Topic: ANALYSIS PAPER ON WOMEN’S HEALTH PORTRAYED IN ADVERTISING

Guidelines for Analysis Paper:

You may select OPTION 1 or OPTION 2.
OPTION 1

ANALYSIS PAPER ON WOMEN’S HEALTH PORTRAYED IN ADVERTISING
1. Become aware of advertising about women. Look at billboards, magazines, television, products in stores, etc.
2. Select one advertisement/picture that portrays women or suggests a goal for women that is unrealistic and unhealthy. Include a copy (or the URL of the website) of the picture in your report. Find something that is not a diet ad.
3. Discuss the message being sent by this advertisement or message. You could conduct a small focus group of friends or family to solicit their reactions. Consider asking different age groups for a response.
4. Who is the suggested audience of this message? What age group is being targeted? Will other groups be affected by this ad?
5. Discuss how this advertisement/picture/message could affect women’s health. Is this product necessary?
6. Could this message be presented in a different format? How could this company still achieve their goal?
7. Write a letter to the company discussing your response and why this advertising is a concern: Include a copy of the letter in your paper. Write the letter as a concerned consumer or health professional. DO NOT write that you are doing this as an assignment, as it detracts from the sound of your intent.
8. Limit the content of the paper to 3-5 pages. (not including title page or reference page) Include at least two appropriate references to support your discussion.
9. Papers must be typed and written in a consistent format. Grading will be on creativity, grammar, clarity, conciseness and professional style. Refer to Paper Evaluation Criteria.
Find the screen in the Assignment Module 9 with a picture of an ad I found in the Sunday paper. I was especially struck by the three pictures of abdomens on the right side. Americans need to watch their weight, and dieting ads abound in magazines and television. They are not all bad if they remind women to watch their calories. But most of them do not depict realistic goals. Most of us would be more than content with the abdomen in the top picture. It is unrealistic and unhealthy for women to strive for a body image that is extremely underweight according to the standardized weight charts, especially since we do not know how tall this woman is. Notice that the graph shows weight for the 170 lb. woman, even though the pictures show a very different story. The pictures of the abdomens show that this woman lost 23 lbs in one month, definitely not in the recommendations of the American Dietetic Association! This would be an example of a very unhealthy ad for women. Try to find something that is not a diet ad for your project.

There are two ways that you can approach this paper. One is to find a product advertised that is unrealistic or that is some kind of hype that people fall for and is not healthy. The other approach is to consider how the media uses women and sex to sell every product under the sun. Find one of those products and explain how women were exploited to sell a product that really doesn’t require sex or nudity from women to advertise.

OPTION 2

ANALYSIS PAPER ON BARRIERS TO BREASTFEEDING IN THE MEDIA.
Select a message, event, item€¦etc. about a product that supports the continuation of a bottle-feeding culture. DO NOT USE FORMULA ADS OR THEIR PRODUCTS.
1. What is the message or item you have selected? Include the picture or URL website.
2. Who is the intended audience? How often is the message or item seen by the community?
3. Is this item intended to influence infant feeding choices or is it unrelated?
4. How is a bottle-feeding culture being supported by this message or item? You may want to conduct your own mini-focus group. Does this message say anything to the consumer about breastfeeding?
5. Who is responsible for this message? What interest, if any, do they have in babies/feeding choices?
6. What is an estimate of the dollars involved in this message?
7. Write a letter to the responsible agency, company, or person explaining the current recommended standards for healthy mothers and babies. Discuss what message they currently sending. Suggest elimination of this item or alternative messages they could include. Do not state in your letter that you are a student completing an assignment. Your message will have more impact if it comes from a consumer.
8. Include appropriate references to support your discussion and letter.
9. Limit the content of the paper to 3-5 pages. (not including title page or reference page)
10. Include at least two appropriate references to support your discussion.
11. Papers must be typed and written in a consistent format. Grading will be on creativity, grammar, clarity, conciseness and professional style. Refer to Paper Evaluation Criteria.
Find the screen in the Assignment Module a picture titled Bottle Picture. Not only is a bottle unnecessary in a quilting pattern, but it is ridiculous to imagine a hippopotamus using a bottle. This pattern could be just as adorable without the bottle. It continues to support that bottle-feeding is the dominant way, overtaking all mammals!

HEA-305: Women’s Health
Analysis Paper Rubric

Analysis Paper Topic

OPTION 1: Women’s Health Portrayed in Advertising ________
OR
OPTION 2: Barriers to Breastfeeding in the Media ________

Element Points Assigned Points Received
Appropriate ad selection with picture or URL included
10
Discussion of message of ad including focus group
10
Suggested audience of ad with rationale for this audience
10
Discussion on impact of ad on women’s health
20
Suggestion for more appropriate method to advertise product
10
Letter to company addressing concerns
10

Minimum of two appropriate references to support the analysis
10

Grammar, syntax, spelling, format, and organization

20

Total Points
100