Ads on Facebook

 Facebook is nothing but an add. In every little post you post or every time you click on a page it's always an add in your face. Some of Facebook adds are serious but most are funny. They take a comedy approach because people use Facebook to unwine and say what they are thinking in a box and upload it as what we call a status. This is an example of how advertising agencies tap into our daily lives.

Watch, Read and learn on how to analyize on how daily advertisements effect us.......

“Fa la la la Christmas is here.”  As soon as one hears this, they know that Christmas time is near and it’s time to go shopping. Many ads on TV are trying to persuade people to come and shop at their store. One of the many funny ads on TV during the Christmas time was the Target Holiday 2 Days Sale ad. This chain of commercials is a great example of what the world is not introduced to in everyday activities.

The Target ad shows, the tricks that the advertising industries uses to suck its audience in. They chose the consumers of America.  People like you and me. The people that are on tight budgets and the people that are just looking for holiday bargains. To carry out their plans they use rhetorical subjects such as ethos which is creditability, pathos which is emotion and logos which is logic to steer away the naked eye form the truth.. There are two Target Holiday 2 Day Sale commercials that are perfect examples of what advertising industries do. Both of the commercials had the same lead actress. Her name was Maria Bamford. She is a 41-year old stand up American comedian (wiki). She brought comedy to the commercials by the way she dressed, her facial expressions, her body movements and her language; which persuade us to go and shop at Target and visit the two day sale.

On the first commercial Target introduced Maria as a busy holiday shopper walking through the isle with a full basket of discount items and recording her voice in the new recordable holiday cards. She had on an all red and white Christmas dress with a nicely slicked back ponytail on the left side of her head. What made the commercial an attention grabber was when she was recording her voice she was singing a very popular Christmas song called Carol of Bells. As she was singing this song she would make odd faces that were very hilarious. And every time she would get done singing a part in this song the camera would focus on a new expensive holiday card. This technique would entice consumers to buy these cards either by trick or because the commercial motivated you to follow Maria Bramford example of a “up-to-date bargain shopper.  Also, since the cards were recordable, it seemed fun to record and hear your voice playback. Target was stressing the fact that you can give someone a recorded message for Christmas. By demonstrating this action many customers would set out to go to the Target 2 Day Sale and get the item. While getting the cards, their eyes would fall on other products making them buy more at the Target two day sale.

In the second commercial Maria Bramford starts the commercial off by working out in front of the store with a small hand held Target basket full of groceries. She continues to make weird faces except this time it’s like she lifting weight and it’s hard for her to breathe. Then she moves on to practicing wrapping gifts at a fast pace in what looks like a rage of excitement. After that scene she is looking in the Target Holiday two day Sale book and starts getting very excited. She starts to laugh like she is having the best time of her life. Her having a good time can persuade someone to go to Target and shop for the two day sale. Just the way she moves and talks is funny, even if one is not thinking, it can persuade someone to go and shop at Target. At the end of the commercial she is dressed in a all red sky diving suit with red heals running with a small red and white parachute on her back fully extended. This is supposed to be showing people that they should get to the sale as fast as possible. It’s sort of like saying “hey everyone I’m running like the wind to get Target’s bargains”

What’s consistent about both of these commercials was the fact that Target was trying to get the word out to come to their store and participate in their sale. They wanted to make it seem like it was a big idea because it was getting close to Black Friday and they needed commercials to spread the words. They didn’t have big exclusives on the news like Wal-Mart and Best Buy, so they had to do something big and attractive. Target added humor to their commercials unlike other stores, to make it seem like that Target was better and the place to be, unlike the other stores. Target’s two day sale seemed like it was going to be the biggest sale ever. Since the main character in the ad was always preparing for the sale, this was sort of Target’s way of saying jump on the band wagon.

Although Target main focus was Maria Bramford Target use other resources to reel in consumers just in case their aim didn’t work. It appeared to me that Target used colors to catch the audience’s eye. The main character always had on bright red and white like Christmas colors which are also Target colors. They didn’t really use to many images because that wasn’t the main focus. The only thing they used was the small insight to the expensive new recordable cards. Their target audience wasn’t aware or any of this because they manipulated ethos, pathos and logos so well into their main focus.

 In the first commercial they used ethos by including Maria Bamford. They used her to gain credibility for their name since she is popular among a lot of middle class people they used her to bare their name. Meaning they used her as the symbol for Target. They even dressed her up in Target colors. Even though it was a Christmas commercial there was no green or gold in any of the background. They did the same thing as well in the second commercial. Of course Maria was the star but in this commercial she was working out. The reference for this commercial was that Target worked hard to bring you this sale so come to it. They wanted you to be prepared.

The use of logos was in the first and second commercial as well, but it was hidden. It really was straight to the point honestly. The logic about both commercials was the fact that Target was saying “come to our store we have the sales”.  Target is also saying that they everything for everybody. They explained this by showing the basket full of toys and electronics for everyone in the first commercial. In the second commercial she was just working out and a family walked passed her. That was the explanation that Target is a family place just like the first commercial.

Pathos was the key ingredient for this commercial. Through the use of comedy the whole commercial was created. In the first commercial the way Maria Bamford dressed way very odd. She looked like a citizen of Whoville form Dr. Sues movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas. She uses her facial expressions to keep the audience locked into the commercial. She would make her eyes bulk the tighten her cheeks really tight as she sang the song Carol of Bells. As she was singing she would change the pitch in her voice. That was supposed to be the funniest part because every time the pitch would change she would try her best to replicate the sound of the instrument used in the song. After she was done singing she walks off like an older mother and fans her hand while laughing hysterically. In the second commercial she uses the same tactics but in different ways. The commercial starts off while she is working out. She has on an all red skin tight parachute jump suit with one small white line going down the middle of both of her sides. To top that off she had on red and white heels. First she starts doing sit ups on the big red ball in front of Target and then she starts to lift two baskets full of groceries and making faces like she is really feeling the burn. This is funny because she looks so goofy and if a normal person would see her doing this they would most likely call security and have her removed off the premises.  Then the part that really portrays pathos is her face when she is looking at the sales ad. She is laughing and screaming at the same time making weird noises because she is excited.  Then she gets in the mirror and assures herself that she is ready. This is funny because she is already a funny person to watch.  At the end of the commercial she is running very hard on her tip toes in the heels with a small parachute behind her. By this time the audience eyes are so glued on the commercial that they keep watching for more. Then Target flashes a big Target icon right across the screen.

In conclusion, then as I suggested earlier Target used Maria Bramford  to hide the truth from the naked eye. They used her comedian antics through the use of pathos, ethos, and logos. They used the way she did things as pathos. They used logos to get the word out about their big Target Holiday 2Day Sale. And they use Maria Bramford for ethos to actually get the word across about their commercial. In reality the whole commercial  brought comedy to the commercials by the way Maria dressed, her facial expressions, her body movements and her language; which persuade us to go and shop at Target and visit the two day sale.