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Textual and Visual Analysis of an Advertisement

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One of the most recognizable athletes in the world and more importantly, one of best soccer players in the game today, David Beckham is also a popular figure in the world of the media and advertising. He has made appearances in advertisements for such companies as Adidas, Pepsi, Gillette, and Vodafone. Recently, I noticed an advertisement in People for "David Beckham Instinct," a product line consisting of aftershave and fragrances. On the back of the magazine, he is shown in a head-only photo looking into the camera against a very plain, blue back drop. A picture of the product is placed in the lower right-hand corner, right above the words, "New Fragrances for Men." Directly above the picture of the product reads "Beckham …show more content…

Much can be said about the font used in the advertisement, particularly when it comes to the name brand, "Beckham Fragrances." The font utilized for the first word, "Beckham," is along the lines of a Times New Roman font and is presented in boldface. This is perhaps to convey to the reader that the last name has importance and significance, for it is of a well-known person, David Beckham. The second word, "fragrances," is presented in a classical, more elegant font. This is to convey a mood of high class, or strong personality. The placing of the text is also classical, as one word is followed directly underneath the other, not in a diagonal fashion, but with the centers of the two words at the same point as if a vertical line was drawn down the page of the advertisement through the centers of both words. Concerning semantics, only denotations are utilized. "Fragrances" holds the same meaning as if one had checked the definition in the dictionary. One item found in the advertisement that was mentioned earlier in the paper was the icon of the product. As stated earlier, the icon is found on the right half of the page about halfway up the page. It consists of the letters "d," "v," and "b," in that order along with a fancy drawing that stems from the "v." The letters "d," "v," and "b" come from David and his wife's, Victoria, first names and a "b" for Beckham. The icon is termed the "Beckham Beauty House Crest,"

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