This ad is emotionally charging in that we can almost feel the rage and urgency the husband is feeling towards his wife. Not only is he frustrated he can't break open the door (due to his lack of Stanley screwdriver), he is livid at her lewd acts of betrayal.
The logos here is that, if he had his Stanley screw driver, he would be able to break down the door, and, hopefully, interrupt his wife's affair. But because he is without his proper tool, he cannot do anything about it.
The pictures and text in this ad work well together because, as we can see, there is a wedding photo of the two on the wall. That's how the audience can assume the man breaking down the door is her husband. If we didn't have these images, he text wouldn't make sense, and vice versa.
The ambiguity in this ad is the slogan, "Don't get screwed." Without having his Stanley screwdriver, the husband is potentially going to get "screwed over" by his wife's betrayal. However, if he had his Stanley screwdriver, she wouldn't be "getting screwed" (so to speak) by the boyfriend. What's missing from this ad is the wife's point-of-view--maybe the husband is terrible and abusive, and she was separated from him anyway. There could be a total number of reasons as to why she's doing this, but she is made it look like the criminal in this instance. Screwdrivers are men's tools after all, right? It wouldn't necessarily have the same effect if the roles were reversed and the woman was the one trying to break into her husband's love affair.
This spoof ad appeals to ethos or to one’s moral nature and beliefs because the ad shows a married woman screwing around with another man and her husband is outside the door. Many people believe that cheating married or not is wrong. This is a prime example of getting caught in the act even if the door is acting as a barrier. The advertised item, the Stanley screwdriver, is perceived as useful in a bad situation. Since the husband does not have one currently, he can’t get in, he is out of luck or screwed. The point that we really wanted to make is that the screwdriver is useful and even though you may be in a bad situation, you don’t want to get screwed twice by not having your Stanley screwdriver. The only thing that the viewer needs to know about the product is the name and that Stanley is a brand name screwdriver.
Michelle—you did a good job of explaining the double meaning and ambiguity (and during class discussion as well) in the header for your ad. And—yes, we don’t get the wife’s (or the lover’s perspective). The husband could very well be a jerk! Good point that she looks like the ‘bad guy’—so it seems like the audience is men, and you discuss this. Why isn’t a woman trying to break in with a screwdriver to catch her husband being unfaithful…?
Sage—you state the spoof ad’s main claim: the point is don’t be without your Stanley screwdriver when you really need it. Your ad is well explained and very well executed!!
This is really good. Any way we can make this bigger? Let's show this in class next Friday.
ReplyDeleteGroup Member Response #2 and #3
ReplyDeleteBy Michelle Dyer
This ad is emotionally charging in that we can almost feel the rage and urgency the husband is feeling towards his wife. Not only is he frustrated he can't break open the door (due to his lack of Stanley screwdriver), he is livid at her lewd acts of betrayal.
The logos here is that, if he had his Stanley screw driver, he would be able to break down the door, and, hopefully, interrupt his wife's affair. But because he is without his proper tool, he cannot do anything about it.
The pictures and text in this ad work well together because, as we can see, there is a wedding photo of the two on the wall. That's how the audience can assume the man breaking down the door is her husband. If we didn't have these images, he text wouldn't make sense, and vice versa.
The ambiguity in this ad is the slogan, "Don't get screwed." Without having his Stanley screwdriver, the husband is potentially going to get "screwed over" by his wife's betrayal. However, if he had his Stanley screwdriver, she wouldn't be "getting screwed" (so to speak) by the boyfriend. What's missing from this ad is the wife's point-of-view--maybe the husband is terrible and abusive, and she was separated from him anyway. There could be a total number of reasons as to why she's doing this, but she is made it look like the criminal in this instance. Screwdrivers are men's tools after all, right? It wouldn't necessarily have the same effect if the roles were reversed and the woman was the one trying to break into her husband's love affair.
This spoof ad appeals to ethos or to one’s moral nature and beliefs because the ad shows a married woman screwing around with another man and her husband is outside the door. Many people believe that cheating married or not is wrong. This is a prime example of getting caught in the act even if the door is acting as a barrier. The advertised item, the Stanley screwdriver, is perceived as useful in a bad situation. Since the husband does not have one currently, he can’t get in, he is out of luck or screwed. The point that we really wanted to make is that the screwdriver is useful and even though you may be in a bad situation, you don’t want to get screwed twice by not having your Stanley screwdriver. The only thing that the viewer needs to know about the product is the name and that Stanley is a brand name screwdriver.
ReplyDelete-Sage
Michelle—you did a good job of explaining the double meaning and ambiguity (and during class discussion as well) in the header for your ad. And—yes, we don’t get the wife’s (or the lover’s perspective). The husband could very well be a jerk! Good point that she looks like the ‘bad guy’—so it seems like the audience is men, and you discuss this. Why isn’t a woman trying to break in with a screwdriver to catch her husband being unfaithful…?
ReplyDeleteSage—you state the spoof ad’s main claim: the point is don’t be without your Stanley screwdriver when you really need it. Your ad is well explained and very well executed!!