Attack of the AD!

AD: I took a photo of it from the magazine. Click to Enlarge.

In choosing an advertisement to analyze, I did not deliberately set out to find one that I found offensive, thus, to the left is the one I chose (We'll get to why in a minute). This ad is from the October 2008 issue of Glamour Magazine.

The Text:
This is an ad for Trident Splash Strawberry with Lime flavoured gum. The photograph depicts an office setting; cubicles, three employees, a ceiling of fluorescent lighting. Over on the far left is a giant dough nut with pink icing and colourful candy sprinkles. Moving towards the right side of the photo, there is a woman sitting at a desk with an unimpressed look on her face. In the center of the photo, There is a woman, smartly dressed, holding a chair up in the air. Her pose is very strong. The back of the chair, in the woman's hands, has a smudge of icing on it, indicatingthat she must have just hit the dough nut with it. On the far right, there is a man holding a bundle of papers, some of which have been dropped. He has a look of horror/disgust on his face. In the bottom right hand corner, there is a miniature package of Trident Splash of the advertised flavour, beside which are the words "Survive a snack attack," all in uppercase letters. At the bottom of the advertisement, there are words as well. It says, "Fight back with Trident Splash®, the sugar-free gum with a juicy liquid center, and get the sweet without the snack."

The Subtext:
The purpose of this ad is to sell the product, Trident Splash, to the customers. The target audience for this ad are the readers of Glamour Magazine, specifically females between the ages of about 20-40. The ad targest especially those readers who work in an office setting, as an office is depicted in the photo. Essentially, the ad is trying to presendtthe product, Trident Splash, as an alternative to snacking on sweets such as dough nuts while working in an office setting. It almost presents the product as a 'healthy alternative' to sweets. The woman in the center is slender and fashionably dressed, which makes the product look like a success.

Why this Ad Works:
Glamour is an inclusive magazine. It depicts women of different ages, body-types, ethnicities and backgrounds. It includes acticles about fashion, politics, cosmetics, and a wide variety of issues faced by women. I chose this ad because it caught my attention. When I came across it, I stopped and looked at what the model was wearing, fully expecting this to be part a fashion editorial spread, "How To Dress For The Office," perhaps. I flipped the page and when I saw a toothpaste ad, I flipped back to the previous page and realized this to be an ad also! The product being sold is underplayed in the image (bottom right hand corner). There are no doubt many different forms of this Trident Splash advertisement, but this one fits in really well with the fashion section of this magazine. I tend to skip/skim over most ads I see in a magazine, but since this one played the part so well, I spent a lot of time looking at it.

Did This Ad Work On Me?
No. I've actually already tried a few flavours of Trident Splash gum, none of which I have particularly liked; too sweet.