reading visual texts

Practice 1:
Click on the links below one at a time to view three different car commercials. After each commercial answer the following questions before moving on to the next commercial.
Commercial 1: The Subaru Poodle Commercial
Commercial 2: The Ford Ranger – Science of Tough
Commercial 3: Audi Welcomes Women to the Driver’s Seat
What is the main claim of the advertisement? (Hint: for most advertisements, the main claim is that you should buy something.)
Does the advertisement provide any reasons for the claim?
Does the advertisement provide any evidence? For instance, are there any facts, statistics, experts (doctors, scientists, government officials), or anecdotes (first hand experiences) to support the claim? If so, list them and be specific.
What types of appeals does the advertisement use? Pathos (causing an emotional reaction), Ethos (showing its sources for information, acknowledging alternative viewpoints, and providing credible testimony), or Logos (providing clear reasons and evidence, appealing to the viewers intellect or rational mind).
Based on your answers, who is the audience for this advertisement? Some things to consider when thinking about audience appeal are the following. Note: not all of these are always relevant, and there may be other relevant conditions that are not listed. For instance, some ads may have nothing to do with one’s religion, but it is still important to consider these conditions to begin thinking about the target audience.
Age
Gender
Geographical Location
Socioeconomic (Is the audience the high, middle, or lower economic status?)
Education
Life experiences
Values and Beliefs
Religion
Culture
Race
Practice 2:
In the next module, you will be choosing two music videos to analyze.  The videos will both tell a story and make a claim about something, and they will be two different versions of the same song. To get ready for that analysis, this practice session will walk you through the steps to prepare to write the analysis.
The two music videos for this practice lesson are both videos for the song “Where is the Love” by the Black-Eyed Peas.  The first video was produced in 2003, and the second video was produced in 2017. For this practice, we will first describe the scenes, props, and characters in the video, and then discuss the claims and rhetorical appeals.
Click on the link to watch the first version (2003):  “Where is the Love” by the Black Eyed Peas. You may want to watch it several times before answering the following questions. Look for specific details that support the claims being made by the video rendition of the song.
What story is being told in the video? Who are the main characters?
What is the main claim of the music video? In other words, what does the story being told lead the viewer to believe?
Does the video provide any reasons for the claim? Be specific.
Does the video provide any evidence? For instance, are there any facts, statistics, experts (doctors, scientists, government officials), or anecdotes (first hand experiences) to support the claim? If so, list them and be specific.
What types of appeals does the video use? Pathos (causing an emotional reaction), Ethos (showing its sources for information, acknowledging other viewpoints, and providing credible testimony), or Logos (providing clear reasons and evidence, appealing to the viewers intellect or rational mind).
Based on your answers, who is the audience for this advertisement? Some things to consider when thinking about audience appeal are the following. (Note: not all of these are always relevant, and there may be other relevant conditions that are not listed.  For instance, some ads may have nothing to do with one’s religion.)
Age
Gender
Geographical Location
Socioeconomic (Is the audience the high, middle, or lower economic status?)
Education
Life experiences
Values and Beliefs