AD DECODER GAME - GIRL TALK MAGAZINE

Creating Want From Your Worries

Advertisers and people who sell beauty magazines know we'll buy things we think will make us look good.

Can a dress really make you into someone else? No, but it sure sounds like it in this ad.

Misleading Message

This ad suggests that people should smoke cigarettes to be cool, popular, glamorous, charming, tough, independent, strong, healthy looking, and energetic.

Um, what about ashtray breath, yellow teeth, gross cough, and lung cancer?

Celebrity Factor

"Celebrity endorsements" are used to sell products. If an advertiser wants to target a specific audience, they'll pick a celebrity who is popular with that group.

What matters here is that the celeb gets paid, and also gets media exposure in the ad. Maybe she loves the product. Or, maybe not.

Misleading Messages

People usually do not look in real life the way they do in a magazine or on television. If fact, sometimes the thin and perfect-looking person on screen or in print is not one whole person but parts of several people. This "person" might be creating using body doubles, airbrushing, and computer-graphic techniques.

Creating Want from Your Worries

Clearly, the product seems too good to be true. But, if you think the before and after shots are real you just might spend your bucks.

A tip: When it comes to weight control, healthy eating and physical activity are proven more effective than any quick fix.