This essay is an analysis of an advertisment as it relates to a fairy tale.

Essay by Anonymous UserCollege, UndergraduateA+, November 1996

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This essay is an analysis of an advertisment as it relates to a fairy tale. It has been rewritten three times, the final grade was an A.

Many advertisements use codes to convey a fairy tale to consumers, usually

resulting in a happy ending. This occurs at the expense of the price and means being set

aside. Most advertisements rely heavily on visual props and sometimes on text to convey

their meaning. These codes are open to many interpretations. This ad is no exception. It

uses the visual code on many different levels, and the text is there mainly for explanatory

purposes. These codes all have references to the story-line of Magic: two sorcerers using

spells to fight each other over imaginary regions of land. The advertisement tries

unsuccessfully to convey a happy ending, like in a fairy tale, to the consumer, while

sacrificing price and means.

The code of spatial order is used to show the reader advancements in periods of

time. These advancements can be seen as one looks at the ad from the lower-left corner in

a clockwise circle. The first object one would see is a skull from a Woolly Mammoth,

which is symbolic of prehistoric times. The next object, a computer, stands out because it

does not fit the pattern of chronological order. Wizards of the Coast and Microprose, the

advertisers, use this purposely by drawing attention to the computer and consequently the

computer game. The computer falls into another pattern. This pattern goes in the same

order, clock-wise, but alternates between Magic (the game) and something pertaining to

the background of the game. The next objects are tarot cards and a spell book, both of

which follow the patterns. These objects, along with the mood of the entire ad being dark,

may be...