Journal Entry Twenty: Random Story

A couple of girls were lost and confused in life. They decided that they must find out what was to come in their futures.

They found the nearest psychic and he proceeded to tell them what the near future had in store for them.

He told them that a burglar would come to their house in a black hoodie and holding a gun.


He would threaten to kill their dog...






If they did not find the mystery Sketchers tennis shoe!!

Journal Entry Nineteen: Myth

This is an advertisement for Old Spice. The connotative value of the advertisement is the product, Old Spice Classic Body Spray and the fact that it is a fragrance that may or may not be appealing. The Denotative value is that if a man wears it, they will be noticed by pretty girls like the one pictured in the advertisement. This is merely a myth because this is the way a good-smelling fragrance is portrayed. Someone who is considered ugly just as well might notice you as someone who is pretty. Although the advertisement is just a myth, it works effectively because the reason that men do wear cologne is to smell "good" and get the attention of women, regardless of the myth factor. They specifically target the want of the consumer.

Journal Entry Eighteen: Advertisments & Jefkins

Frank Jefkin has three basic principles for effective advertisement writing:

-The advertisement should be of value and interest to the reader.
-The advertisement should be precise, that is, get to the point as quickly as possible.
-The advertisement should be concise.

The advertisement I have chose is for Revlon’s new PHOTOREADY Makeup. The advertisement is making effective use of the commonly known problem of having bad lighting in a photo which may reveal unwanted blemishes on your face. By doing this, the advertisement is fulfilling the first basic principal by identifying the need of the consumer and centering their advertisement on that specific need. This is seen in the first line after the name of the product. It is in all caps and bolded and says; “NOW THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS BAD LIGHTING.” By doing this, the advertisement is also fulfilling the second principle of effective advertisement writing that the advertisement should be precise and get right to the point. The key target problem is not having makeup that is versatile in different lighting, specifically for photographs. Revlon is advertising that they have created a product that has solved this problem and they are quick and direct about it. The advertisement goes on to explain their product. They inform the reader that, “Photochromatic pigments bend and reflect light, for airbrushed skin in any light.” By telling the reader why their product is worthy in only twenty words, they effectively fulfill the third principle of being concise. They say what they have to say in the fewest necessary words. It is not so vague that the reader does not know anything about the product but is explicit enough that the reader gets a good idea of the product. They achieved this in only twenty words in the description! The writing in this advertisement is effective because it achieves the three basic principles.

Journal Entry Seventeen: Advertisements & Color

Secret Sheer Mineral Deodorant
The color gold consumes this advertisement. It is known to evoke the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth and it often symbolizes high quality. These are all characteristics that I believe Secret intentionally wants to associate their product with. The color is seen everywhere including the background, the woman’s dress, and even on the packaging of the product. They want to show that their product has been well formulated by people with knowledge and wisdom of what they are doing. The advertisement is trying to illuminate or shine light upon their product. They want to make it the center of attention and inspire hope among their readers. They also want to emphasize that their product is high quality and will be worth buying. The color white is also used but, I do not think it is to evoke a specific message. It is used just because it is a good contrast to the overpowering gold in the advertisement. Gold is found somewhere in the range of the three analogous colors: orange, yellow-orange, and yellow. White is a result of the three additive colors: red, green, and blue. When these colors are overlapped a white light is produced. The colors used in this advertisement work very well to evoke a certain feeling with the deodorant.

409 All Purpose Cleaner
The primary color of this advertisement is red. The color red has multiple meanings. It has a very high visibility so it works effectively here to quickly grab the reader’s attention. It is also known to stimulate a person to make quick decisions which is very useful in the sense that they want people to buy their all purpose cleaner immediately. Orange is the color chosen for the text in the advertisement. Orange is associated with traits such as enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. These are all characteristics that any company would want to associate their product with. They want to show enthusiasm and happiness with the quality of their product. They are also encouraging and stimulating the reader to want to purchase the product. Red and orange are analogous colors meaning they are right next to each other on the color wheel. The colors used within this advertisement definitely work.

Journal Entry Sixteen: Logos & Color Meaning

The Starbucks logo is green and black. Green is very calming and refreshing which is why it is used in many hospitals and Starbucks is probably using it to portray the atmosphere within the coffee shop. Power is associated with elegance which might be a trait that Starbucks wants to associate with their company. There is no color harmony that the colors green and black have but, green is a tertiary color, meaning it is the result of combining the two primary colors: blue and yellow. Black is the result of combining all three primary colors: red, blue, and yellow.





McDonald’s logo is red, yellow, and white. Red is thought to be the most emotionally intense color so it is probably used in the McDonald’s logo to help grab people’s attention. Red is also an appetite stimulant so it is being used as a scheme to make people hungry. Yellow is an optimistic color so McDonald’s probably uses it to inspire their customers about the service they have to offer. Red and yellow are part of the triadic color scheme, red, yellow, and blue.

The FedEx logo is blue-violet (purple) and red-orange (orange). Purple is sought to mean royalty and sophistication which might help FedEx to communicate that they are superior to other packaging companies. Orange can mean enthusiasm, determination, and success which are all great qualities that a company wants to have. Orange also has a very high visibility. The colors blue-violet and red-orange are part of the triadic color scheme, blue-violet, red-orange, and yellow-green.

Journal Entry Fourteen: Advertisement - Verizon

The last advertisement was found in the magazine, Maxim, a magazine targeted primarily towards men. It is an advertisement for one of the services that Verizon offers called V CAST where you can watch television on your phone. In this specific advertisement, Verizon uses the NHL to promote their product. The advertisement has a photograph of some hockey player getting rough over the edge of the arena and a fan in the middle who looks extremely scared. There is big white text on the ad that says, “You wouldn’t make it in the NHL.” It is supposed to be funny and at the same time promote the “toughness” of the sport and remind hockey fans why they watch it. At the same time, it may make them want to watch the sport at that very moment. This is where Verizon comes in. They say, “But you can get inside with V CAST. Download exclusive videos, watch highlights, get scores, stats and all the NHL action you can handle. Only on V CAST.” Verizon uses the NHL to promote their product because now fans of the NHL will link it to Verizon and hopefully use their services. The hockey payers within the ad function as signs. The signifier is the hockey players getting all roughed up in the ice rink and the signified is the competition and action of the NHL. The advertisement is very effective because it gives readers a reason to subscribe to V CAST.

Journal Entry Thirteen: Advertisement - Thor

The second ad found was in Dirt Rider magazine, a magazine targeted towards people who ride dirt bikes. It is a very simple advertisement with an image of a boot repeated across the page and the text “fit, style, function.” It also has the Thor logo in the bottom left-hand corner. It is very simple but, catchy and effective. The denotation in this advertisement is the boot and the raw materials used to make it and the connotation is that you will be as good as all of the pro-riders featured within the magazine if you wear them. They would only advertise what the pros use in this magazine right? The cultural myth used within this magazine is seen a lot in today’s society. It is if you wear a certain brand name product that you will be as good as the famous who wear Thor or that you will look cool. However, the functionality of the boot is probably about the same as a cheaper boot that is not a brand name boot. This is why the advertisement is so simple. They don’t need to make it too complex because as soon as they put their name on it, Thor, in the bottom-left hand corner, it becomes completely credible. The advertisement is making a play on the established identity of the company. Repetition is also a very effective technique in making advertisements memorable. Overall, the advertisement is very effective in its simplicity and successfully reminds viewers of Thor products.