Analysis Of Comcast Advertisement, A Popular Ad

Description of AD

The ad message came from COMCAST NBUNIVERSAL and was advertised through the Politica magazine published on October 16th, 2019. A URL has been provided at the left bottom of the magazine. The ad contains an image of people and a laptop which they are paying attention to. Below the image is the textual material describing the purpose of the advert, target audience, and why the product is unique for the audience. Different features are used in the ad, including the rule of two thirds, text, color, lighting, and camera angles.

Goal analysis

Colors are very significant in any advert, including this. There is no dominant color featured here, but instead, we have a variety of them. The colors present are pink in the blouse of the first lady in the left, grey for the walls, and the middle girl's hood, yellow for the girl in the right and blue highlighting the primary text. Blue in this ad is used to represent coolness, yellow to capture attention because of its brightness, while grey symbolizes the modern design and high-tech product being advertised. When you look at the hairstyles of the ladies, they are well organized and pushed at the back. This is illustrating that what they are looking at, which is the service being marketed, is too enjoyable to deserve any disturbance. This also shows how the ladies are so passionate about what they are doing on the laptop. Also, the different dressing codes of the people in the photograph symbolizes the ability of the advertised product to connect everyone regardless of personal backgrounds. The text even mentions that Comcast connects people from low-income. Another visible color, although not dominant, is the red color. Red is widely used in ads mainly because it can attract, to a greater extent, the attention of people. The color red is known to symbolize passion and love. In this advert, it is used to represent the extent to which these ladies are being passionate about using Comcast. Another significant aspect that cannot be ignored in this advert is the use of people of different ages. This illustrates how Comcast connects and can be used by people of all ages for class, study, and anything through its internet essentials. The ad targets everyone. Children can use it for studying, and the red color in the small girl's hood is used on her to purposely show how, by using Comcast, she would become passionate about her studies.

Audience analysis

The message is intended to reach learners who could make use of the Comcast to make their learning more accessible. To capture this target population, the ad utilizes several things. The first feature is the pictorial matter vs. text. We can see that in the above ad, the reader is first focused to the picture and not on the text. The proportion of the photo taken is more significant than the text. The text is situated right below the picture to provide harmony with the images represented by the advertisement. Also, the laptop is located at the center of the ad, and the people featured are looking at it with close attention. The purpose of such an arrangement was to make sure that the reader's eye is directed to the important part of the ad and highlight the product that this advertisement is marketing for.

The second important feature of this ad is the lighting used for the photograph. Human beings are attracted to colors and light, and so is the consumer. In this advert, we can see that the people, the laptop, and the 'Ready for homework, ready for class, ready for anything' text. The people are highlighted to let the viewer see what they are doing with the product being marketed. Notably, we can see the eyes of the three girls are focused on the laptop showing that they are attracted to something. Two of them are smiling, a depiction of getting excited about whatever they are looking at on the computer. The one at the right seems to be pointing and explaining something to the others, who are smiling. The text is colored bright because it is essential in capturing the attention of the reader and giving them an idea of what those pictured are doing. The last highlighted image is the laptop, which is shown to draw the attention of the people into what is in it.

Actions and symbols are significant in advertisements in influencing the characteristics of the audience and sending a message. The key action that is taking place in the ad is that the ladies are keenly looking at the laptop, and seem to be enjoying what they are looking or doing there. The smiley faces and concentration revealed show the effectiveness of the Comcast product in helping people pay attention while studying, learning, or doing anything. These actions can engage the attention of people, especially learners, who are the target population. The girl of the far-right seems explaining something, to portray the effect of studying or being in a classroom studying. Also, this ad depicts the image of low life people who are busy utilizing the materials available to them to become strong and productive.

Theoretical analysis

Ladies have been used in the photograph, meaning that there is something noteworthy in the female perspective. People are active, and not everyone develops the message intended that is sent to us through the advertisement. Consumers decode print and generally media messages in a particular way that is mainly based on their discursive resources. These resources are provided to us by occupational class, cultural, racial, social, and gender affiliations used by the consumers to decode print messages. Some people will tend to identify themselves with women who are so much interested in bringing change to the women's situation or the society in general. Therefore, this category will most likely decode the ad based on the perspective of the female gender. However, another person may be a communist and identifies themselves with that. Such a person is likely to provide a Marxist analysis of this advertisement through the use of words offered by her discursive resources like oppression and struggle. The word ready is frequently used through the ad, meaning that these women are now prepared for anything. Feminists are divided between radical feminists, liberal feminists, and Marxist feminists. These feminists, regardless of them disagreeing on various issues, all agree upon a basic idea hence forming the purpose of the feminist movement. This movement empowers and emancipates women living in a world dominated by the male population.

Feature analysis

The upper parts of the people in this advertisement are the only visible from their knees to the head. We are also seeing them from the front position. This shot of the camera has great significance to the advertisement. The images of these ladies were deconstructed to allow the reader to only see specific parts of the bodies rather than the whole picture, hence making them like objects. The camera shot of the girls shows them facing down to the laptop, making them passive because of the lack of direct eye contact with the camera. Also, the shot reveals the different dressing codes of the ladies and the neatness and simplicity of their hairstyles. This is an indication that Comcast is a unique feature that can be used for different purposes. The text in the ad says 'Ready for anything' to reveal this diversity. The neatness and simplicity of the hairstyles are another depictions of ease of use of the Comcast product, which is being marketed. The hairstyles are cheap, and you can predict that it costs little to achieve the look. This description characterizes the textual material of the advert to reinforce the message in the advertisement. The product is said to connect 8 million people from low-income households to low cost and high speed.

Pragmatic analysis

Given the influence used by the message, the Marxism theory, and the engagement of the audience, it is evident that the advertisement is effective in marketing the Comcast product. First, people are attracted by what they see in the first 30 seconds when going through a magazine. The bright colors used, textual message, and lighting will capture many readers' attention. The use of feminism was an excellent strategy because it reveals the oppressive and struggles associated with women in trying to fit in a world dominated by males, that is, a more powerful population than they are. Considering the success of such movements, the same way this advert would be useful in marketing Comcast. However, there are still areas where the company could have improved to market more effectively. The Comcast feature is the product being advertised here. However, what we see are people and a laptop. If the company included a picture in the same advert showing the laptop screen with the features of the product, it would be a better way to inform the target population of what it looks like. Seeing some of the features may get more people attracted to the product.

Conclusion

In summary, consumer behavior is shaped by different things, which should be reflected in advertisements to make them effective. Individuals need external stimuli to enable them to change behavior. Similarly, the Comcast product could improve people's learning by adopting the product being marketed. The language used in the ad's text is very persuasive and makes consumers see the importance of the product that is being marketed.l