Advertisement Analysis Grid
Use the same questions for every advertisement so your analysis moves from description to effect.
Success criteria
- I can identify the audience, purpose, and message of an advertisement.
- I can describe visual and verbal features precisely.
- I can explain the effect of each choice on the audience.
- I can connect the choices to the brand's identity.
How to use this grid
- Look at the advertisement for 30 seconds without writing. Note your first impression.
- Complete the grid from top to bottom.
- Use evidence from the ad, not guesses. “The ad uses blue” is description; “The blue makes the water look clean and cold” is analysis.
- Write one paragraph at the end that answers the focus question.
Model row
| Question | Model answer |
|---|---|
| Audience | Students and young creatives who carry a notebook and want to seem thoughtful. |
| Purpose | To sell pocket notebooks and build a brand identity around everyday creativity. |
| Message | Marlow helps you catch ideas before they disappear. |
| Salience | The navy notebook and the headline are the first things I notice because they are large and high-contrast. |
| Image | A notebook and pencil on a warm desk; the product is shown in use, not isolated on white. |
| Colour | Ink blue, cream, and burnt orange. The palette feels analogue and warm; the orange button draws the eye. |
| Layout and type | Logo top-left, headline left, product image right, CTA bottom-left. The serif headline feels literary. |
| Language | “For ideas that won't sit still” personifies ideas and makes creativity feel energetic. |
| Technique | Association and identity. The ad links the notebook to being a creative person. |
| Effect | It makes the viewer want to belong to that creative identity, not just own a notebook. |
| Brand voice | Thoughtful, tactile, quietly confident, not corporate. |
| Call to action | “Start a page.” It is small and concrete, which makes the action feel easy. |
Analysis grid 1
| Question | Your answer |
|---|---|
| Advertisement | |
| Audience | |
| Purpose | |
| Message | |
| First impression / salience | |
| Image | |
| Colour | |
| Layout and typography | |
| Language | |
| Technique | |
| Effect | |
| Brand voice | |
| Call to action |
Analysis grid 2
| Question | Your answer |
|---|---|
| Advertisement | |
| Audience | |
| Purpose | |
| Message | |
| First impression / salience | |
| Image | |
| Colour | |
| Layout and typography | |
| Language | |
| Technique | |
| Effect | |
| Brand voice | |
| Call to action |
Sentence frames
- The advertisement targets ______, which we can tell from ______.
- The most salient feature is ______. This draws the eye because ______.
- The use of ______ suggests ______, making the audience feel ______.
- The headline ______ uses ______ to ______.
- The brand voice sounds ______, which suits the audience because ______.
- The call to action asks the viewer to ______. This is effective because ______.
Focus paragraph
Write one paragraph that answers: How does this advertisement position its audience to desire the product or idea?
Use this structure:
- Claim: name the audience and the overall positioning.
- Evidence: give one visual detail and one language detail.
- Analysis: name the technique and explain the effect.
- Link: connect the choices to the brand's identity or message.
Peer check
- My partner named the audience and gave evidence.
- My partner described a specific visual or language choice.
- My partner explained an effect, not just a feature.
- My partner connected the choice to the brand or message.
- My partner used at least two precise vocabulary terms.
Teacher notes
Choose two advertisements with different audiences and purposes. A commercial ad and a public service ad work well together.
Do not let students write “it catches the eye” without explaining how. Push for colour, contrast, size, placement, or facial expression.
If students finish early, ask them to identify one choice the ad does not make and explain why that absence matters.
Collect the grids and use two anonymous examples to model a strong and a weak paragraph.