1-4, pg 181

1.Rubin provides a lot of insight about the ad. She gives a very detailed description of the ad-the people in it, where they are in it, the background, etc. Also, Rubin places the ad in its historical context, which provides a lot of insight, and detail that would be overlooked if you just looked at the ad superficially. For example, she describes the importance and value places on military at the time of the ad. This is why the men in uniform are placed in the center. She talks about how women weren’t important in the work place and that is why they are in the back and how racism was still very prevalent, which is why there are no black people.  She cites her sources for this information. Yes, she has persuaded me to accept her conclusions. I think she wrote a well-researched and thorough analysis and I agree with her.

2.As I mentioned before, she does use a lot of historical context. She incorporates this as the meat of her analysis. I think it strengthens her analysis because it gives the readers all the background information to understand why Coca-Cola put the people in the ad that they did and why they are where they are, etc.

3.You might try to answer: Who is the intended audience? What do advertisers want you to feel when you see the ad? What is the message of the ad? How does the ad convey its message? What values are important to the society the ad is in?

4.Cosmetic ads with celebrity endorsements, like the Cover Girl ads, reflect values of the society we live in. Looks are very important in our society, as are celebrities. So, combining the two makes for an effective ad campaign. These types of ads are similar to the Coca-Cola ad. Although they are advertising two different things, they are appealing to what the audience values. For the Coca-Cola ad, military was very important at the time, so there are servicemen front and center. For the Cover Girl ads, celebrities are admired in current society, so they are put in the ads.