Advertising Critique

http://thewest5.wordpress.com/

In general, I liked this project because it gave me insight and information about advertising in Africa and what representations arise from them. I liked the project generally but I had some issues with specific analyses and methods used to arrive at conclusions.

Their mission statement reads:

The magazine explores the implications of the advertising industry by drawing on comparisons between American advertisements and African advertisements which share similar format and content. The West  holds a concentration in West Africa and the development of westernization within these advertisements.

This was not consistent across projects. Some of the projects seemed very focused on American/Western advertisements and trends while others seemed to not feature that comparison heavily. The projects about magazines and commercials delved into these comparisons while billboards and radio did not compare American and African advertising techniques or trends. I think consistency would have benefited my understanding of what the entire project was getting at. Right now, I’m still a little confused.

Another major issue I had with some of the sections was that many generalizations were made about “American advertising” or “African advertising” that I felt like I had to accept. While I am sure their research provided them with these characteristics, I do not feel like I was given enough substantial proof to be convinced of that. Sometimes the projects seem to be dependent and operating on the very stereotypes and generalizations that the writer seems to be trying to dispel. Unexplained or referenced statements like “culturally bankrupt,” “Western influence,” and West African culture,” were used throughout as if I knew exactly what those things were. I wanted more proof that those things even existed, but had to accept them as truths in order to understand what was being said. I don’t doubt that they had proof of these things but I do not feel they provided the proof to me as someone who is essentially ignorant about advertising in Africa. I found the use of created ads in the “advertisements” section surprising and odd because the analysis that accompanied the ads was from real ads while the images were made by members of the group, and that disconnect was a little jarring. That said, I was impressed by the amount of material they were able to find. But, some of their analysis was tied very specifically to ads that I was able to see, while in other projects statements were made without giving me the visual evidence.

While I think that this project is, overall, very well done and thought out, I had an issue with what they focused on. In the commercials, billboards, and radio sections there seemed to be a significant focus on contraceptive ads and HIV awareness campaigns. I do not know whether that was the case because that is all the group was able to find, or a conscious decision to look into how health issues are advertised. While it was all very interesting material, I couldn’t help but feel like the negative portrayal of HIV on the continent was being reified by having the content of the publication be so heavily focused on those ads. I wanted to see more variety in the research instead of it being so concentrated in that one area. I think I would have felt differently had they mentioned that there would be a focus on this area in their mission statement, but there was not.

Though those comments are criticisms they are very specific critiques, and in general I do think that the project and information compiled was interesting and I appreciated being able to learn more about this area of representation. Everything was presented really well and simply. Good job.