Page 253 Questions 1 & 2 : Ad

Question 1

On a Fantastic Four platform stand the four candidates running for office in the 2008 presidential election. They are dressed as superheroes but their faces are contradicting. Their attention seems to be elsewhere.I attempted to convey the rationale behind each candidate’s campaign. Each person stands with both feet on the ground standing tall and superior. Yet, their faces seem to depict another story.

Senator Joe Biden seems taken by Presidential Candidate, John McCain, who is portrayed with an angry face. In recent debates, he has been trashing Presidential Candidate, Barack Obama. Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, who is running for Republican Party Vice President, is shown with a lessened demeanor. She is posed rather provocatively and has an expression on her face that screams, “Look at me!” Meanwhile, Obama stands behind her with a look of calmness as he watches McCain. There’s an American Flag behind the platform that gives off a sense of patriotism.

The combination of the movie Fantastic Four with the presidential campaign seemed to me like an effective parody. I found it quite easy to assign the candidates to the movie characters. The only problems that arose were questions of what should be placed behind the platform. As I moved from the concept of the ad to the design, I eventually realized instead of placing a White House behind the platform, an American flag would look better with the colors of the poster.

Question 2

While working on my parody ad, I realized that the possibility of acceptance amongst my ideal audience is inestimable. My age group is obviously the young voters for the upcoming election. It is unclear if the underlying rationale would be understood. The ethics in advertising are often forgotten. When you break the rules, especially in parody, the ad is more likely to receive a bigger response.

Advertising as a form of public communication is a useful tool. The guidelines provided in John Alberti’s “Text Messaging” are the basic necessities of any parody print ad. The ad must be well developed with a basic concept. The objective must be precise and the audience well defined. The most important thing is not to have too much going on in the ad. Like the book says, “Less is always better than more.”