In the magazine, ‘Ladies Home Journal’, there is an advertisement of an actress/comedian named Ellen DeGeneres. Her face is glowing with a beautiful smile on her face and is also wearing an all-black suit. The picture shows her whole body, not just her face is showing. Instead of standing, Ellen is leaning against a white chair with her arm holding her up. Her legs are crossed over, so she is standing in a diagonal position. To make Ellen stand out, the author had a white background so the audience can focus on her. In the middle of the picture, on the left side, there is big purple writing that reads, “I like prunes. But I don’t want to look like one.” And on the bottom of the page, in small black writing it reads, “Ellen DeGeneres looks simply amazing in Ivory foundation.”
The purpose of this advertisement is to not look like a prune. The author wanted to show his audience that their products will guarantee less wrinkles and won’t look like a prune. The message of this advertisement is to buy the Cover Girl Wrinkle Cover-Up foundation and the prune like skin will be nice and smooth. The author’s audiences are women who are between the ages of 40 and over. As women get older, they become more insecure about their looks. Wrinkles begin to show and then become more and more visible for all to see, that’s not okay. In today’s society, being young and looking young is one of the top trends for older woman. Women continue to find ways to look younger so either their spouse won’t leave them, to feel better about themselves, and/or to feel beautiful without the saggy skin.
For example, my mother who is over the age of 50 is constantly commenting about her wrinkles under her eyes and on the side of her mouth. I keep telling her, she looks beautiful the way she is but she consist on buying every product to reduce the visibility of her wrinkles. As a viewer of this picture, I can tell they are advertising Cover Girl foundation because the author had the women dress in all black and the background is in all white, so the audience can be drawn towards Ellen and her face. Also, in the words, “I like prunes. But I don’t want to look like one.” Indicates that women likes prunes but she rather have her skin to look wrinkle-free than look like a prune. For Example, I asked three people what stood out to them in this photo. They said Ellen and her glowing face. I asked them what you think they are advertising. Their response was, not looking like a wrinkle.
I loved this advertisement because the author chose a well-known celebrity, and personally my favorite, talk show host called the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Everyone around the world watches her show and dreams they could meet this celebrity. She helps so many people in need by helping them to pursue their dreams, give them a little support by giving them something valuable. I give credit to the author by using a famous celebrity as their spokesman because the audience might take it as, “If she uses it and says it works, I’ll try it too!” For example, one day I was watching a commercial for a product called, Wen. It’s a deep conditioner that hydrates and relaxes your hair by only using organic products. At first I thought the product was unrealistic and how could only deep conditioner clean my hair and not shampoo? But every feeling I had about it changed when I saw one of my favorite stars, Alyssa Milano from the television series ‘Charmed’. She was ranting about how wonderful the product was and it helped her hair become stronger, shiner, and healthier. I had to buy it immediately! I spent thirty dollars and never been happier or luckier to have found a hair product that makes my hair glow! But the real reason why I bought Wen was because of Alyssa Milano.
I also thought that the quote, “I like prunes but I don’t want to look like one.” makes it more relatable for the audience. If a product is easy to relate to then it’s more convincing to the audience that we have to have it. It’s like reading a horoscope. Horoscopes are predictions for the future of the reader depending on the birth date. When I read my horoscope, I always believe they are right on but when I read some one else’s horoscope, I also believe that their reading is right on too. Horoscopes are just easy to relate to in any matter or form and that is why they are so interesting to read because the mind thinks there is some kind of relation between us. That is why I believe in this advertisement; the author is trying to say women who have wrinkles might right them to a prune that also has wrinkles as well.
What I didn’t like about the advertisement is if I didn’t know Ellen DeGeneres was a spokesman for Cover Girl, how would I know this was a Cover Girl ad? It is obvious the ad is about foundation to cover wrinkle skins. But as a reader to this ad, I wouldn’t know what brand this was or the actual product name. My mother, for instance, could want to try this product; she would be confused on what foundation she needs to buy.