When comparing the two Polaroid advertisements, one can observe several distinctions. The first and probably most obvious difference between the two Polaroid advertisements is that Polaroid ad number one is in black and white while the other one is in color. The Polaroid camera itself is located in the center of the picture in both ads. However, in Polaroid ad number one, it is being admired by a potential customer through a storefront window, a busy street visible in the background, whereas in the second one, it is the sole object of interest. Furthermore, due to the time gap that most likely lies between the two advertisements, the colored advertisement shows a much more recent Polaroid camera.
The text is situated beneath the camera, at the bottom of the picture in both ads, but the content differs vastly. The text of the first ad describes in great detail what an impressive technological achievement the Polaroid camera is and really tries to capitalize on this. The second text, on the other hand, emphasizes the privacy a Polaroid offers in comparison to other devices.
Since the first advertisement stresses the technological aspect, we can assume that it is from a time when photography was still something extraordinary and special and not something that everybody had access to. Judging by the looks of the man’s bowler hat, which is no longer a common item of clothing, the advertisement is probably from the 1950s. The text of Polaroid advertisement number two talks about breaches of privacy and explicitly mentions social networks and the American NSA. To understand these allusions, one needs to know about common practices of social networks such as using personal information for material gain and the recent espionage scandal related to the NSA. It therefore has to be very recent. In conclusion, one can state that both advertisements are clearly a product of their time and can not be understood without knowledge of the underlying social assumptions.
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