November 29, 2012
Writing 101
S. Brownson
Amitron Watch Campaign Analysis
(Rough Draft) Advertisements are one of the most influential aspects of the capitalist society in the United States. Thinking back to their childhood, most Americans can probably recall a favorite commercial or a popular ad campaign for their favorite product. Children are often influenced by toy ads and as a result they influence their parents to buy the things they want. In the 21st century advertisements have become even more prevalent; they appear in the form of pop-ups, commercials, print ads, and even apps on cell phone have advertisements constantly trying to convince consumers to buy the product offered. However, some ads are more successful than others. Why is it that people buy Ragu over Prego? Is it really all in the product? Or does success lie in the advertisements of the Ragu ad campaign? This is the purpose in analyzing advertisements; because they are an immense part of our everyday lives. They compete for our conscious and unconscious needs and desires, with the most effective ads accurately targeting our innermost emotional (or physical) needs.
Furthermore, the Armitron watch ad campaign does a successful job of targeting numbers eleven and thirteen of Harvard psychologist, Henry A. Murray’s “Fifteen Basic Appeals [of Advertising]” as seen in Jib Fowles’ selection entitled Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals. The first (number eleven), “the need to escape,” as defined by Murray and reintroduced by Fowles, is essential to the success of the print ads found in the November and December 2012 issues of Cosmopolitan magazine. The ads both feature the slogan “Make Time” and each has a photograph of women doing leisurely activities that in today’s busy world, many seem to overlook. The first ad from the November issue has two women who are clearly laughing and having a good time who also have on eye covers over their eyes. The headline is “MAKE TIME FOR