Commentary

Commentary on Leaflet

The purpose of my leaflet is to encourage people to join a website
called 'Neopets'. The reason for this is so the site can be kept free
for all to use in their leisure time. My secondary aim of the leaflet
is too protect the privacy of young children and to teach them useful
Internet skills in a safe environment. The reason for this is to give
the parents or guardians a peace of mind to leave their children in a
fun atmosphere while learning valuable skills of interaction. The
intended audience is for children to read and then for their parents to
actually join in and share the enjoyment which their children get out
of the website.
On the front cover, the language is relatively simple and attention
grabbing. It tells you all the information you need to know about the
leaflet such as 'ADOPT A NEOPET' and 'FREE'. The text 'FREE' contrasts
with the colours and picture. This appeals to people's selfish side of
their personality, in getting something tangible for hardly anything
given in return. The heading 'ADOPT A NEOPET' is surrounded by orange
stars, this makes it look important and glitzy. The word 'ADOPT'
personalises the leaflet like the reader is the only one receiving the
benefits of adopting a Neopet, in return they offer hours of endless
fun. There is only one picture on the front cover; this breaks up the
text making the reader want to carry on reading. The picture is of one
of the pets available, it looks cheerful and excited. It's also a cute
picture, which encourages people to open the leaflet.
The main colours used are orange and yellow; these colours are used to
give the effect of cheerfulness, excitement and safety. These colours
frame the front cover, as they attract the eye and are warm colours.
They also contrast with the plain white background making the whole
front cover stand out.
When you open it you again see bright colours of yellow and orange,
which lead the reader's eyes towards certain areas of the layout. The
next section is titled 'NEOMANIA' which is a neologism. Neologism means
a new word. The creators at Neopets have created this word. You can
actually split the word 'NEOMANIA' into two parts - 'Neo' meaning new
and 'mania' meaning craze. This is in turn an imperative of excitement
and urgency aimed at the reader. It is followed by an exclamation mark
and is in large, bold capital letters. This is so it looks interesting.
The text begins by asking rhetorical questions, this raises the
reader's curiosity and also makes them feel slightly embarrassed that
they don't know what the latest craze is! The paragraph goes onto
emphasise how cheap and how fun it is. To break up the text, I have
used pictures from the actual website. All the headings are in bold to
grab the reader's attention. Stars that frame it, also to show all the
information is contained in it for just that section. The frames also
fill in the blank spaces making it look exciting but filled with
interesting information. I have also used colloquial language, which is
everyday speech; this involves the reader again within the text. So
that they themselves can relate to the ideas shown by the leaflet. It
also has the effect of a friend talking to you, this is good because
friends are important when making choices and often give advice, which
the reader will listen to. All through this section I have made it
personal to the reader by asking questions and using words such as
'you' and 'your', these make the leaflet personal again to the reader,
they feel involved in the text and feel as though they know the writer
personally. This also seems as if the reader has already joined up with
the company. To give a another sense of helping others, the 'feel good
drug' the leaflet mentions a 'pound from which you can adopt them from'
apart from making the pets seem real and alive the reader has a sense
of well being that they themselves have help someone or
something.
People then notice the bright yellow panel on the next page, which
contains more information. Each piece of information has its own
paragraph as though it's a letter. Again I make use of the personal
interaction with 'you' and 'your'. Most paragraphs end in exclamation
marks, to make the reader feel excited and interested in the
information presented before them. The summary is ended with a personal
note from the author saying 'See you around soon' as if the writer is
actually going to meet the reader and even talk to them personally.
This makes the reader feel special as though the author has chosen them
specially.
When you open the leaflet out fully, there are more sections of
writing containing information. The reader knows these are important as
these are surrounded by star borders highlighting certain parts. The
main title is 'NEOMAIL!' in bold, large capital letters. This catches
the reader's attention and reads the information presented to them
underneath this title. Next to the title is a picture taken from the
site, which has actually been drawn by a member of Neopets rather than
one of the staff. It has the caption 'Best Friends Forever'. This
appeals to the reader by portraying a sense of belonging to wider
network of friends. It also makes the website seem warm and friendly.
The caption is written in bubble style writing and the colour ranges
from blue to yellow, making it look safe but exciting at the same time.
The leaflet then goes on to demonstrate my secondary aim of mentioning
safety and privacy to the reader. This part appeals to parents who are
still unsure about letting their children commit themselves to this
website, it looks as if the Neopet's staff care about its members and
their welfare. The picture at the bottom, although is funny to look at,
is a pet in uniform blowing a whistle, this represents the idea of
safety and welfare. This picture appeals to young children, who can't
read very well so that they can look at the pictures and still
understand the message being given to them and understand the meaning
behind it all.
For the sign up form, I have used tick boxes; this is because people
love to fill them in whether or not they are actually considering
signing up. At top in larger writing is the phrase 'YES I want to
join!!!!!'. The 'YES' is in capitals because it catches the reader's
eyes and draws their attention to this very important part of the
leaflet. In small type underneath the title it suggests again that
Neopets is concerned about the welfare of their customers and also asks
that a parent or guardian sign the form. Two of the titles for the tick
boxes are 'I would' and 'I want'. This applies to the reader's greed
about wanting everything for nothing. There is a box for
comments/ideas, people like this because they like to have their
opinions heard and used to improve something, it also provides
interaction between people. It looks like Neopets cares about what
their members and would be member's views; this makes the reader feel
important. In the comments box is a picture of a 'cute' pet. Which
compels the reader not to actually write in the box unless they spoil
it. There are lines for the subscriber to write their name and address.
The lines make it look neat and ordered. At the bottom is a picture of
a creature, which seems to be pointing at towards the fill-in boxes. It
is a happy looking cartoon, making the reader feel happy and safe in
writing their details down.
On the back are several pictures of various characters found on the
website. This helps the reader visualise the pet they want, a type of
sample before you buy, no strings attached. These pictures are visual
aids for children. All over the leaflet I have repeated the website
address 'www.neopets.com' because people remember a website even if
they can't remember the idea behind it.
The overall success of the leaflet is quite good. It applies to the
reader on many levels. Giving a sense of fun with responsibility, no
strings attached commitment. It is a 'charity' to be taken up on a whim
by children and the commitment is not expected to last very long. It
offers family environments which parents or guardians will be happy to
leave their children in. My leaflet uses emotive language to excite the
reader with a sense of urgency. Overall I believe that if my leaflet
were printed officially it would do quite well.