Semester 2, Blog 1 Hoover Advertisement

At a first glance of this image you see colors associated with Christmas or the Holiday Season.  The only colors on this image are red, green, white, and black from the text.  Many of us think of Christmas as a time to exchange and receive gifts.  In the image you see a middle aged attractive woman with a long, green dress that seems to be covering most of her body.  The only part of her body that is exposed is her face and the lower part of her arms.  This makes me immediately think back to how times were in the 50's and 60's when most women did not wear very revealing clothing and played the role of the "housewife".  Many women did not have the rights that they do now.  The product in this advertisement is the vacuum itself and its bright red color, with a large green bow.  The logo for this product is also placed in the upper right hand corner with yet another bow on it, which again ties the image to the Christmas season.  The boxes in the bottom right hand corner are significantly smaller than the vacuum and they are wrapped, yet the vacuum is not.  This also signifies that what is in the smaller boxes may not be as important, which adds attention to the product.  The woman in this image is grabbing onto the vacuum as if it is her favorite present.  Her facial expression shows that she is pleased with her gift, and thankful that she got it.  Although, going back to what I mentioned earlier about women’s roles during the 50's and 60's, she is gifted a cleaning supply.  This shows that women were responsible for chores such as cleaning, yet they are somewhat forced to be thrilled with getting a cleaning device for Christmas.  Also, if you look in the woman's right hand she is holding what seems to be a card that is a part of the present.  Her smile is not a full smile like you would see with a young boy getting a new toy or a young girl getting a doll set.  It looks like a small smirk, or smile of contentment.  The text says "Give her a Hoover and you give her the best".  This implies that most men want to give their wives the best of the best, and giving them a Hoover would be the best vacuum they could get.  The text in parenthesis "(and forever after)" shows that the feeling the wife will get of having the best of the best will last forever.  The other text that states, "She cares about her house, you know, so if you really care about her....wouldn't it be a good idea to consider a Hoover for Christmas?"  This shows again that wives during this time really prided themselves over how clean their houses were and this text makes the connection between the wife's caring of her house, and the husbands caring for her.  These are two different types of caring though, yet this advertisement compares the two as the same feelings to sell the product.  The text also implies that the Hoover Vacuum is the best, and it is the only vacuum that can make her feel the same way about cleaning her house, as her husband feels towards her.  The purpose for this ad is to persuade husbands that by giving their wife a Hoover Vacuum, they will feel like their husbands really care about them.  The main audience for this product is husbands that want to show their love to their wife on Christmas.  The main tactic in this advertisement was using persuasive appeals implying that their wife would be happier on Christmas if she received a Hoover Vacuum.