This
advertisement deftly creates a juxtaposition between consumer and product,
allowing no room for separation in the mind of the man or woman filling their
car with gas. The identification of the common nightmare – to be poor, dirty,
and unhealthy, judging by the cigarette – and the artistic iconic
representation of that job relates on a psychological level with the consumer,
who seeing their own stance the same as the man pumping gas in
the picture, searches for some means out of the comparison to the poor. The
placement of the ad is vital for effectiveness because the direct positioning
of the dirty, common working man next to the average all though poverty
dreading person creates a psychological situation in the mind of the consumer
that they wish seek refuge from, in the form of the product being advertised.
In addition to juxtaposing an average man with the tired poor to show a dread of being poverty stricken, I believe that the ad is also effective in that it shows the obliviousness of many average Americans of the hard work that many people have to do. It sends the message that money creates a bubble that shields the average person away from the struggles of the poor.
ReplyDeleteElla- I like how you took a different approach to this ad and did not focus primary on what is was trying to sell. I particularly liked how you targeted the human pysche and its relationship with our fear of poverty in this advertisement. I think you did a good job of explaining how effective the ad is when juxtapose real life and it is very interesting to realize that.
ReplyDelete-Elizabeth S