Midol Ad Comparative Commentary

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Midol Advertisement Comparative Commentary Claire Stirling Text one is a modern day ad for Midol, created and published in 2010, text two is an old Midol advertisement. Both texts are marketing their menstrual pain stopping medication but in very different ways at different points in time. Both use appeals to help communicate their message that your life will be better with Midol. The modern day ad seems hand drawn as a cartoon and shows a women with superhero sized period pains. The cartoonist uses humor and hyperbole to show just how bad period pains can get and sell their product. The old Midol ad uses a cautionary tone to sell their product by warning the women that their period pains could be the reason for the end of their relationship. The audience for both ads is women old enough to have their periods and with a high enough income to spend on un-necessary drugs. Text one’s purpose is to sell Midol by appealing to the audience and showing an understanding of the pain the women face, while text two has the purpose of selling Midol by pressuring women into buying the product by exposing them to an exaggerated situation if they don’t. The modern day ad shows a picture of the box of Midol above writing that says, “for you superhero-sized pain.” Underneath this writing is a women in the foreground drawn in cartoon form, with exaggerated colours and a speech bubble saying “oooo-uhh.” The cartoon seems to be draw by an advanced cartoon artist as lots of detail is included as well as many colours which contrasts the serious message. In the background is an empty room scene, drawn in the same comic style. In the ad the female and the box of medication is the emphasis along with the word superhero. This is evident because they all occupy the middle of the frame and feature the bright colours of yellow and purple. The ad seems to be broken up into three
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