The few words of this ad seem to imply that what the speaker is talking about is common knowledge. The speaker is assuming that we know what Advil is and what its common uses are. The speaker is very matter-of-fact about the subject. "I have pain, I take Advil." The speaker presents it in a way that makes the reader believe there is no other logical response to muscle pain than to take Advil.

The speaker appears to be a reliable source on muscle pains induced by workouts. She is dressed in workout gear and her hair is slightly messy.  In addition, her body composition shows that she is either is gifted with a naturally muscular body or has done her fair share of workouts. She seems credible on the subject of muscle pain.

Because of the magazine this ad was located in, it is of course oriented to athletic, fitness-minded people, especially runners.  The ad appeals to this audcience because it presumes to offer a way to stay fit without pain.  The straight-to-the-point language of the ad assumes that the reader can relate to the speaker.  The ad is also careful not to say direct;y that Advil works only on pain caused by workouts, although this idea is implied.  This strategy helps to keep members of the audience from assuming that Advil is only good for muscle pain caused by workouts and nothing else.

The ad attracts readers, first,   because it is short and simply worded, and second because it asks the reader to relate to the speaker.  We have all felt muscle pain from a workout.  This is the hook: it gives the speaker and the audience common ground to build on.   The speaker does not attempt to prove any of her claims.  She merely says that Advil is good enough for her.  Letting this statement stand by itself without even attempting to prove it is one reason why the speaker’s credibility is so important to this ad.

The speaker is presented as having a conversation between her body and her mind.  This strategy  appeals to this specific audicence because running is 90% mental.  Frequently, one’s mind must override one's body, which is in pain, in order to finish a workout or race.  Runners can relate to this separate mind/body conversation as many other athletes can.

The ad itself is appealing to the eye.  It is simple; the blue color is very calm.  The black and white image of the woman is a contrast to the blue, but it is not alarming because it is tied in with the white lettering at the top and bottom of the ad.  The box of Advil stands out in the right corner because of the red and yellow it contains, but it is not obnoxious because compared to the rest of the as it is relatively small.

The use of the pronoun "Our" makes the reader think that the message is coming from a particular group of people who have generously created their product for those with sensitive skin.   The tone of the ad is most interesting, since it undergoes a slight shift.   The most noticeable text, that which is printed the largest, is "If your skin was meant to get red and bumpy in the sun, you would have been born a raspberry."   Of course, the tone here is playful and jocular.  Everyone knows that in terms of naturalistic teleology, our skin was made to get red and bumpy in the sun, but everyone gets the comparison of raspberries and smiles.  The picture of the heap of raspberries only serves to reinforce the joke and the speaker’s opening playfulness.

However, once the jovial speaker has the reader’s attention, he turns, like a psychologist who has just loosened up a new client with a fishing joke, to a more serious matter.  The rest of the text is more or less serious, at least lacking the opening playfulness, and even authoritative. The speaker’s diction is specially important with regard to his/her/their newly found authoritative tone.  The speaker uses terms like "Eucerin" and "revolutionary super-antioxidant AGR formula" and "broad spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreens."  This is the language of science, which undoubtedly the speaker is taking up to convince the audience of the trustworthiness of the product.  It is doubtful that many readers will know how or why oxidation is dangerous, or what eucerin is, but surely the terminology will impress them and lend a measure of objectivity and reliability to the speaker.  Of course, this terminology also makes it seem as if the speaker is estimating highly his audience’s knowledge of the practical sciences.   Thus, the vocabulary of the ad works to make the speaker sound as if he/she /they are either highly authoritative and scientific or completely trusting in the audience’s intelligence.

II. Audience

The primary audience whom the speaker is addressing is made up of those who have sensitive skin. The speaker speaks to a person who is somewhat playful and easy about his or her wretched condition of excessive epidermal affectability.  This ad is not one of those heart- defeating acne ads which feature frowning pockmarked teens and their fresh swellings.  The satisfaction that one will receive from using Eucerin is only the mild contentment of the clear-faced young woman in the right hand corner of the ad.  The audience, then, is one that does not take their disease too seriously but would enjoy being rid of its raspberry-red consequences.  Again, the terminology assumes the reader of a certain sophistication and education, one who at least has some sense of what oxidation is and why it is important that a sunscreen cover a "broad-spectrum."   Also, the picture of a young girl, who is probably between twenty and thirty, gives some hint as to the nature of the audience. They are targeting people who are old enough to have kids, as the line "gentle enough to use on kids" informs us.

The appeal of the ad is primarily to the emotions.  It encourages all those who have endured harsh summers of raspberry discontent and embarrassment to enjoy the clear security of the young woman in the upper right hand corner of the ad.  The ad tells its readers that they need no longer suffer form the whispers and giggling of co-workers at their crimson cheeks, nor endure the blunt ribbings of callous children regarding their sanguine skin. This advertisement assumes that its readers value physical attractiveness and emotional security based on one’s physical attractiveness.  It also assumes that its readers value treating the subject with light contempt, not making a big deal of it, so they seem to be above it. The ad assumes also a respect for doctors: "#1 dermatologist-recommended brand."

III. Aspects of composition

The ad attempts to appeal to its reader first and foremost through a light humor that touches on a potentially deeply felt insecurity. The appeal is not bluntly, but jovially pitched to the emotions, again, so that the reader will laugh at her condition instead of weep. The most prominent mode of persuasion that the ad utilizes is its objective and scientific language.  How can the reader doubt such knowledgeable language?  How can the reader doubt the "#1 dermatologist-recommended brand"?

One interesting technique that the ad employs is that of highlighting the most important phrases or clauses in yellow.   For instance, the phrase "works unlike anything else" is highlighted in yellow.  This technique is for those who are not emotionally devastated by their overly sensitive skin and wish only to skim over the ad.  Also, the phrase, "gentle enough to use on kids" is highlighted, surely to touch the heart of every tender mother who looks with dread at her child’s overly white skin.

The text then begins to break down the problem and show that bedwetting is natural by explaining that seven million children wet their beds and it is not their fault.  Therefore, something must be done to give these children the security they need to lead fulfilling lives.

After making a logical case as to why one should buy the product, the ad agency returns to an emotional appeal by stating the other benefits that come from wearing Goodnites.  By using words like "he" and "you" the ad is trying to spark the emotion between a parent and child. Stating that since he's the only one that knows he is wearing them he gains privacy, independence, and confidence.   What parent would not want these things for their child? Knowing that he does not have to worry about wetting the bed is going to allow the boy to sleep easier, and in turn you no loner have to worry about him (or your child) lying awake and afraid so you can also sleep easier.

There they are, leaning against a tree, smoking the cigars that aren’t allowed in the house.  They bought out Orvis, they’re so happy, and they haven’t caught any fish.  The photo is in sepia tones, warm and masculine.  It’s a great portrait of the boys’ day out, doing male bonding;  they have been photographed in their natural habitat.

But wait. The reader takes "one delicious sip of GranGala" and all is revealed.  Well, who exactly is going to take a sip? Perhaps the men, perhaps the women who are reading the copy.  There is something vaguely condescending about the whole thing. Those guys aren’t out in the outback with thousands of dollars worth of fly-fishing gear and a bottle of Triple Orange Liqueur.  How could they get it in the flask?  And what if some of the other guys found out?  NO, it's Black Jack or single malt twenty- five year old Macaulay for them.

The ladies are sipping the orange stuff, considering the original question, taking it from the top. The fishermen don’t know they’re being observed; they are being indulged by their ladies, and by the readers, who also are most probably women, because after all, the ad is on the page of La Cucina Italiana, and women are apt to be the target readers. There is pathos: they are amused and they love their men, and the men are having a great day.  There is ethos: the copy writer knows about men and toys.  There is logos: who could refuse the "favorite ultimate margarita"?  This GranGala is really good; after all, it's "fine Italian V.S.O.P. brandy and aged in oak casks.  Real Oak.