Semiotic Analysis

XBox One (TV ad):
In this ad, it starts off with a stereotypical setting of a young man lounging on his couch, watching TV. He's watching TV with what looks like the XBox One. But things get shaken up a tad when what appears to be an attractive young woman waltzing in and forcing her 'boyfriend' to stop watching and let her use the game system. Afterwards, she commands her boyfriends to do menial tasks just as she had commanded the game system.

This ad slyly destroys the stereotype that only guys play video games. That's what the ad is trying to do, without explicitly stating it. It appeals to a much broader audience instead of just the usual 10 year old boy. It dares to be different and apart from the stereotypical myth that girls don't play video games. Also, it is usually assumed that "gamer girls" might not be attractive as bad as that sounds, so by using this obviously attractive young woman, they also devalue the stereotype this way.

Tigo Auto Insurance (Print Ad):
This is an ad for the family orientated Tigo Auto Assurance. The detonation of is the very popular slide to unlock sign they show. They are implying how easy it is to get Tigo on your phone, and how quick it will be for the auto insurance to come help you fix your car. The connotation of it is that society has evolved and depended so greatly on technology. Instantly, you can recognize the device and the quickness of the insurance they're trying to show.

McDonalds (Outdoor Ad):
It's pretty obvious what this outdoor ad (a billboard) is trying to imply. McDonalds made it seem like they needed two full billboard signs to show the Big Mac, which implies the extreme size of the burger. It's just an illusion, however and it's just two smaller sized boards onto one. They also add a sense of 3D by popping up the top of the burger on the ad, which also adds on to how big the burger is.
You can tell how popular McDonalds is because they barely say anything about its brand or what it does, it just has the logo and two words. This shows how much they know society has become familiarized with the McDonalds brand.

Favorite Ad Agency

After looking around a bit on all the different ad agencies, I spotted one that I instantly recognized. This ad agency is Weiden+Kennedy. They are an independently owned American advertising agency, that is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The reason they stuck out to me, not only because they're one of the largest independently owned ad agencies in the world, but because of a particular campaign they did: Old Spice.

Yes, the infamous Old Spice commercials, featuring none other than Terry Crews. Everyone knows about them, sometimes not even for the product itself but by the image of it.

Why? Because they're bizzare. They stand out. It makes you remember them.

It's a large and enthusiastically angry Terry Crews in all these odd extremities while somehow managing to advertise the product still. Though they might not flat out yell or exemplify how well of a product Old Spice is, the odd and humorous situations that Terry Crews gets in during these commercials makes the audience remember them.

It's not like every ad has to be boring and flat out explain why it's better than the other brands. Weiden+Kennedy manage to do that just by having a more memorable commercial. That is why this ad agency is one of my favorites.

Big Bosses In Advertising

The category that we chose to dissect was fast food burger chain restaurants. Through common sense, we deduced that McDonald's was top dog. We were able to rule out the reasons for this fairly easily. For one thing, McDonald's is known for being the cheapest of the cheap. They pride themselves on their infamous "dollar menu," where a variety of food ranging from burgers to drinks, can be purchased. Not only is the food incredibly cheap, it is also very fast (which is always a good thing in the fast food business.) We also realized it was their great approach to media which made them the front runner. I mean, Ronald McDonald is undoubtedly an iconic character. He even had a movie series that incorporated a set of trademarked McDonald characters such as the famous Hamburgler! It's safe to say that these series stuck with me through out my childhood. Childhood is actually another top reason McDonald's is the top dog - they know how to connect with childhood. McDonald's were the first chain to revolutionize the kids meal, toy and all. These are just a few reasons McDonald's is the big boss today.

What we also looked into was what McDonald's were competing against. At first, we thought it would be In N' Out. Why? We were only thinking in current terms and just because it's a few people's favorite nowadays, we assumed it would be McDonald's top competitor. But we assumed wrong. The reason being for this is that it's fairly new compared to the other brands, it only usually has restaurant chains on the West Coast. So, after realizing this, we came to the conclusion that Burger King was the next competitor, and we were correct. The reason being for this is with the similarities it has with McDonalds. Burger King's mascot is also quite iconic. The guy with the Big King head surely stands out in the mind. The crowns they offer are also quite memorable. Third in line is Wendy's, but to sum it up McDonald's is the one who has the last bite every time.