This picture gives an identity of what it means to be an American. You can see the American flag in the background and the smoking gun in the foreground, clearly a reference to the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. A person can also tell she’s American because of the blonde hair and green eyes, which does not occur in many other cultures (the nearest I can think of is German). Taking something from her “cold dead fingers” is also a uniquely American expression.





This advertisement speaks about gender differences and identity in the ‘60s. The man is the passenger, being served by women. It gives the impression that women are useful for “inferior” jobs and just as at home, they are there to serve the men. The slogan “PSA enjoys the pleasure of this man’s company” is clearly directed towards the man, but it seems to be saying that the woman are also glad they are serving a man rather than a woman.

In this Volkswagen ad, the common thought is not people need to be more environmentally sound like many car ads are trying to say now, but rather that as the prices of oil are rising, you can secure a good price by buying a Volkswagen with a diesel engine. Americans are notoriously famous for being very tight-fisted with their money, but will spend money if they believe it will save them down the road. This is the image Volkswagen is trying to portray—spend a lot on this car now, but the savings will come when you buy liters of petrol.

While there is not much I really need to say about this advertisement, I believe it plays on the persuasion that people, especially women, must be ready to meet friends and family. By that, I mean L’Oreal is saying you can’t look like the girl in the advertisement and feel good about yourself. The girl has a very dejected look (though I’m sure it’s more coached than what she’s feeling), but it really plays on the pressure women on Miami’s campus feel like they have to look like

This is the advertisement I really feel most unhappy about. The slogan “Helping Ugly People Have Sex Since 1862” makes me feel very sad because it gives the impression that beer is more a date-rape drug than a drink at a social gathering. However, I feel there is a lot of truth in the statement as it does have a lot of influence in how people react on Friday and Saturday nights. They are playing on the fact that people’s inhibitions will be reduced enough to allow sex to occur. The man in the suit scares me as well, as it seems he is advocating beer and sex. He is a pretty good looking guy, dressed very nice and white—something that has many implications on the consumers of beer.