Saige Boddy

Professor Granillo

English 103

5 December 2018

Post #2

Subject: What is this text about?

This advertisement is a general brand promotion for the popular drugstore cosmetics company
Maybelline. A few products were used in the video but their selection of products is so broad that
it would be difficult to pinpoint the exact ones. It contains a few musicians and models who are
well-known for their successful careers.

Claim: What opinion or point of view does this text express?

This video has some empowerment to it, with the opening statement being “This is for the girls
who make it happen” (“Make It Happen” by Maybelline New York). There’s something about
the voice-over and the overall statement where makeup is there to enhance what’s already there
and express one’s self instead of using it to be beautiful as if one isn’t already.

Audience: Who is the author trying to reach?

I believe that Maybelline is trying to reach any girl who wears makeup, whether it’s a daily
necessity or something that is only needed once in a while.

Assumptions: What assumptions does the author make about the audience?

I think the assumptions that the author makes is that only women wear makeup and that those
who do wear it don’t have confidence because they need to wear makeup if they aren’t perfect.

Goal: What action does the author want the audience to take?

Maybelline wants women in general to feel good about themselves and to feel comfortable
expressing themselves with makeup in whichever unique way they want to showcase it. They
advertise makeup like an art form and a way to be unique versus using products to be perfect. It
also sort of makes me want to get up and not only be proud to be a woman but to do something
important with my life and be successful.

Tone: Choose 2 of the following adjectives to describe the tone or attitude of the author/text.

Confidence and passion is something that seeps from this video. Even more so, the confidence is
more empowerment, trying to make women rise from the misogynistic viewpoint on makeup.
Appeals: Most texts use some combination of the following appeals. Identify each appeal, then
rank them in order of emphasis.

Ethics/Persona: How does the author establish credibility and/or appeal to the values of his or
her audience?

Maybelline as a brand has an insane amount of fans all over the world who use their products for
their effectiveness yet affordable price. Instead of advertising themselves as a company who
creates products that correct imperfections, they promote diversity within skintones and tell
women that every single one of us can be unique and inspiring.

Emotion/Reader: What emotion/s does the author try to evoke from the reader: desire,
happiness, interest, surprise, wonder, sorrow, anger, pity, hate, fear, guilt, acceptance, empathy?

I think the most prominent of these is definitely desire. The women advertised in the ad were
beautiful, well-known models who have incredibly successful careers in the modeling industry
and I believe most women would be more than happy to be as successful in their life.

Logic/Purpose: What is the reasoning or logic used to accomplish the purpose of the text?

Part of me wants to say that watching this, I feel like I can do something with my life or that if I
wear makeup, or even just be confident with myself, I can get somewhere. I wish the world
worked this way but sadly, it doesn’t.

Fallacy: It was hard for me to identify which one could fit this but possible the bandwagon
fallacy because if enough people believe it, then it'll be true.