Monday, November 14, 2011

Ad-Buster Project



            For my ad-buster project, I juxtaposed two pictures to make a strong statement. The picture on the left is the advertisement, and the picture on the right is from a news article. The advertisement is targeting men who are looking for wedding rings for their fiancées. It explains to men that diamonds are worth the large amount of money they cost because they are a symbol of eternal love and last forever. Men are the primary targets because women usually don’t buy expensive diamond rings for themselves; weddings are the main reason that diamond rings are purchased. Therefore, women are left out of this advertisement. The advertisement is simple, since men typically don’t sit and read magazines and ads for an extended period of time, like women may. The text is to the point and evokes happiness in the viewer. The target will most likely want to purchase this product because it makes him excited for the future with his fiancée.
            On the right side of the advertisement there is a picture of individuals in Zimbabwe working in harsh conditions to retrieve diamonds to provide to Americans. The text on the right side satirizes the advertisement on the left. The fact that the diamonds last forever does not make up for the fact that many diamond companies exploit workers in foreign countries and place them in dangerous areas to obtain diamonds. Many Americans are oblivious to the fact that some diamonds are supplied by abused, underpaid, or underage laborers in other countries. I aimed to exemplify this ignorance by satirically saying that although diamonds last forever (which is the company’s big selling-point), “bleeding stops eventually.”