Op-Ad from a Research Topic

For this assignment, you will create an Op-Ad based on the topic of your research paper. As you know from reading Chapter 8 of Envision, an Op-Ad is an advertisement that “sells” an opinion rather than a tangible, commercial product. In fact, as opposed to many traditional ads that try to persuade the reader that s/he needs to buy something, an Op-Ad often very forcefully argues a position.

In creating your own Op-Ad, you should first identify a specific, arguable position within your research topic. For instance, your paper may have analyzed gender stereotypes in popular computer games, but your Op-Ad might focus specifically on arguing that “Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball” creates low self-esteem in its female players. Once you have identified your particular line of argument, you can create a rhetorically effective ad that purposefully uses both visual and verbal elements. Use the strategies listed in the Op-Ad At a Glance Box in Chapter 8 to help you work with the form and content of your ad. You may also want to review the discussion of advertising in Chapter 2 for insights into the rhetorical strategies at work in many contemporary advertisements.

You may create your ad in a variety of formats depending on your technical expertise. Two options are available to you:

1. A print ad, created in a word processing program, a publishing program, a graphics program, or with paper, scissors, and glue.
2. A brief (30 second) commercial, created with a program such as i-Movie or Flash, or recorded with a digital recorder.

After completing your Op-Ad, write a 1/2 page summary that reflects on your rhetorical decisions in creating your visual argument – considering issues such as strategies of development and rhetorical appeals (review Chapter 2 of Envision for a more detailed discussion of these elements). In addition, you should discuss in your reflection one other design you considered and then abandoned– and why you did so. Throughout your reflection, please discuss your Op-Ad as a rhetorical text – that is, what strategies you used, and how you used word and image to produce an effective argument. Keep in mind that although you will be reflecting on your Op-Ad in your summary letter, your Op-Ad must stand independently as an argumentative text and must make its position clear without any supplementary explanations (written or verbal).