Notes about ads - Marcia's Post

Provincial Election 2007 Advertising Campaign

(http://www.elections.on.ca/NR/rdonlyres/4CC55239-EA12-4C7C-B7CD-B82F7B07D864/0/HouseholderA1.pdf)

This ad really caught my attention, and I thought it was a great way to urge people in Ontario (particularly the younger demographic) to vote. In terms of the ad itself, there are a lot of things going on here that I think work really well.

· The word “VOTE” is simple and concise. Even without looking at the surrounding text, it is easy to recognize what this ad is asking of you.

· Metonym: The mouth that is standing in for the “O” stands not only for a whole person, but for all the people of Ontario.

· Exaggeration: Obviously, when we vote we don’t shout about it, as the photograph portrays. It is an exaggeration of having our say or voice in the election.

· Omission and Suggestion: by leaving out the “O” and replacing it with a photo of a mouth yelling, the ad suggests that voting will actually let you get your voice/opinion out there.

With these print ads (which are everywhere), there are also commercials that follow the same idea. I recently saw one where a woman goes into a hair salon to get her hair cut. She is telling the hair dresser that she just wants a trim, when a man sitting in the next chair interrupts and says she would like it cut very short, spiky and with orange and black tiger stripes. The woman looks horrified, and the hair dresser says: “Ok! Let’s do it!” followed immediately by the “VOTE” picture above. It’s fantastic.

--Marcia