Cosmedicine
Amanda Murphy

revised, February 12

Amanda Murphy

Ad analysis revised 

This ad for Cosmedicine line of skin care products was found in an ad of Vogue magazine; this particular magazine targets women around the age of anywhere from early twenties to mid to late thirties. The ad directly uses an ethical appeal and in an attempt to give the product credibility the ad boldly claims that the product is “The Best Medicine for your skin.” The word medicine is highlighted in blue to ensure that it grabs the reader’s attention; this is effective because of the connotations associated with the word medicine. Presenting a skin care product as a medication is also a form of logical appeal. It appeals to the logic that many have of; “if I am unhealthy then I should take medicine to get better.”

  The clean and uncluttered text format along with the simple color scheme brings to mind a sanitized medical facility; once again playing off of the consumers beliefs about health and medicine. To complete the medical image, a prescription form has been hidden behind the bottle on the left side, the form is so well hidden that it is almost unnoticeable except for the Rx symbol peaking out from behind the bottles.

 It is a common marketing tool in skin care ads to play off of women’s “fear of ageing.” While this ad does not do it directly, the knowledge of that “fear” is there. The text still uses phrases such as; “…fortify skin against age-accelerating free radicals,” which play off of the fear. The way the text is presented gives the product the appearance of credibility; on the right side of the page there is a column of bold statement connected to a product by a thin blue line so the consumer knows which bottle is for what. On one hand this could imply that those trying to sell the product believe that the consumers are stupid; however, the easy to read, follow the line approach could also add to the already clean layout of the ad and give it a tone of guiding and caring. Under the heading is a “fact” about the product and how it can help your skin.  The ad concludes with a paragraph in blue which starts with the line “TRUTH IS BEAUTY.” This slogan, which is an example of aphorism, not only gives the reader the idea that this particular beauty product is the real deal but also makes a deeper ethical statement about truth and its importance. The ad also offers free samples at the website where it is sold, and of course any logical consumer would not turn down the promise of free samples.