Political Ads for Gun Control

For my Advertising and Imagery class, we were given an assignment to create a political campaign ad for a candidate that was in favor of gun control laws or opposed to them. 

The video above is my political ad advocating Ron Paul and the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which is the right to bear arms.

After watching all of our classmates videos, we were told to find three signs in three different ads and determine how they are signified.

Katie's Political Campaign

The first signifier is the background music. The music had a very somber tone to it. The music signifies that guns can have devastating effects if put into the wrong hands.

The second signifier is the teenager facing the viewer and pointing a gun at them.  The expression on his face conveys anger and rage. The image signifies that if guns are put into the wrong hands, innocent people will be shot.

The third signifier is the text "85% of Teen Homicides are caused by firearms". The text signifies factual information and provides evidence that backs up the message that is being implied in the ad.

Danielle's Political Campaign

The first signifier is an image of Rick Perry standing in of  the Texas state flag and the capital building. This signifies that he is a political representative for a state that is well known for being in favor of guns.

The second signifier is the image of the Statue of Liberty holding a handgun. It signifies that it is American tradition to be able to own and use a firearm.

The third signifier is the curtains placed in the background when the credits start rolling. This signifies that the ad is over.

Bryan's Political Campaign

The first signifier is the image of Chris Coon standing with your everyday average Joe. This signifies that he is politician that does care about the people he will be representing. It also supports the previous statement "Chris Coon cares.".

The second signifier is the sounds of people cheering in the background. This signifies that people are in favor of Coon and support his views on gun control laws.

The third signifier is the last image showing a sign that says "Welcome to Delaware City". This signifies that Coon is running for office to be a political representative of Delaware.

Virtual Crack

All video games are designed to cater to the people that play them. Designers use methods to manipulate players into coming back and getting their "fix".

One method of to get players to keep playing is using some form of contingency, which is a basically a schedule of reinforcement, almost like getting paid for going to work. Time, activity, and reward are used to get the player to advance in a particular pattern.

Experiments were done with mice in which the mice would push a lever every time it wanted food. The food was given in different intervals. Sometimes the food was given to the mice each time they pressed the lever, other times they were rewarded at a different interval, like if the mice pushed the lever ten times instead of each time they would be given food. Giving the mice food each time only resulted in them doing nothing because they realized that food would be there anytime they wanted it. By giving the mice food at random intervals, they began to push the lever as hard as they could.


Those of play video games are also rewarded according to their performance. An object of some games is get a certain number of points in order to advance to the next level. In other games players must defeat an opponent to unlock another level or to win other parts of the game (locked characters, bonus levels, etc.).

Take Super Mario Bros. for example. As you advance through a level, you are able to jump and hit blocks that contain power ups (can make you throw fire or fly), extra lives, etc. Another feature of the game is that if enough coins are collected, you are rewarded with an extra life.


Video games provide a sense of fulfillment for gamers. Winning a virtual suit of armor can be the equivalent to a gamer that would provide the same satisfaction for a woman who just received a diamond necklace. The suit of armor is shiny and protects the player from opponents in the virtual world. The necklace is also shiny and makes the woman feel better about herself. That is its only purpose. Even though the necklace is a tangible object, both it and the suit of armor only reinforce an idea.

Unlike mice, humans need something more stimulating than being rewarded with food. If the object of a game was to click a mouse and receive random rewards at different intervals, we would quickly move on. We need a long term goal to keep us motivated. Most games are designed to give the players rewards at a very fast rate and then become slower as the game progresses. Research shows that gamers play at a more frantic pace as they become closer to completing a level.