(Modified from ace semiotician A.A. Berger)

What is the general mood/atmosphere? How created?

What is the relationship (proportion?) of picture and text, and what does this tell us?

What signs and symbols do we find? If there are people, what can we tell from age, ethnicity, gender, body language, class, relation-ships?

What does the background/setting tell us?

What action is taking place, and what is its significance? (often we're supposed to make up a little story, or associate the action with some prefabricated cultural myth or stereotype, and/or some plot from film or TV).

What is the theme of the ad (the plot is the action, a man and woman drinking, but the theme might be infidelity, adventure etc). Often ads have an explicit message which is subverted by the image (e.g., teens don't get enough calcium vs Tyra Banks is a hot supermodel with a perfect life).

What role does the advertised product play in American culture? (if there's no product, what exactly is being promoted and why?) What political, economic or cultural attitudes are reflected or employed by the ad?

Easily overlooked, but often important are aesthetics: what font is used, what size, where? what color? What kind of photgraphic shot is being used ( low angle? slightly blurry focus?) How are the elements arranged? Is the page crowded, or is there space?

The Good Old 5 W's:

Who is this ad targeted to?

What images in the ad might appeal to this audience? What is the story of the ad? [Does the story relate to any myths about how life in America is supposed to be? What does the audience value that is used to scam them? What object could you put in the picture that would be weird or funny? Why?]

Where does the action of the ad take place (that is, what is the significance of the setting)? Where does the ad appear?

When does the action of the ad take place? When is the ad shown?

Why do you (or the intended audience) respond to the ad as you do?

What is being emphasized? What is being hidden or not mentioned?

If there are people or spokespeople, how are we supposed to feel about them?

Does the ad give any proof of its claims? What kind? Believable?