the shapes of the female figure and product. The product is sold in a solid rectangular box. The contrast between the two types of shape further create a distinct link between the male audience and female figure in the picture. 

      By examining the visual rhetoric of the picture we can see the advertisement is saying that women find it attractive if men smoke Blu E-cigarettes. The ad does not function to demonstrate or explain the product but create awareness of the product along with projecting a possible outcome for the user of said product. The intimacy of the close up of the female figure's bikini bottom being used to that effect, implying the connection between using Blu E-cigarette and intimate contact. Though eye catching the advertisement ultimately does not help my understanding of the product other than its nationwide release.