Ad Analysis

The advertisement I analyzed is for Brink's Home Security. I used this same ad in my unit on advertisement for the media course I recently taught. I used this ad in order to make the point to students that companies frequently are not selling a product so much as their are selling a desire, or in this particular case, the feeling of insecurity. This ad was particularly appropriate as it uses techniques similar to those used in Hitchcock's movie, "Vertigo," which the students had viewed and analyzed over the first half of the semester.

I have stills that go with each shot description, but will need to continue to work on uploading those to this blog post. Here is a link to the ad itself.

	Establishing shot: Exterior of house, slow zoom. Cut to…
	Panning shot: Over nightstand to couple in bed. Cut to…
	Close up: Couple in bed, woman hears something, props self up in bed. Cut to…
	Overhead shot: Man responds to woman’s alarm, “It’s our first night in the new house.” Overhead shot makes couple seem vulnerable. Cut to…
	Close up: Man asks woman if he should check out, woman nods her head. Cut to…
	Medium shot: Man getting out of bed. Cut to…
	Behind shoulder shot: Man’s point of view as he approaches top of stairs to investigate. Cut to…
	Zooming, panning shot: Camera zooms and pans forward upstairs – a similar technique is used in the Hitchcock film, “Vertigo,” to simulate the sensation of vertigo. Cut to…
	Behind shoulder shot: Man’s point of view as burglar breaks in, sets off alarm. Cut to…
	Zooming, panning shot: Camera once again zooms and pans forward upstairs as man slams bedroom door. What follows is a quick series of multiple cuts and shots to simulate chaos. Cut to…
	Exterior shot: Shot of house and fleeing burglar’s feet. Cut to…
	Medium shot: Back to the bedroom; couple reacting to break-in. “The alarm scared him away.” Cut to…
	Overhead shot: Again making the couple appear vulnerable. Cut to…
	Close up: Man looking out window as burglar flees. Cut to…
	Medium shot: Couple reacting in bedroom. Cut to…
	Close up: Woman answering phone. Cut to…
	Panning close up: Andy from Brink’s Home Security responding to alarm. Andy is comparatively steady compared to the chaos in the couple’s bedroom. Cut to…
	Close up: Woman explaining they are alright. Cut to…
	Panning close up: Andy on the other end. Cut to…
	Close up: Final shot of woman on phone with Andy from Brink’s Home Security.