Everyone wants to go to Disney World, but maybe it is not reasonable that everyone can. This advertisement for Disney World depicts a family enjoying their vacation, which will make other families want to go to Disney World. This image is a screenshot from an advertisement video produced by Orlando TV to influence families to invest in a trip to Disney World. Even though there is no written text on this image, it is effective because children can see the image and beg their parents to take them to Disney World, without needing the ability to read. In the TV advertisement, there are also very few words, but the actors talk and there is a narrator persuading viewers to go on a Disney vacation. Through the use of a cropped frame, photography, color, divergent, object-oriented attention, and the absence of unhealthy and non-white people, this image expresses dominant themes of racial and size bias, the inclusion of different age groups, and the importance of commercialization in our society.

The first decision that was made was to make this advertisement a video, using real people, not a comic or drawing, making the audience more specific. According to Scott McCloud, “When we abstract an image through cartooning, we’re not so much eliminating details as we are focusing on specific detail. By stripping down an image to its essential ‘meaning,’ an artist can amplify the meaning in a way that realistic art can’t,” (McCloud 107). This means that by choosing a photograph, the advertisement becomes more specific and less relatable. It focuses on the race, ethnicity, weight, emotion, age, and clothing of the people. Because the family portrayed in this photograph is white, the advertisement will be more appealing to white Americans. They also appear to be healthy, as many generations of the family are captured in the picture and they are not seemingly overweight. The detail in their clothing also emphasizes that they have enough money to afford Disney apparel. Therefore, healthy, middle to upper class, and white Americans are more likely to invest in a vacation to Disney World because of this advertisement. Of course anyone can go to Disney World, but this image based on the bias that white people are more likely or able to afford going to Disney World. Unfortunately, I believe this image does represent the majority point of view. Many white Americans see themselves as better than other races, whether that is in wealth, success, family, or happiness; we put ourselves at a higher pedestal. 

The producer’s choice to portray the family as content and carefree, enjoying a nice vacation on a warm, sunny day emphasizes the joyfulness and simplicity of a Disney vacation. The sky is blue and cloudless and the image itself is bright and implements lots of colors. These choices all imply happiness and a sense of levity. This again exemplifies the notions of how relaxing and fun a family vacation to Disney would be. Their carefreeness makes us, as consumers; want to go on a vacation. This advertisement exploits people’s desires, knowing that when people see something they do not have, they immediately want it, especially when the people who have it seem so happy with it. This is also noticeable through clothing advertisement; the people in the magazines always look like they are having the best time and the backgrounds are always bright, making people want to but the clothes, so they can be as happy as the models. The photo is also cropped to focus just on this particular family. I would argue that even though the image does focus on the people, it is still a long shot. A medium shot only shows the characters from the waist up, while a long shot is used to emphasize the size of the people. Usually, the long shot shows the people to be small to emphasize their significance in their environment. Instead, I believe that this image shows the people to be bigger than the background, a castle, to show that they hold the power. It is in their control to afford and enjoy a trip to Disney World, to buy the apparel, and bring their whole family.

Through the shot, the photographer also leaves out people of other races and sizes, which outline some prevalent biases in America. The absence of other races points out the bias that non-Americans have a harder time finding jobs and therefore affording nice vacations. The actors are also average sizes; they are not unhealthy or overweight. I believe this choice was made to hide, and therefore dispute, the bias that America is struggling with obesity. The narrow frame also works to leave out any children throwing temper tantrums, people fighting, or unhappy families. All you can see is the family walking in front of Cinderella’s castle, accompanied by Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The statue of Walt Disney is also centered in the frame behind the family. Everyone else who happened to be in the background is very small and blurred. This emphasizes the idea that only white Americans got to Disney World, which also proves the racism, is unfortunately prevalent in our society. If you focus very hard there is a black girl in the background. She is very blurred, but her presence is still there, which says that non-Americans can and do got to Disney World, refuting the prior bias. By including the black girl, the producers can say that they were not excluding, which most likely covers them from facing a lawsuit. 

Another choice the photographer made was to include people of all ages: a young girl, teenager, adults, and grandparent. The use of a whole family with different generation subconsciously shoes that Disney World is inclusive and fun for the whole family. It suggests that they have services to accommodate for the elderly and also that parents will have a good time even with their parents and children there.

Next, the producers use Disney paraphernalia to get customers to buy their apparel, but it also depicts the commercialization of our society. All of the people in the family are wearing something Disney related, and most likely bought it at the park. There are Mickey Mouse ears, a Goofy hat, tiaras, and Perry the Platypus hat. There are also Disney shirts and the young girl’s princess dress. The people who walk around Disney World in Disney apparel are unknowingly selling for Disney. When children see other children wearing a tiara, Disney sunglasses, and a princess dress, they suddenly want all those things. When children see Mickey or Minnie Mouse, they want a shirt or hat with them on it. Children also want to take photographs with all the characters, who will then sign something for them, so Disney has lots of photo albums, signature books, and cameras available for purchase, too. This is important because it proves the notion that everything we do in America is to make a profit. We go to work to make money so we can spend the money we earn on food, clothes, and more for our families, which pays other people, so they have money to buy things. As consumers, we live in a never-ending cycle of producing and consuming. Families who go to Disney World cannot simply enjoy the park; they are involuntarily compelled to buy all the Disney goods as well. 

Lastly, the use of divergent and object-oriented attention indicates that there are lots of activities at Disney World to keep everyone happy. The photographer uses these types of attention to show that the family does not have to look at each other. Instead, they can focus on the rest of the park. This implies that during a Disney vacation you will not get sick of your family because there are so many other things to focus on and different things to do. The park takes into account that everyone has different interest, and therefore build amusement for all types of people; those who like roller coasters and are able to go on them and those who do not, elderly family members and young children. The abundance of rides and amusements for all ages keeps everyone entertained so that everyone stays happy.  

Advertisements are used to manipulate consumers into buying their goods. This is an effective advertisement for Disney World because the producers use white Americans, bright colors, age inclusion, and paraphernalia to convince families to invest in their vacation to Disney. While it is possible to find other Disney advertisement with non-white or non-American families, white Americans are the most common. This is significant because we are in America, so officially white Americans are the majority, but these advertisements just show how racist America still is. Statistically, more white Americans probably do go to Disney World, but that could be connected to the fact that their advertisements are geared toward white Americans. Through these biases, this advertisement assumes that white Americans are more likely to invest in a vacation to Disney for their families. 
