Ashley+Iacobelli

Ashley Iacobelli

Media log #1 Whole group- Olay Commercial Step 1- Identify __What I see__: The text: eye lift, mini lift, full lift. A woman smiling, with her hair slicked back, and sparkles on cheeks. I also see what the products looks like and a weird, red back ground. The text- love Olay. __What I hear__: eye lift, Full lift, defy gravity, an eye serum, multisculpting cream for neck and jaw line, firmer looking cheeks, not surgical results of course, force to be reckoned with, love the skin you’re in. Step 2- Meaning I think the meaning of this is to make the product seem like it could be too good too be true, but yet, it’s possible. It wants us to believe that the product will work so good that it can be compared to surgery. The graphics used make it seem like this is product is magical. Step-3 – Thoughts of commercial as a whole This commercial, as a whole, makes you feel like you need this product to feel beautiful. Or, if you have saggy skin, you are not beautiful. I think they used too young of a girl to begin with because she, in my opinion, doesn’t have saggy skin to start with, so why does she need this cream at all. Perhaps this ad wanted girls or women who don’t have saggy skin to feel like they need this cream because their skin could always be uplifted. Without dissecting this ad, I would be persuaded to buy it, but after looking at it, I feel deceived because the woman they chose didn’t need the cream and the ad as a whole made me feel that if I don’t buy it, I’m not beautiful.

Media log #2 Individual- magazine ad (Maybelline NY) Step 1- I see half of a peony with the other half lipstick colors, which complete the flower. All of the shades fall into the pink peony color pallet. There is also a woman with pink, shinny lips and one eye showing. The page is ¾ flesh colored (the women) and ¼ black. The words “Fall in Love with Color” are written on the top, but are faded into the background. I also see a petal on the right-top corner dripping what looks like oil onto the tube of lipstick. As a whole, this page is very pink and black.

Step 2- Looking at the meaning of this ad, the word LOVE is historically related to the colors pink and red. For this ad, the company wanted to bring back that connection with “love and pink”. Because of the oil or honey nectar dripping down, it makes you feel like this lipstick is going to condition your lips. Lastly, this ad is in the August issue, which comes out beginning of July, and the chosen flower is very summery. The peony makes you feel very pretty and in the spirit of summer.

Step 3- As a whole, this ad makes you feel feminine. The lipstick does double duty, makes your lips beautiful and nourishes them. This ad pushes you to wear certain colors during the specific season, summer. Looking more broadly at this, if a woman doesn’t wear lipstick, is she to feel less glamorous or feminine? Or, if you do wear this color of lipstick, are you more feminine? This ad wasn’t as controversial as others may be, but it is trying to persuade you to feel something and therefore buy that product which you think will make you feel that specific way.

Media log #3 Step 1- Description This is a magazine ad for Biore introducing their new product, Biore Steam Activated Cleanser. Three-fourths of the page is of a young woman, with no make-up, smiling without showing her teeth. The photo is only of her face and neck. The other fourth of the page is green shaded with the product information and a picture of the product itself. On top of the page the text reads, “Deep down dirt won’t budge? GET STEAMED.” At the bottom right side of the ad there is a eye-catching blue circle with the text, “Gets You 55% Cleaner With Steam”. The rest of the text on the page is located above the picture of the product. It reads, “NEW! Biore Steam Activated Cleanser. Specially formulated to harness the pore-opening steam in your shower to banish deep-down dirt for a deeper clean.” Step 2- Meaning By looking at the lady without make-up and looking “awe-natural” it associates the feeling of pure cleanliness with the product. The lady doesn’t have any acne or redness to her skin because she used a “deep cleansing” soap. Having the page cut into three-fourths verses one fourths helps the reader focus on what the product does and the color of the product. The majority of the ad is of the clean woman, but the other fourth is shaded green with the product down below. This will help the reader find the right product while he/she is shopping; look for the eye-popping green color and you are sure to find it. Lastly, I found the green color to be interesting to highlight because the Biore products use a pinkish purplish color as well as a blue tone, so why pick green? I think we associate green with natural and we associate natural with feeling clean, therefore Biore emphasized the products green hue. Step 3- ‘Text’ Meaning When I first saw this ad my eye went directly to the blue circle, towards the bottom right hand side of the page, located by the picture of the product. Because everything on the page is flesh or green toned, the blue pops right out. Within this circle is the text “Gets You 55% Cleaner With Steam”. I think Biore placed this fact in an eye-popping color and right by the product so when the reader was flipping through they would read that fact first and foremost. After my eye read the blue circle, I read the heading on the top of the page, “Deep down dirt won’t budge? GET STEAMED.” This implies that when you wash your face, you aren’t getting all of the dirt off. In fact, there is still dirt on your face that you simply can’t get rid of. But when you use this special soap with steam, that stubborn dirt will wash away. This is what they want you to think and feel so you will buy their product. They use words like “special” and “new” to make the reader feel like this soap is better than the old soap I bought two weeks ago. They also use words like “banish” to make the reader feel that natural clean feeling and “deep-down” to make the reader feel that they will wash away all of the impurities in their skin verses just the ones on the surface. Overall, when I first saw this ad there was a part of me that felt like this soap, combined with the steam in my shower will really help clean my skin better. Yet, after really looking at this ad, I realized that it’s just another soap that Biore is trying to sell. It’s a “new” idea, as far as incorporating the steam into the ad, but personally, I still like using my old fashioned oat-soap. And as far as getting the “deep-down” dirt, I feel that if a person washes his/her face twice daily, then dirt won’t get that far down in the skin. Media Log #4-5