Running Head: OBSERVATION JOURNAL 1
4-2 Project 2: Observation Journal
SCS100
Jacqueline Amoah
May 30,2021
OBSERVATION JOURNAL 2
The four advertisements that I have selected for personal and social scientific study
are ‘How clean are your bathrooms?’, ‘T-Shirt Designs for Orphans’, ‘Garnier: Hide
yesterday, meet the parents’, and ‘1960 Camel: Where a Man Belongs’.;
There are a number of reasons why I chose these advertisements for personal study as
well as a social scientific study. Personally, these four advertisements caught my attention as
I found them quite different from the other advertisements that promote the same products.
The advertisements had adopted a unique approach to reach out to the target audiences.
Moreover, my personal inclination towards the dramatic advertisements that tell the message
in an exceptional way also made me choose these advertisements. I am curious to take a
closer look at the advertisements and understand how they can make an individual choose the
advertised product.
From the social scientific perspective, I chose these four advertisements because they
clearly shed light on some of the most common social perceptions (Frolova, 2014). For
instance, in the advertisements, ‘Garnier: Hide yesterday, meet the parents’, and ‘1960
Camel: Where a Man Belongs’, men are reflected as being cool individuals which the society
believes. On the other hand, in the ad ‘How clean are your bathrooms?’, it portrays the fact
that most people in society are more concerned about clean bathrooms than any other place.
All four advertisements reflect the social relations of characters and the ideological values in
society (Frolova, 2014).;
Assumptions and Observations
Audience
In the first advertisement, ‘How clean are your bathrooms?’, it seems that the ad is not
targeted towards any specific human group. It can include all humans who are willing to keep
their bathrooms clean. However, viewing the ad from another perspective, it can be said that
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the audience of the ad can be men as men urinals are depicted in the advertisement (Initial:
How clean are your bathrooms, 1. RSS, 2014).;
In the second advertisement, ‘T-Shirt Designs for Orphans’, the target audience is the
young children who have become orphans as they lost their parents in the earthquakes. It can
also be targeted towards individuals or couples who are willing to adopt a child (Bureau of
Civil Affairs: T-shirt design for orphans. RSS, 2014).;
In the ad, ‘Garnier: Hide yesterday, meet the parents’, the target audience is the young
to middle-aged men who are involved in partying and have to hide the aftereffects in order to
look gentle while facing professional situations (Bureau of Civil Affairs: T-shirt design for
orphans. RSS, 2014).;
In the fourth advertisement, ‘1960 Camel: Where a Man Belongs’, I believe that the
target audience is men who like smoking and perceive that it is meant for men.;
Message
One of the common messages that all the advertisements send is to purchase the
product being advertised. However, the four ads also give unique messages individually.;
The clean bathroom ad reveals the message that even though the bathrooms may look clean,
it is actually dirty. So, it is important to avail the services of the experts in order to check how
dirty the bathroom is and ensure better hygiene (Initial: How clean are your bathrooms, 1.
RSS, 2014).
The orphan T-shirt design ad encourages people to be sympathetic towards the
children who have become orphans due to earthquakes. It also encourages people to adopt
orphans and helps them find a new family.;
The Garnier ad shows the importance of hiding all that happened yesterday in order to
appear professional and appealing when meeting an important person. It sends the message
that using the product can help in hiding the dark circles and fine lines that may have
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appeared due to long night parties and appear completely normal (Initial: How clean are your
bathrooms, 1. RSS, 2014).;
The 1960 camel ad sends out the message that it is cool for men to smoke, however, it
is also dangerous for one’s health.;
Nature of Relationship
In the clean bathroom ad, a professional relationship exists between the people
present in the advertisements. All of them are experts or specialists who are investigating the
hygiene of the bathroom.
In the second ad of orphan T-shirt design, the people in the ad are different
individuals. A professional relationship exists among the people involved in the ‘T-Shirt
Designs for Orphans’. This is because the main idea behind the campaign was to provide the
T-shirt as work wear to the staff members of a public campaign (Initial: How clean are your
bathrooms, 1. RSS, 2014).;
In the third advertisement of Garnier, the nature of the relationship between the
individuals portrayed in the ad is personal. It is so because it seems that a man is meeting the
girl’s parents.
In the fourth ad of 1960 Camel, a man who seems to be a passionate smoker, is
portrayed alone. The nature of the relationship can be said to be personal.
Relation with Product
In the first ad for a clean bathroom, there exists a clear relationship between the
product that is advertised and the people involved in the ad. The people are the specialists or
experts who have deep knowledge about testing the hygiene condition of the bathroom
(Initial: How clean are your bathrooms, 1. RSS, 2014).;
In the orphan T-shirt design, the people involved are willing to advocate legal
adoption of the orphans and want to ensure that the young children get the required care. The
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people in the ad are trying to capture the attention of the public and convince them to adopt
the young children who have lost their families due to the earthquakes.
In the third ad of Garnier, the relationship that exists is that the man in the ad can use
the roll-on, which is the product being advertised, in order to look fresh and appealing while
meeting his father-in-law. It shows how the product can help the man in hiding signs of his
yesterday’s party and enable him to make a good impression in the minds of the girl’s parents
(Initial: How clean are your bathrooms, 1. RSS, 2014).;
In the fourth ad, the man who seems to be a passionate smoker is enjoying the
cigarette of the Camel brand without being concerned about the dangerous health
consequences of smoking.
Effectiveness
The clean bathroom ad, orphan T-shirt design ad, and Garnier ad have been quite
effective in influencing my buying decision. All these three ads have clearly portrayed the
importance as well as benefits of using the product in a very unique way and convinced me to
try the products. However, the ‘1960 Camel: Where a Man Belongs’ hasn’t been effective in
influencing consumer decisions. It seems to a little unclear about what exactly it wants to
convey.
Social Science Evidence
Perception is one of the topics that seem to be relevant to the different human
behaviour that is portrayed in the four advertisements. Perception can be defined as the way
an individual views the world (McDonald, 2011).;he perceptions of society are clearly
reflected in the advertisements. For instance, in the first advertisement, the perception is that
most people are concerned about having clean bathrooms. The perception reflected in the
second advertisement of orphan T-shirt design is that people in the society tend to sympathise
when they the young children in images or in real who are without their parent or any family
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members to take care of them. In the third and fourth ad, the perception is that drinking and
smoking are considered cool for men in society. Moreover, the Garnier ad also focuses on the
perception that it is important to look good and appealing when meeting in-laws or important
elderly people in order to make a good impression.
Questions
There are a number of questions that I would like to ask relating to the four
advertisements as a social scientist. Some of the important questions have been mentioned
below.
What is the connection between a young man partying and then meeting the parents of
his girlfriend?
How will a male advertised product attract females to use it?
Is the bathroom ad non-specific in nature and targets everyone?
What is the perception of a non-smoker about smokers in society?
What element of the advertisements motivates the individuals to act in the desired
way?
How do the advertisements that target a specific gender make the specific gender
people feel?
Is dramatic advertisement more effective in influencing the target audience in
comparison to non-dramatic ads?
Conclusion
The dramatic advertisements selected for the study have some kind of impact on the
minds of the customers. It can be positive or, at times, negative. The characters involved in
the advertisements play an important role in influencing the target customers to purchase the
advertised product. Most of the advertisements include the perceptions of society in their
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concepts in order to attract the attention of people and convince them to make a purchase.
The social or cultural view plays a huge role in guiding the decisions of individuals.;
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References
Bureau of Civil Affairs: T-shirt design for orphans. RSS. (2014, February 1).
https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/bureau_of_civil_affairs_tshirt_design_
for_orphans.
Frolova, S. (2014). The role of advertising in promoting a product.
Initial: How clean are your bathrooms, 1. RSS. (2014, August 1).
https://www.adsoftheworld.com/media/print/initial_how_clean_are_your_bathrooms_1.
McDonald, S. M. (2011). Perception: A concept analysis.;International Journal of Nursing
Terminologies and Classifications, no-no.
