Discussion

What text/why?

Our group chose to study the two adverts because we were interested in the overlap between power and gender theory and the comparisons we could draw between the texts. The first made an appeal to potential male platelet donors, the second advertised a railroad card for young adults.

What we found interesting about the donor ad:

-Adjective 'Strong' in title 'Strong men needed to help those weakened by serious illness' - contrast between 'strong' and 'weakened' leaved men feeling that they are heroes capable of saving lives.

-Title is also reminiscent of old army recruitment posters 'Your country needs YOU!' - men feel a responsibility to 'help' others

-'Needed' creates sense of urgency, and demand - the men have been specifically targeted because they are eligible to donate platelets at Southmead Hospital

-Men were further whittled down to a primary audience by list of necessary characteristics for platelet donation e.g blood groups A, B and O

-Influential power AND instrumental - NHS are relatively powerful and their actions directly affect the public. Mostly influential - persuade men to become donors by boosting their ego/face e.g. syntax choices that emphasise direct address and therefore make the men who have been sent the leaflet feel special - 'You have been selected as a potential donor as you live...' - second person pronoun 'you' has been paced right at the beginning to make them feel important - synthetic personalisation, text presumes 'you' (the men) are strong

-Power is in the hands of the men - they are the heroes capable of saving patients' lives - by becoming donors they become selfless heroes - powerful persuasive tecunique

What we found interesting about the railroad ad:

-Conventions of a film poster, specifically a 'chick-flick' - stereotypically appeals mainly to females, done through carefully chosen graphological features (e.g. heart font, pretty female character in the foreground) and slogan 'can he get her back?'

-Age range displayed like certificate for film poster

-'Can he get her back?' - active voice shows male's power, female is the object that needs retrieving, 'he' is the subject - 'damsel in distress' is a common stereotype and may appeal to men and women because men are seen as wanting to be the hero, women seen as wanting to be swept off their feet by prince charming - the man has the power

-Word play 'Saving Precious Penny' - requires small amount of pragmatic understanding. Adjective 'precious' has female connotations, verb 'saving' reinforces idea of prince charming and happily ever after chick-flicks provide, 'Penny' refers to both coin and the female's name - link between women and currency may be offensive to certain women?

-Ideology of heroism - maybe young men can become heroes if they buy the railroad card and place themselves in the 'film' - persuasive power technique

-Deborah Tannen's theory - status v. support - men are supposed to clamour for hero staus, HOWEVER, in this ad independence v. intimacy is reversed - the woman wants independence, unusual for an advert, more normal convention of chick flick