Comparing and Contrasting of Two Cell-Phone Ads

I am analyzing two cell-phone advertisements. The first advertisement is for the T-Mobile myTouch 3G phone from Rolling Stone magazine. The second advertisement is for the Sony Ericsson C905 Cyber-shot picture phone from FHM magazine.

The first advertisement is from Rolling Stone Magazine, which is a magazine, geared towards people interested in the entertainment industry. Rolling Stone has a large audience, as it is not oriented towards one gender. The readers of Rolling Stone magazine are primarily young and middle-aged adults between the ages of 18 and 50. The second advertisement is from FHM magazine, which is a British magazine, oriented towards younger heterosexual men. The audience of FHM magazine is much smaller than that of Rolling Stone due to the fact that it markets itself only men. The readers of FHM magazine are younger people, most likely between the ages of 16-38

The first advertisement from Rolling Stone magazine features rock and roll legend Eric Clapton. The photo displays Clapton holding up the T-Mobile phone in a very serious manner. The color of the back of the phone matches the color of the background behind Clapton. The phone that Clapton is marketing is tied to the famed Fender guitar company. The text of the advertisement is very modern looking and easy to read. The modern font of the text suggests that the phone Clapton is marketing is the newest and best phone currently available. The text also states that T-Mobile is a sponsor of Eric Clapton’s Crossroad Guitar Festival. This statement suggests to fans of Eric Clapton that any real fan of his music needs to have a T-Mobile phone. T-Mobile’s tagline “Stick Together” suggests to fans of Clapton’s music that they should “stick together” with Clapton and buy a T-Mobile phone.

The second advertisement from FHM magazine features a very attractive lady in nothing but lingerie. The advertisement features only the body of the attractive women, as her eyes are cut off at the top of the page. The woman is also wearing very modern looking lingerie, which only furthers her appeal towards the male audience reading the magazine. The background of the advertisement uses a bluish silver color to further emphasize the sleek silver color of the phone itself. The font of the text is very modern looking, which much like the Rolling Stone advertisement, suggests that this phone is the best of its kind. The text also states that the photographer took the picture for the advertisement with the phone itself. This suggests to the reader that they are getting two products in one.

I chose these two articles due to the fact that their subjects are very different. One product is marketed by an aging Rock and Roll icon, while an attractive young woman endorses the other product. The background colors are also very different. The Rolling Stone advertisement uses warmer colors such as orange and red, while the FHM advertisement uses cooler colors such as blue and green. The advertisement from Rolling Stone plays into the stereotype that people will follow whatever celebrities do. Ergo, the advertisement suggest that music fans will buy the phone simply because it is endorsed by Eric Clapton. The advertisement from FHM follows the concept that “sex sells” in business. The advertisement assumes that FHM’s male readers will buy the phone simply because an attractive woman is holding it.

Dissection of Written and Visual Arguments

The critical reading article describes the actions that we commit, which future generations will condemn us for. Much as the current generation condemns those who owned slaves and denied women the right to vote, the current generation will be criticized for acts occurring right now. These acts include America’s prison system, industrial meat production, the use of retirement homes and the treatment of the environment. In the writing arguments book, the second chapter presents images and writings on both sides of the illegal immigration issue. The two arguments that will be looked into greater detail is the writing condemning America’s prison system and the image protesting America’s prosecution of illegal immigrants.

            The selected argument from the critical reading condemns the United States’ prison system and portrays it as a dark spot in American history that future generations will look down upon. The argument is effective partly due to its presentation of statistics against the US prison system. Appiah tells the reader that 25% of the world’s prisoners are in the United States, as well as stating that 100,000 inmates suffer sexual abuse and 25,000 inmates live in isolated conditions. Appiah also makes a common sense appeal to the reader when he states that a majority of prisoners are non-violent offenders, a large number of which are in prison for drug use. This statement leaves the reader to ponder whether or not having these non-violent offenders in prison is a good decision when there are other options available to punish these people such as fines and community service. Last of all, Appiah makes an appeal towards the reader’s emotions when he speaks further about the 25,000 inmates that are isolated from the other inmates. Appiah alludes to the statements made by psychologists who suggest that these isolated cells are equal to torture. This account speaks towards those who are more compassionate and do not believe in any form of torture.

            The selected image from the writing arguments book is the picture of children protesting the United States’ prosecution of illegal immigrants. This image is most effective in its ability towards playing to the emotions of people. The image shows children walking with a sign that says “Legalize My Parents”, which is surrounded by their handprints. This image appeals to the emotions of people not to remove people from the country that have already been here long enough to start a family. The appearance of the priest in the image appeals to hearts of religious people. The image suggests that since a Catholic priest is heavily supportive of the issue, it is the moral choice to support the amnesty of illegal immigrants currently in the United States. Lastly, the fact that there are signs written in English pleas to the hearts of those against the amnesty of illegal immigrants. One of the main arguments against the amnesty of illegal immigrants is that they come enter the United States with no intention of learning the language or adapting to the main culture. However, the English signs give the opposite impression by suggesting that illegal immigrants are willing to learn English in order to adapt to life in the United States.

Get Smarter Reaction

            According to Cascio, people we been augmenting our ability to think for millennia adjusting our minds to cope with the current state we live in. Such is the case of Homo sapiens following the Ice Age. As animals shrunk in number and their movement patterns changed, Homo sapiens developed their hunting abilities. These new abilities allowed Homo sapiens to kill animals while they were moving, as well as determining what their movements would be.

            I am open to evolving into Cascio’s idea of “You+” in some ways. For instance, I’m entirely open to making further technological advances with computers and other information centered devices that are separate from myself. I believe that these technologies will allow us to make our lives more efficient through their ability to carry out many daily activities. I am also in favor of the legal use of drugs such as Modafinil for select activities in one’s schedule. However, I do not believe that such a drug should be used regularly as it will enable people to give each other a large number of tasks in a short period of time, which would make the drug a necessity. I am also not in favor of adding technological devices such as computer chips into the bodies of perfectly functional people.

            I think the use of drugs really depends on the situation in which they are used. For instance, those people who have jobs that require them to have great awareness for long periods of time should be fully allowed to use such drugs. These people include truck drivers and guards of high-security building. I think it should also be ok for people given a large task with a very short timespan to complete it. However, I do not believe that these drugs should be used to compensate for people with poor time management who choose to work on a task at the last moment.

            I think Cascio would respond by speaking of what positives such advances in knowledge would make. For instance the new knowledge and technology would allow the world to see medical advances, which would combat major illnesses and add years to a person’s average life expectancy. New knowledge would also be combating major issues it faces, such as the energy crisis. Cascio approaches such knowledge from an optimistic standpoint by assuming people will use it for positive purposes.

Previous Writing Experiences

            Last semester, I took a themed English 101 section. My section’s theme was reading and writing about The Blues. My section entailed reading different pieces of blues music and of observing the piece’s lyrics, wording and artwork on a deeper level. My final portfolio in English 101 included four essays written throughout the semester. My first two essays were close readings. The first essay was a close reading of the lyrics of Blues by Kevin Young. In this essay, I argued that the author’s use of fruit and meat in the lyrics represents truth and lies. The second essay was a close reading of the cover art for Riding with the King by Eric Clapton and B.B. King. My argument in this essay was that blues music presented a medium for Caucasians to learn from African-Americans, demonstrated by the relationship of King and Clapton. My final two essays included a research component. My third essay was a historical analysis of Vietnam Blues by J.B. Lenoir. In this essay, I asserted that Lenoir was speaking against the United States government’s mistreatment of African-Americans, the poor, and Vietnamese citizens during the Vietnam War. My final essay was a comparative analysis of I’ve Got a Woman by Ray Charles and Gold Digger by Kanye West. In my essay, I claimed that the lyrics of the two songs represent the change in men’s perceptions of women over the last half-century. I would have to say my historical analysis of J.B. Lenoir’s Vietnam Blues is my greatest accomplishment from English 101. This essay was my greatest accomplishment because I was able to find a large number of reputable sources to back up my points. I also feel as if I was able to connect my points together very well throughout the entire essay.

            My best writing experience was during my Global Politics class I took through the University of Dayton back home in Ohio. In this class I was required to write a term paper analyzing a political event following World War II. I wrote my essay about the Polish Solidarity Movement of the 1980s. My paper included numerous sources and was well over ten pages in length. However I consider this paper to be my best writing experience because I was writing about a topic that I was truly interested in learning about. As a Polish-American I was writing about a topic that I connected to. I felt truly interested to learn as much information as I could about the topic. My worst writing experience was my first essay in English 101 where I had to give a close reading of Kevin Young’s Blues. This was my worst writing experience because I found it hard at times to find many points within such a small text. At times I felt as if I was repeating points in my essay. I feel that my positive experience has affected me more as it helped me learn that there are topics I feel passionate about writing about. This experience also taught me better research techniques. As a result of this experience I am able to find an interesting topic to write about when given the opportunity to decide my topic.