Advertising Images Analysis Guide

Dr. Frank Serafini

Consider the context of the advertisement.

• Who might buy (ie magazine), see (ie billboard), care about (targeted audience) this ad?
• Why is the ad located where it is?
• Why are you looking at the images in this context? Info? Purchase?
• How does the context effect your impressions?
• What background knowledge might be necessary to understand the ad?
• Who is the ad directed at? Who is the intended audience?
• How is the ad distributed? Targeted audiences or general public?

Look at the ad in its entirety.

• What are your initial impressions?
• What do you notice first? What seems to stand out for you?
• What are the contents of the ad (image, text)?
• Where is the “product” positioned in the ad?
• What is the catch or hook for this ad? What aspect of the targeted audience does the ad appeal to (fear, vanity, needs)?
• What intertextual connections are you reminded of?

Analyzing the Contents and Composition of the Advertisement

Media

• What materials are used to create the ad? Paintings, photos, collage?
• What artistic styles are used to create ad? Pop art? Folk art? Surrealism?
• What fonts are used in the text? Different fonts? What does this suggest?
• Is the ad single of multi-media? How is text and image related? Sound?

Portrayal

• Who is portrayed in the ad? Who is not portrayed?
• What are the various actors doing?
• Who is doing what to whom?
• Where are the actors located in the ad?
• Are the actors looking at each other, away from the audience or at the audience? What does this suggest? (Demand or Offer)
• Consider the viewers point of view. Are the characters close up or distanced? How does point of view add to relationships with the characters?
• Are there borders separating actors and text, actors and product?

Basic Elements of Design

• Consider the colors used. What impressions do you get from the dominant colors? What might these suggest? Are colors intense or subdued? Is the image black & white? If so, why might that be used?
• Are vertical, horizontal or diagonal lines used? What might these suggest?
• Are there any shapes that dominate the image?
• Consider size and scale. What is large? Why are certain elements larger than others? Does this add to meanings of position, power, or control?

Framing / Composition

• Are the text or images bordered or framed? What does the framing do, separate or connect? Do the frames suggest anything on their own? Are there thick borders or faded edges?
• How is text and image combined? Where is the text located? Images located? Which dominates?
• Are the images contextualized or in an abstract space? How is negative or white space used?

Visual Grammar (Kress & van Leeuwen)

• Contact, Distance, Point of View, Information Value, Salience, Modality
• What is located on the left, right or center? (old and new) What is on the top or bottom of the ad? (real & ideal)
• Are there any recurring patterns, symbols or motifs in the images?
• What is the “reality value” or level of abstraction? Are the images life-like or stick figures?
• Consider narrative structures (action, reaction, transaction) or conceptual structures (analyze, classify).

Salience

• Consider the “path” your eyes follow as you approach the image. What catches your eye first? Why is that element salient?
• What is the ad trying to get you to look at through leading lines, colors, contrast, gestures, lighting?
• What is in focus or out of focus? How does effect what you notice and consider significant?
• Are there any anomalous elements? Things that stick out, or seem out of place? Are these important to consider?