Macy's Advertisement Analysis Essay Example

Advertisements are almost everywhere: billboards, magazines, social media, and television. These advertisements are made to inform and persuade the public to buy or use their product or service. People who make these put a lot of thought into every aspect of them. Using different colors, angle shots, lighting, and different fonts can make a huge difference in the overall look and purpose of the advertisement. This Macy’s advertisement uses lots of propaganda techniques, hidden meaning in the characteristics of the image, and text to appeal to the reader. These strategies help paint the picture that when people buy Martha Stewart’s bakeware collection at Macy’s, their products will be just as good as Martha’s.  

When looking at this Macy’s advertisement, the first thing interpreted is the image itself. This ad’s audience is focused on middle to older-aged women, and people who like Martha Stewart. To reach the ad's audience, this advertisement was published in a Mother’s Day issue of a cooking magazine. There are many different techniques used in this advertisement to make it more appealing to the audience. The designers used the Z design to lead the reader’s eyes through the ad. It starts in the top left corner with the small paragraph about the cake collection, then leads down the center with the image of the perfect cakes, and finally, the ad ends at the bottom right corner with Macy’s logo. 

Along with the setup of the advertisement, the details also play a role in the meaning behind the ad. It uses the color pink as the advertisment’s prominent color. This color represents love and happiness. The character in this ad, Martha Stewart, is smiling which also helps show the theme of love and happiness. The objects such as the perfect cakes, fancy dinnerware, and tablecloths show the audience how perfect their meals can be if this collection is purchased. The advertisement designers chose to use serif as the font for the title. This type of font is used to make the advertisement more stable and serious by using feet on the lettering. In this case, showing that the ad is stable, also appears to make the ad more reliable.

By looking at all of these hidden meanings in the image, the propaganda techniques that were used start to be apparent. The first propaganda technique that is shown is testimonial. This technique uses famous people or quotes to persuade the audience to use their product. Martha Stewart is the main character of this advertisement. She is most known in the United States for her lifestyle brand consisting of cookbooks, cookware, and television shows. By using her in this ad, people will want to shop at Macy’s to buy this cookware. This gives the audience the impression that they will be as good as Martha by buying these products. Another propaganda technique used is transfer. This is where the ad designers attempt to make the reader view a certain item in the same way as they view another item, to link them in their mind. In this ad, people who love Martha Stewart are going to want to buy her products, which in this case will make the buyers shop at Macy’s. There are also some appeals used to persuade the reader. Prestige appeal uses status to sell a product. This ad says “you’ll always be seen as the brightest light,” assuring people they will be better than others. 

In this Macy’s advertisement, there are a lot of propaganda techniques, appeals, hidden meaning in the characteristics of the image, and text to appeal to the reader. Advertisement designers do this to help persuade the audience to buy or use their product or service. The strategies used in this ad help show the audience that when they buy Martha Stewart’s bakeware collection at Macy’s, their products will be just as perfect as Martha’s.