I chose a print advertisement out of the July/August issue of Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair is known for targeting women in the upper middle class. Their target audience has a median age of 45.2 years old. Vanity Fair magazine covers business, finance, politics, world affairs, and even entertainment/art. Women love reading this magazine, not only because of its content, but because of the upscale ads inside. Watches and perfumes are advertised on multiple pages of this magazine. Another important thing to note is that the magazine earned its big reputation because of its lively writing, reporting, and knowledgeable commentary. The beliefs of the target audience reading this magazine are mostly strong leftists when it comes to bias. It is also reported that Vanity Fair is reliable. I chose to dissect the ad in this magazine sponsored by “takemefishing.org”.

This full page ad appeals to women in this target audience by addressing the idea that the “women don’t fish” stereotype should end. Many people in our society believe in the stereotypes about women when it comes to hunting, or in this case fishing. Fishing has always been considered a hobby for men and men only. This is where the rhetorical appeal of Logos comes into play from my viewpoint. This advertisement shows a picture of a middle aged, African American woman sitting on a fishing boat. She’s got her fishing rod by her side and a big smile on her face. In the reflection of the water, you can see her holding a guitar while singing, thus demonstrating that fishing can build up a woman’s confidence. A poem on the ad reads “On and off the boat she flies, her confidence is soaring high, a force of nature on the rise”… “There’s something in the water.” Another quote on the ad reads “Women who fish have significantly greater grit and confidence than women who don’t. Find your best self on the water.” I see this quote as an implicit message. Although the ad doesn’t outright say that women who don’t fish have zero confidence and grit, it definitely implies it. This ad is not selling or promoting a product. When you visit their website, you can find information and tips on fishing. I understand that the advertisement’s goal is to bring more women into the fishing industry, but the execution is terrible. The implicit message of this ad ends up promising women that if they fish then they’ll gain confidence. This ad comes off as extremely insensitive in my opinion. Women can still have confidence and grit even if they don’t participate in fishing. I think the idea of this ad was smart and inclusive, but the way the ad was published made it the exact opposite of the idea. I am honestly shocked that this ad made it into magazines and no one saw the problem with it. If I were to make this ad, I would’ve changed the quote to say “fishing can help women gain confidence”. If the ad was going for a motive of empowerment, then they could have worded it better. 

When taking a look at the graphics initially on the ad, I was confused. I didn’t understand why a woman was looking at a different version of herself in the reflection on the water. That’s when I read the ad and realized that she was looking at a confident version of herself. The goal of the graphic is to show that fishing can help women find themselves and feel confident enough to play the guitar and sing. Performing a song does take confidence so I can understand why they chose the guitar example. The woman on the boat is seen looking at a so-called better version of herself. We are led to believe that fishing caused this self growth. I also noticed that the model in the ad is not the typical model used in advertisements. She is an African American woman wearing braids and she doesn’t have the popular “skinny” Hollywood figure. I think this is a great part of the ad because it’s going against typical beauty standards for women. This ad is using Pathos to appeal to the emotions of its audience. The ad is causing the audience to imagine fishing on the clear blue water on a relaxing sunny day. I definitely like that this ad decided to use an African American woman instead of the typical white, skinny mother. This shows inclusivity within the ads choice of graphics. When I looked at the ad, I immediately noticed the smiling face, bright happy colors, and the clear blue water. Although fishing doesn’t typically look like the ad is picturing, they do a good job at promoting the activity. These graphics are truly making us feel something. 

The language used in this ad is what made me second guess the true meaning. As I said previously, I understand the goal of this ad. “Takemefishing.org” wants to promote fishing for other groups of people besides just men. They want to come across as inclusive so that more people are likely to visit their sites to find fishing tips and information. It’s unknown whether they actually mean what they’re promoting or if they’re doing it to gain attraction and money. This is where the rhetorical appeal of Ethos comes into play. The poem creates persuasion and the quote saying that women who fish have greater confidence and grit than those who don’t also show using ethics to persuade. I don’t think there is any form of Logos present in this ad. There are no facts stating that women are proven to be more confident if they fish. I don’t see any statistics, it just sounds sexist and opinionated. Logos is using logical reasoning and evidence to persuade which there is lack of in this ad. I think the cultural significance of this ad comes from the stereotypes within women and African Americans. The stereotype that African Americans don’t enjoy outdoor activities such as biking, camping, fishing, swimming, and more have been around for decades. I believe this ad is trying to go against the stereotype and empower African Americans to fish for their wellbeing. 

In conclusion, I like the idea that “Takemefishing.org” had when it came to promoting their website. Advertising an African American woman going against the stereotype that she can’t fish is really powerful. This is exactly why it’s important to dig deeper into an ad so that way you can understand the true meaning behind it. Finding examples of Ethos and Pathos within this ad was easier compared to finding Logos. Logos was not really present other than when I was dissecting the advertisement. When it comes to Vanity Fair targeting an audience of middle aged upper middle class women, this ad made sense. This audience will be able to take this ad as empowerment. Although there were good parts to this ad, I also found controversial words. There were implicit messages present that led me to feeling uncertainty about the ad. Looking beyond what I saw as I looked at the graphic helped me figure out the motive for the ad. Overall, getting the opportunity to analyze the different parts of this advertisement was really eye opening.