Advert Nº 1: It Was Prepared to Be Commented in Class

Advert Nº 1: It was prepared to be commented in class.

ANALYSIS:

-This is an advertisement published by Nissan (a car company).

-When we have a look at the advert we notice that:

* The Micra is a car specially designed for women.

* The Micra is a small and practical car.

* It is a woman`s most valuable possession.

* Those who dare to take it without permission (from its owner =women) may be punished.

* The Micra enables women to rule their lives. It gives them power.

-Register: standard, common core.

-Tone: deliberative, thought-provoking, restrained, cheerful.

hopeful (“You can with a Nissan”), hyperbolic.

laconic (few words used but the meaning is decoded), the paratext says more than the text.

The tone is delineated by a close degree of intimacy and a written mode of communication.

-Graphology: the last sentence is written in small size. It is used as an attention seeking device. It draws your attention to the last sentence and to the logo of the car company “Nissan.”

-Syntax:

* “The Micra” is a verbless sentence. It introduces the product advertised.

* “Ask before you borrow it.”The personal pronoun at the end of the sentence is an anaphoric reference to “ The Micra” mentioned in the previous sentence.

* There is ellipsisin the phrase “You can __ with a Nissan” The absence of the main verb allows the reader to substitute it by a variety of other verbs.

* The use of the imperative (“Ask before you borrow it”) sounds like a warning. Direct address to the reader.

* “You can with a Nissan.” The intention of this sentence is to reassure women.

* Rhythm: Staccato (short textual segments state the idea briefly and economically). It gives ground to a climax “You can with a Nissan.”

-Semantics:

* “Micra” stands for “micro.” It is a small car designed for women. It´sa pun on words for English speaking audiences. The name would also be effective for a Spanish speaking audience because the end of the word is attributed to the feminine gender (Latin American audience).

- Rhetorical devices:

* Alliteration “before you borrow ”: It makes those words stand out from the others in the sentence.

-Pragmatics:

* The image of a well-built man, partly naked and physically fit stands for masculinity.

*Hands: they are covering part of the body of the man in the paratext. Their shape represent protection. The hands are in a tense position so we can assume that they stand for pain.

*The position of the body shows pain. The bended position of the trunk stands for helplessness, vulnerability and pain.

-Transtextuality:

*The paratext stands as a visual synecdoche. It is a close up and we can mentally expand the frame. It`s also a cover up which lets the magazine readers use their imagination.

- Language function:

* Text: referential.

* Paratext: emotive (you can guess the feelings of the man in the photograph).

My Ads - Daniela T.