Saturday, 27 February 2016

Ad Analysis

I. Advertisement: Boss Film - The Smartphone Network
   Advertiser: Airtel India
   Model Used: Hiebert, Urgurait and Bohn (HUB) Model
Courtesy: www.fuzionproductions.com


This advertisement portrays a female boss who commands her subordinates to work late, and the viewer later discovers that one of her subordinates is her husband for whom she cooks at home and asks him come fast.
The HUB Model perceives communication as a set of concentric circles much like the waves formed when a pebble is thrown in a pool. The communication content of the ad, which was to show how fast a smartphone network can make any relationship feel "special", causes ripples that widens until they reach the audience and comes back through feedback. The intention through which the ad was released was received in a very negative sense by the audience. Many questioned the need for the for the boss/wife to come home and cook an elaborate meal, which only re-iterates the patriarchal stereotypes. The feedback received from the audience prove that the purpose of the ad, which was to portray a progressive urban couple was defeated. 

II. Advertisement: Son's Birthday 
    Advertiser: For Fortune Oil By Ogilvy
    Model Used: Aristotelian Model of Communication
Courtesy: www.campaignindia.in


The advertisement shows a mother cooking for her son who is a navy officer and can't make ot home for his birthday. She decides to surprise him by cooking his favourite dishes and taking it to his workplace. 
The Aristotelian model follows a system of:
                                                   SPEAKER -----> SPEECH------>AUDIENCE
The speaker of the advertisement becomes the advertiser (Fortune Oil), the speech is the advertisement which aims to convey that the oil is as pure as a mother's love. It reaches the third element which is the target- audience. Aristotle also stresses upon ethos, logos and pathos. Ethos is the ethics or principles which must be followed. The ad uses purity as the main selling point and that becomes the logical reasoning (logos) as to why one must buy that product. The ad is very sentimental as it uses the idea of mother's love and hits the right chord among the main consumers. The element of "pathos" or feelings and emotion is high. For Aristotle, the right combination of pathos, logos and ethos was necessary for effective communication, which is conveyed well by the advertisement.

Monday, 15 February 2016

Mechanics of Writing

Academic writing, or writing in general, is not an easy task. Conveying your thoughts with utmost clarity and crispness involves rewriting, re-thinking,  re-arranging, re-working, sharpening, polishing, expanding, eliminating and what not! Consider this blogpost a Cheat's Way of Learning How to Write. I'll give you some tips on improving your writing.


1. Using the Right Word
Example: Schools, colleges and universities were closed due to the death of the Chief Minister.
Reworked: Educational institutions did not function to honour the death of the Chief Minister.

2. Remove Qualifiers and Intensifiers
Tip: Better give reasons than exhibit emotional evaluations.
Example: My brother was acting really selfish and I was very angry at him.
Reworked: I was furious at my brother as he didn't share the cake with me, which was quite selfish of him.

3. Remove Tautology/ Redundancy
Example: His prediction about the future revealed that Ann and John will get married in the near future.
Reworked: He predicted that Anna and John will get married.

4. Avoid/Replace Repetitive Words
Example: The Vice-Chancellor announced that the college will not be functioning the next day. The students were excited by the Vice-Chancellor's announcement.
Reworked: The Vice-Chancellor announced that the college will not be functioning the next day. The students were excited hearing the announcement.

5. Improve Verbs & Nouns
Example: He was put in prison for wrongly behaving with a girl.
Reworked: He was imprisoned for misbehaving with a girl.

6. Use precise adverbs and adjectives- make it strong and original
Example: The speaker strongly disagreed to the other side of the fence.
Reworked: The passionate speaker vehemently opposed the other side of the fence.