Proactiv Advertisement Analysis

For our presentation our group focused on the supposed acne clearing medication Proactiv. I chose this product specifically because it was one of if not the only one named that didn't require a prescription or have age limitations attached to it, therefore many consider it a fairly innocuous product. Our advertisement was laid out in a very deliberate way, showing senior photos of fresh faced, good looking high schoolers. As this was our target audience we took advantage of the visibility of yearbooks and the stress high schoolers face while trying to fit in and live up to certain beauty standards thrust upon them by their peers and media. We most definitely implied that your looks would have an impact on whether or not they would live a happy …show more content…
This advertisement incorporates several different techniques to draw the viewer in. When looking at this ad, you are immediately drawn to large bold letters exclaiming, “What’s the secret to her success? She’s Proactiv.” Right off the bat, thats drawing the view in and informing them that Proactiv will make you successful. Another technique being that like Levine’s ad, it’s a personal testimonial. Katy perry cares about you, and wants you to know she understands your plight in becoming acne free. In addition, there are the fairly ambiguous claims like "Helps clear and prevent acne blemishes”, “Works on all kinds of acne”, and “Effective on all skin types”. Here, Proactive is suggesting something positive without really making any promises that their product will absolutely yield results, which is something Metzl points out in Prozac on the Couch. He explains, “Advertisements are not so much full of information as they are empty or loose. Advertisements create anxiety and then provide their viewers the relevant information with which to construct a narrative that resolves the anxiety with an understanding of—to be followed, it is hoped, by the consumption of—the brand-named object being