7. Household & Personal Products: Avon - Clear Skin Ad

1. Which of the (9) types of advertising does the ad belong to?

    Retail Advertising  

2. The four (4) roles of advertising. Which are relevant for this ad?

    i) Marketing:

       - The premier and marketing of Avon's new cosmetic product; "Clear Skin Professional".

    ii) Communication:

        - Gives an account of professional experience/accounts and communes message of satisfaction and promised reimbursement.

3. What does the ad. want the audience to do or not do?

    A rather subtle yet condemnatory message, to judge themselves and their outwardly appearance in hopes of spurring an action to improve their 'beauty' and purchase their showcased product.

4. Who is the target audience?

    As it does not specify male or female, the target audience would generally be anyone wanting clearer, smoother, perfect skin. Ages may range from pre-teens to the mid-ages.

5. What are the target audience's needs, concerns and interest?

    Obviously, the target audience would be interested to have better skin. What they need, is an effective way of doing it. They are concerned whether the product actually delivers what it promises, in fear of wasting their time and money.

6. What is the message?

    Speaking in first person perspective; "That I have perfect skin, you can too. Try out this product!"

7. Discuss the message being conveyed.

    As answered in Question 3, the message conveyed is a little condemnatory. It invokes the viewer to question their appearance, trying to find some sort of flaw on their face that would move them to want to better their skin. Hence, buy the product.

8. Who does the message appeal to?

    People who are dissatisfied with their skin appearance and want to do something about it. Further in-depth, people who are on a budget and want a more reasonable alternative to cosmetic-procedures or surgery.

9. What is the desired communication outcome?

    To convince the viewers that their skin can be improved. And improved using the showcased product.

10. What other communication channel is most effective?

      Posters and billboards in crowded places, it is a time and place  when/where a majority of people feel self-conscious and judgmental the most. Aside that, direct-advertising by giving out free samples and having road-showcases.

11. Identify the ad and specific product being advertised and describe the ad.

      An appeal to higher authority and 'professional' opinion, regarding a set of facial-skin creams that supposedly nourishes and fixes skin to be beautiful with satisfactory results.

12. What does the ad show, people, products, scenery, etc?

      It shows a recognized figure and a claimed professional giving testimony to a cosmetic product. A catalog with contact details is also shown.

13. What is not discussed about the product?

      Statistics. The ad merely depicts a famous figure giving word of mouth regarding the product. However, no mention of statistics, ingredients and etcetera are given. Price and affordability is also not mentioned, however hinted in an underlying message.

14. What image is portrayed? 

      'Beauty', and that it can be achieved.

15. Is it true to life or puffery?

      The consumer has to try, experience or test it first-hand, or to seek secondary references. The ad alone isn't a clear picture to whether the product actually works, of if the model solely uses it without any additional action/items.

16. Is the ad a slice-of-life, fear, humor, sex or other type of ad?

      Professional opinion and appeal to higher authority type of ad.

17. Who is in the ad, if a star, what image does he or she 

portray?

      i) 2009 Miss Universe model, Stefania Fernandez.

         - Portraying an image or embodiment of 'perfect skin' & beauty.

     ii) Professional Dermatologist, Dr. Cheryl Karcher.

         - A higher authority and 'proffesional opinion' to give a sense of authenticity to the promises said by the model and the product.

18. What is the mood of the ad, colors used, music played?

      Mood is professional in attempts to instill gravity to the words being spoken by a model. Colours suit these very purpose, also very chrome, metallic and slick. Props are curvish, another attribute of 'beauty'. Music is somewhat secondary, it is not a main concern as the producers do not want to overshadow the model's dialogues.

19. Is the ad memorable?

      Quite, all in thanks to the model used. It is the singular and most present attribute people register when watching this ad and will remember that figure when trying to recall the ad/product.

20. Would you buy the product being advertised, why or why not?

      No, money better spent elsewhere.

21. Be sure to include your opinion (have a specific point of view, love it or hate it.)

      A little on the dull side. Cliche to say the least, but I cannot blame them because it's been the norm and most effective style throughout household and personal product campaigns. Overall, short and straight to the point.