A Focused, Well-Defined Problem: Presenting Problems in Advertising

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 Analyze 
Use the basic features.

As the annotations of the “That 9 Dollar Lunch” advertisement show, good ads have many or all of the basic features of the proposing-a-solution genre. In public-service ads, effective presentation of a problem is especially important.

ANALYZE & WRITE

Write one or two paragraphs analyzing the “9 Dollar Lunch” ad’s presentation of the long-term consequences of going out for lunch every workday:

  1. What aspects of the ad, visual and otherwise, are likely to resonate with viewers’ own habits, experiences, and concerns?
  2. In what ways do the subject matter of the art and the minimal, assertive text help viewers take the problem and proposed solution seriously?
  3. Considering all the financial problems that people face these days, why do you suppose this ad focuses on eating lunch in restaurants? Given the choice of problem and the fact that it is presented in a poster-style ad, in what places—and for what type(s) of audience—do you think this ad might have the greatest impact?

    Question