2. are constructed depictions of a real
subject.
They may be accurate or
inaccurate.
They will reflect the values of the
producer.

5. What is the Intention of this representation?
The woman from the ad looks exactly like Marilyn
Monroe from the shape of the eyebrows to the
curls that sit on the top of her head. Even their
smiles are the same!!
‘Few stars of the 1950’s were so compelling, so
singular, that they came to define the era in
which they lived and in which they created their
most enduring work. Marilyn Monroe was one of
those stars.’ The ad being analysed was also
created in the 1950’s, when Marilyn Monroe was
well known. People would have seen this ad,
connected the dots and instantly been
attracted.
The tagline is ‘A magnet for me,’ which could be
talking about the beer as a magnet to the
buyers or a love connection. Seeing the tagline
and the beautiful woman who resembles the
famous and sexy celebrity called Marilyn
Monroe could seal the deal for the young and
rich men. The woman is also striking a
provocative pose that reveals a lot of her leg
(this also connects to Marilyn Monroe as she was
known as a ‘sex symbol.’) The intention of this
ad is to get the men attracted enough to buy
the beer (the word ‘Magnet’ stands out) and to
make rich and classy women envious of the
woman’s expensive look.
It’s all about standing out!

6. Who is the target audience? How would they
read this representation and why?
This woman in the ad is young and
beautiful. And , if you look at her dress
and the jewellery in her ears and on
her neck, you will see that she looks
quite rich and classy, which would
appeal to the rich and classy females
of that time. The rich and classy
women would be in awe of the
beautiful woman in the ad, and would
want to be like her . They would then
see the beer in her hand and be
convinced that drinking beer is for rich
people, and that it is classy and makes
you look good.
The woman in the ad is also showing a
lot of leg, which would appeal to
young and also perhaps rich men. The
men would also be attracted to the
woman’s face as she is drawn to be a
look alike of a famous celebrity of that
time by the name of Marilyn Monroe.
Both audiences would be attracted,
and the women perhaps envious of
the beauty and elegance of the
woman in the ad.

7. Is it accurate/truthful? Is it a positive or negative representation?
This representation is positive, as
the woman is beautiful and
is shown to be rich and
classy and ‘proper,’ even
with a beer in her hand.
And the tagline reads, ‘a
magnet for me.’ It suggests
that something about this
beer could make you
The biggest lie in this advertisement is attractive.
the tag line (seen above.) It is not
Is it accurate? Yes and no. You
entirely clear what is meant by this can still keep your skinny
tag line, but my interpretation is that form, even if you drink beer.
this beer could somehow make you However, you need to work
attractive. That is not true. No matter for it by exercising regularly
how hard you try, dressing up like this and not drinking
woman complete with the beer in excessively. The ad does not
hand will not make you attractive. It mention you should drink
will not make you a ‘magnet.’ It is just regularly, however it does
not mention you should
a drink.
drink in moderation either.

8. What values underlie this representation?
The values that underlie this
representation are that by being
a beautiful woman wearing
expensive attire, striking an
extremely provocative pose, and
holding some of ‘John Smith’s
Magnet Pale Ale’ can make you
attractive. It tells young women
that by purchasing this product,
wearing these clothes and
exposing a lot of skin, you are
attractive.

9. Selected Omitted
They drew the woman in the ad to look The tag line is ‘a magnet for me,’ and
like an attractive celebrity. the title of the product is ‘John
They show the woman actually Smith’s MAGNET pale ale.’
interacting with the product (she is However, we don’t know what it
holding the beer.) means by ‘magnet,’ as there is no
The woman is shown to be rich and shown love interest for the women,
elegant. or nothing remotely magnetic in
the ad. We just assume that what
The word ‘magnet,’ is printed in they mean by ‘magnet’ is a love
capital, black letters (and the tag interest, but we cannot be sure as
line is ‘a magnet for me.’) we are not shown.
‘Pale Ale’ is written in cursive writing. The woman’s provocative pose and
This also gives the impression that stunning looks could take away
beer is a ‘proper’ drink for rick folk. some of the attention from the
The background is simple, not taking actual product being advertised.
any attention away from the
product being advertised.
The actual product being advertised is
nice and big under the title of the
product.

10. How has this representation been
constructed using codes and conventions?
In the ad, the woman’s whole body is
shown. This means that you are able
to see the leg that the woman’s dress
reveals. The ad mainly consists of the
colours yellow (the word’s ‘pale ale’),
orange (the woman’s skin, ‘a magnet
for me’ and the pale ale), cream (the
woman’s dress and the froth of the
ale), black (‘MAGNET’) and white
(the background and the woman’s
shoes).
The colours:
Yellow- associated with joy,
happiness, optimism and energy.
Black- powerful, elegant, depressing
and heavy but when used positively,
may be sophisticated.
White- simplicity, cleanliness, purity,
youth and innocence.
Orange- warm and calm.
Cream- elegance, purity, softness,
warm and richer than pure white.

12. What is the Intention of this representation?
The main image of this ad is the man
and woman embracing each other.
The intention of this representation is
to get people who want this kind of
love, and who want to be held this
way to notice the couple, and then
the tagline and finally the product.
‘Pursue your daydreams’ is the tagline
for this product and it can appeal to
everyone, as everyone has
daydreams or even just dreams they
want to see happen. For example,
some people daydream of the kind of
love shown between the man and
woman in the ad. The man and
woman’s embrace can also be seen
as sexual. The woman is only dressed
in a bikini, and her thighs are in full
view. The man’s head rests on the
woman’s almost bare chest and his
hands are wrapped around her
bottom. Alcohol and sex have been
used together before, so perhaps the
people advertising this product are
using sex to sell it.

13. Who is the target audience? How would they
read this representation and why?
This ad easily appeals to single young
men and women who are looking for
love or are looking to pursue their
‘daydreams.’ The ad tells them that
they can have what they dream of if
only they pursue it. It is telling them
that they can have the kind of love
that the people in the ad have if only
they pursue it. They imply that the first
step to pursuing and eventually
getting what they really want is buying
the alcohol.
The lonely men and women who see this
ad would look at how happy the
couple in the picture are and how
they are both smiling happily and the
woman is tightly clinging onto the one
she loves. They would start to think
about how much they want a love like
that in their lives, and what would they
do? Pursue that daydream.

14. Is it accurate/truthful? Is it a positive or negative
representation?
It is an extremely positive representation. It
tells people that anyone can get what
they want by pursuing it. They are
almost telling people to pursue the
product, not what they actually want,
which could be love and a sexual
relationship as represented by the
couple on the screen. It is both
accurate and inaccurate. You can
pursue your daydreams, but,
depending on how you read it, the ad
is either telling the audience that their
daydream is the product or that they
can reach their daydream by
purchasing and consuming the
product. And, at the bottom of the
ad, in tiny writing it says ‘drink
responsibly,’ which is telling you (if you
manage to catch the phrase) that
you are drinking responsibly if you are
drinking Jose Cuervo.

15. What values underlie this representation?
The values that underlie this
representation is that people should
pursue whatever their heart desires
and by doing that, they will
eventually get it. Also, as explained
before, they are using sex to make
their product more desirable for the
intended audience. This is telling
people that sex is a good thing that
they can have whenever they
want, and sex may be a good thing
but, you should not take it for
granted.

16. Selected Omitted
Tagline ‘Pursue your daydreams’ is in No one in this ad is actually shown to
nice, big and black letters so they are be using the product.
easy to see and read. The product itself is a small picture in
The man and woman in the the right hand corner, making it hard
background are black and white, and for people to actually see what is
the actual product is in colour which being advertised.
could make it easier to see. The picture of the couple is too big
and takes the attention away from the
product.

17. How has this ad been constructed using codes
and conventions?
The product itself is a yellow colour and, as
explained before, yellow is the colour of
joy, happiness, energy and sunshine. This fits
well with the tagline of the ad, ‘Pursue your
daydreams.’ The rest of the ad is in black
and white, which could be so the product
stands out.

18. …Comparing the two…

19. Comparison
The two ads are about alcohol,
and they both use sex (or a sex
symbol) to make their product
more attractive. The woman in the
1950’s ad is striking a provocative
pose that reveals a lot of her leg,
and the woman in the other ad is
wearing a bikini that reveals even
more. However, in the 1950’s ad,
they use a celebrity look alike of
Marilyn Monroe to attract people
to the ad and in the newer ad,
they do not. Instead, in the newer
ad, they use people’s desires to
persuade them to buy the product.
In the 1950’s ad, they show the
product under the title, and it
stands out because it is quite big. In
the newer ad, the product is small
(it is placed in the right hand
corner) and therefore easy to miss.
Both ads have similarities and
differences, good points and bad
points, but on the whole, the ad
that is better is ‘John Smith’s Pale
Ale.’