Needs of Reality || Wants of Desire

A detailed Summary of Needs of Reality || Wants of Desire

From dazzling new make-up lines to sleek new clothing styles, many magazines for young women present the glamour of being young and beautiful. Each page flaunts life as a pursuit of pleasure and happiness. However, reality suggests that life is not solely based on beauty and bliss. So how would an advertiser introduce an aspect of reality that conflicts with the beauty of life? Published in Lucky magazine, an advertisement supporting no smoking by the American Legacy Foundation uses the stark, black and white photo and farewell messages of a devastated, aging woman suffering from emphysema to connect with the audience and to alter the conception that young women may have of smoking.

Lucky magazine is targeted to young women between the ages of eighteen and twenty- five. It includes tips for fashion and make-up, and the highlights of clothes shopping, but also includes an ad about not smoking. This advertisement appears in a magazine for this age group because smoking under the age of eighteen is illegal and smoking over the age of twenty-five is too late to fix the damage done to the body caused by smoking. Rather than placing the advertisement in a magazine about problems in society, it is in a magazine about shopping.

Using these tactics to make strong connections with the reader, the advertiser changes the conception that young women may have of smoking. Because a personal bond with the reader is established due to many elements such as cursive handwriting, the reader is then more sensitive, emotional, and vulnerable. Their emotions are wounded because they sympathize for the woman in the photograph. However, once this has occurred, the audience faces a realization that this same situation could occur to them if they were to engage in smoking. Sympathy now becomes fear of their future unless they do not smoke.

The farewell messages accompanying the photo use a personal letter format and cursive handwriting to make a stronger connection with the audience with its emotional appeal. On a page facing the photograph, the ad presents three letters written by the woman to her children, husband, and tobacco companies. The fact that the text is in the format of personal letters already makes connections with the reader. A letter is personal, handwritten, and allows the spontaneous flow of thoughts to be revealed. For many people, writing notes allows them to present many ideas and thoughts more easily than speaking. This is because one person is not making direct eye contact with the other and does not have to worry about interruptions or responses. This comfort allows the writer to present his/her deepest emotions. In addition, the font is cursive and more personal than standard print. Unlike a formal, professional printed message, the cursive writing is more personal and allows the woman to be on the same level as the reader. There is a strong difference between a letter handwritten and one typed. A letter handwritten takes more time and shows that the writer cares more. Also, by looking at the handwriting, one can

Some common words found in the essay are:
Legacy Foundation, , Published Lucky, black white, cursive handwriting, aging woman, conception women smoking, connections reader, personal letters, lucky magazine, magazine advertisement, smoking age, tobacco companies, letter handwritten,

Approximate Word count = 1228
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous