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Holly Collier

22/02/12

TV Advertising Case Study Report- U30/LO1


This is my TV Advertising report, I am going to be carrying out research in to the structure and techniques used in a range of TV adverts, I will also be discussing the impact and role that they play. The first topic I am going to be talking about is Form.

Form Realist narrative- This is an advert that is real, it can happen to anyone at any time.

This is the Water Aid, the reason why this is a realist advert is because they are showing actual footage that is happening now. They are trying to get a serious and emotional message across. This advert is also a good example of the documentary form of advertisement because a documentary is something that is happening in real life, you can see very clearly from the footage that is being shown that this is a documentary advert.

This advert is also useful when talking about lighting, as this a realist advert, therefore the lighting would be natural, low key and dull, to try and get a clear message about how much poverty there is in certain countries, but then at the end when it shows all the children who are fortunate to get clean water, the lighting changes to high key, making us think that the children have a certain glow about them.

Again, this advert is useful when talking about concern, because as a country, we are not doing enough to help the third world country. The reason why the advertisers have created an advert like this is to show people what the world has come to- the fact that there should be enough food for everyone. Another reason why they have used

Holly Collier

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this technique in their advert advert is to grab peoples attention and showing footage of things that have actually happened, making the audience more and more concerned. They have also chosen to do this because none of us would like it to happen to our family, yet we let it happen to other people.

Anti-realist narrative- This is the opposite of a realist advert, it is fairytale like, surrealism.

This is the Bold advert that was broadcasted in 2012. The reason why they have chosen to use an antirealist advert is because it is dream like and not real, they are saying that by buying Bold, when you smell your clothes after washing with Bold, you will be in heaven because your clothes will smell and feel like heaven, so by creating an advert like this, you know it is not real, but you like to have a bit of fantasy in your life.

Animation- Drawing and images that are played at a fast frame rate to create the illusion of movement, as if it is actually moving- this is known as the persistence of vision .

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This is the Be Food Smart advert in 2012, the reason why they have chosen to do this advert in animation is because it is playful, they are trying to get a message across, especially to the younger generation as the government think they are getting more and more obese, they are very clever in the words they use by saying things like theres 17 cubes of sugar in that fizzy drink, they use general food signifiers, using unhealthy foods like pizza, chips and fizzy drinks. They also use vibrant and bright colours, again to try and appeal to the younger generation.

Talking heads- This is where you have one or more people talking to the television, these adverts are generally advertised to promote reality tv shows.

This is the advert for The Only Way Is Essex, which was broadcasted in 2012, it features all the characters from the reality show, the reason why the producers have chosen to do this is to show the comparison between all the characters and seeing the characters from previous series returning, they also do it so it seems more personal to you, like these actors are looking at the camera and talking to you personally.

Stand alone- a one off advert, there will be no follow ups, just one advert.

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This is a one off advert because this is her new album, so she will only have one advert for it. There is no follow up of this advert advertising this specific album. Most musicians only have one advert when releasing a new album, because there is no need for them to do a follow up advert; most people would think that worldwide musicians would have a follow up advert, but they dont, they have one advert for one album, and another advert for a different album etc.- another reason why they do it is to create more of an effect, so as soon as you see the picture or hear one of their songs, you automatically know they are advertising their album.

Series- These can also be known as running ads, where there is more than one advert advertising the same product.

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This is an example of a series advert, there is more than one- this is also the use of open narrative because it will have more of a story. The reason why the advertisers and producers do this is because they are trying to build more of a relationship with the audience, as the audience get used to the theme tune, so they try and add more characters. Certain producers with series of adverts also do this so you are familiar with the brand. I would also use this advert when talking about the parody style, because when this advert first came out, no one really knew what it would be about, but more and more people have found the Go Compare man annoying, so as the adverts go on, they start doing things to the Go Compare man, and in the most recent advert, he gets blown up. They are doing a parody of themselves, this is what the media call Postmodernism- the reason why this advert is post-modern is because it is very different from all the adverts out there as they are making fun of themselves, more and more people will follow in these advertisers footsteps because by doing this, more and more people will find it humorous and will pay more attention to the advert.

I would also use this advert when talking about brand identity, because every time you see him and hear the music, you automatically think of the Go Compare advert. The reason why advertisers would use brand identity is so when you see the advert or hear the music, you automatically know that they selling a certain product. They are doing it to make their advert unique.

Style

Humorous- A video which the audience will find funny.

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This is the famous Cadburys Gorilla advert, the reason why people would find this funny is because it is a gorilla playing the drums, I find it clever the way it is done, it starts off really slow, and the camera slowly zooms out, thats why this video is humorous, because it is something unexpected and incongruous. This advert is perfect for surreal advertisement because it is as I said, unexpected, it is not something you see everyday, you could say that in some ways it is dream like and fantasy, its something that would happen in real life. The reason why I think Cadburys chose to do an advert like this is because it is so different from most other adverts out there, Its an advert that will stick in your head and out of the ordinary, so they know it will grab peoples attention. This advert is good when talking about diegetic music as the gorilla is in the studio making the music, so therefore, he can hear the music, this is also known as juxtaposition. The reason why the producers have chosen to do diagetic sound is to make more of an effect and more people will want to watch it because it is such a unique advert.

Dramatic- This is mostly a real life advert, where they use real footage, and go straight to the point.

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This advert is about a little boy that dies, he is playing football in the garden when a drunk driver skids off the road into his back garden, I found this video very dramatic and breath-taking because it opens up your eyes to the reality of what could happen as a result of drinking and driving. This advert is good when talking about the use of fear in advertising, as just by watching this video, people will think twice about drinking and driving, because it will not just be them they hurt, its the people around them. This is a short advert that goes straight to the point. The reason why they have chosen to do a short advert is to show you what can happen in such a short amount of time. This advert is useful when talking about the overt technique that is used. Most advertisers use all three of these techniques in dangerous habit adverts such as smoking adverts, drinking adverts, purely to get peoples attention and create a dramatic effect as well as showing them what could happen realistically.

Codes and Conventions Camera shots- Explaining why the producers use these camera angles

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This is the Ford Focus advert that was broadcasted in 2012, I chose this advert when talking about the different camera shots and angles because this has various camera angles such as, close ups of special parts of the car, they use a long shot when the car is driving to show what the whole of it looks like. Most car adverts use lots of different camera shots, to show different parts of the car and what it can do.

Iconography- using visuals in the advert that relate to the product.

This is the Coca Cola advert that is on every Christmas, so when you see this advert, you automatically think about Christmas, because it has Santa in it, it also has red and green, the Christmas colours involved in the advert. I think this advert is a really good example of iconography because when watching this advert, so many thoughts about Christmas come into my head. The reason why they have chosen to do an advert like this is because the coca cola advert is red, they have chosen to film a lorry driving around maybe to represent Santa, saying that in a few weeks he will also be flying around to different locations to drop presents off to people. I think they have also chosen to do this is because they are trying to show that Coca Cola can make people happy, just like how Christmas can make people happy. Coca Cola as a company have changed the iconography of Christmas, as Coca Cola s=is red, it has essentially made Santa red.

Editing- Explaining how the advert has been edited and why it was edited this way.

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This is a really good example of an advert that uses an editing effect, because the genre of this film is a horror/thriller, there are a lot of scenes where the trailer cuts to the beat of the music, the reason why the producers chose to do a trailer like this is to create a dramatic effect and to get the audience gripped. There are also some scenes where the murderer stabs someone, but they have edited it so that it cuts away at that certain point- this is known as a cutaway- it make the audience gripped and want to know what will happen next. I would also use this advert when talking about non diegetic sound because the actors cannot hear this music in the trailer, then producers have edited it to fit in with the trailer and editing it at certain parts. They also use this music at the beginning of the advert to set the mood and set the scene so you get in the right mood for the trailer.

Mise-en-scene- The setting of the stage. Location- Where the advert is set in a certain location to help set the scene, how it is suited to the advert and how effective it is.

Holly Collier

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This is a really good example of an advert when talking about location. This advert is advertising this certain swimsuit, but they have chosen to advertise it on a beach because that is where it will get worn the most. This is a really good location setting for mise-en-scene because it is setting the scene, the location is very effective, and there really isnt any other location where you can advertise a swim suit. The connotations of this advert are the beach, hot weather, summer. The advertisers have chosen a slim tanned woman in a bathing costume, signifying sun and hot weather. Set Design- How the stage is set and why it is set that way.

This is the Old Spice advert, this is a really good advert when talking about Set Design, the fact he is in the middle of the shot by himself suggests that he is very independent and proud of himself, as you can also tell by his facial expressions, the way his posture is, with his hand firmly on his hip also suggests that he is very manly. The reason why the producers have chosen to set the scene like this is to show that if you buy this Old Spice product, then you will be proud of yourself and you will become irresistible to women. The fact that it is set on the beach with the white horse suggests that this product is very pure and natural, as well as this man, it could suggest that by buying this product, you will wish you were with your man on a beach, the other reason why I think they have chosen to set this on a beach is because of his costume, the way he has his top in a knot around his shoulders, shows that he is not afraid to show off his body and he thinks he is irresistible to women. I think another reason why they have chosen to put him on a white horse, is because when you think of a man on a white horse, you tend to think of fairytales, a knight in shining armour.

Also, the colour contrast in black and white could also suggest that by smelling like this man, you will stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Holly Collier

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I would also use this advert when talking about self-perception. This advert is mainly targeted at men. When men see this advert, they would think that if they were to buy this product, it would make them smell nicer, so they would have a better perception of themselves. In some ways you could say that this is a solution to a problem, because by buying this product, it will make them feel happier and better about themselves. The logo also says a lot about this advert, the slogan smell like a man, man is written in big bold writing, suggesting that this product is very manly, this writing also stands out, also saying that by buying this product, you will stand out like a big, bold man. Computer Graphics- The visual and hearing effects the advert has.

This is the advert I am using when talking about computer graphics. This is the Foxy Bingo advert broadcasted in 2010, the computer graphics are the fox, they have chosen to do this with a fox, because of the brand name. They have chosen to do this to make the advert more fun and humorous, to try and make a connection with the audience and get them gripped, they are also using graphics like Get 20 free at the bottom of the screen in bold purple letters, to grab the audiences attention, they have used purple letters throughout because it is a bold and vibrant colour so again, it will grab peoples attention.

I would also use this advert to talk about social class, this is reaching more demographics, people who are unemployed, stay at home mums, full time workers, because you can play online bingo at any time of day, no matter what social class youre in. Although they are targeting this at everyone, people of higher social class are less likely to play it because they have enough money.

Holly Collier Target Audience

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Face to- face interviews Face-to-face interviews are a form of quantitative research. Advertisers may use to face to face interviews when trying to find out what a certain number of people thought about a film/advert, a lot of people do this on the news, because this way, you are able to get a better reaction from them and you would be able to read their facial expressions more. An example of this would be when there is a new film and the producer is interviewing the main character in a room, to find out their actual response, this way it makes the interviewee feel more comfortable because they are looking at each other and making eye contact. An example of a face-to-face interview being used in an advert is the Lenor advert, they are asking people what they think of their product and if they like it or not.

Focus groups A focus group is when a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product. An example of how this would be used by advertisers is if a group of people agreed to try out a product before it went out into the shops, this way they could see other peoples point of view and say whether they agreed with it or not. Advertisers would think this is a great way to find out their target audience, because they can get a age range of people, and see which age range liked it the most- then they know what age to target their product at.

Questionnaires This is used to find out what people think of their product, the reason why this could be used by advertisers is because it is quick to conduct and you can send it to as many people as you want, you can make up the questions according to what you would like to find out. Then, once all this information is back, they can read it through and see what people had different thoughts on and also to see if there was anything they needed to improve on. This way, once this has all been done and some changes, if any, have been made, more people will want to buy their product.

Programme profiles

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A programme profile is a document which tells advertisers about the demographic of people who watch their show, what their interests are etc. The reason why advertisers would use programme profiles is to see, if they were to advertise another product, what most people find interesting and what most people like. This way, when they come to making a new product, they can find out which product would have the biggest response and the biggest target audience.

Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB) This is an organisation which studies which television programmes are being viewed the most. The reason why advertisers would use this is because if they were looking to advertise a new product, they could use BARB to see what programmes have the majority views and base a product around the programme that viewers rate the highest. Also, by seeing which programme is being viewed the most, the advertisers can see which channel it is being played on, so they can advertise that product on that particular channel to reach a bigger audience.

Television Research Agencies This is where the television agencies provide studies about TV shows and in particular their audience. The reason why advertisers would use this is so they are able to see where their advert would fit in best. An example of this would be if you were watching Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents you are more likely to advertise holidays and probably condoms after the programme has been played to make sure they are advertising it to the right demographics.

Advertisers Information Pack This is a pack that includes rate cards, insertion dates, publication dates, all the information you will need to know about advertising and how to plan it. The reason why advertisers would use this information pack is if they were new to the Media Industry and started off by creating an advert, they would have to look through an information pack like this, so they would know when all the deadlines were. They would also have to plan a budget and would have to stick to it, as well as having to go to the media outlet and buy a slot for their advertisement. Rate cards Rate cards are a pack of slots that are available for you to advertise your product- they would all have how long the slot would last for and how much it would cost.

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Advertisers would use this to buy a slot, but they would have to make sure they keep within their budget. They would also go down to the Media Outlet to see how long they would want their advert to be and which slot would suit them the most.

Research Agency Websites These are websites which offer research to certain brands to be able to reach their target audience. Advertisers would use this to find out who their target audience would be, they would be able to get a lot more research by looking at these websites and these websites would be able to help them with where abouts to advertise their product and who to target etc. They also help people who have been advertising for years to explain how their businesses can grow more and more.

Standard Occupational Classification This is where people class people by what type of job they have, the adverts that are shown on television cater for every job a person may have. Advertisers take advantage of this, so you have doctors who earn a high annual salary, so they would get shown adverts for luxury cruise holidays, then they also do advertisements for people who have a lower salary, like a cleaner, and they would get shown Haven holiday adverts. Advertisers make sure they have a wide range of adverts which interest everyone in some way or another.

Psychographics This is research which looks at the psychology, lifestyles, interests of the audience. Advertisers would use this to their advantage so they are able to see which adverts to place on which channel and at what time- by looking at what the audience is interested in most, they are then able to advertise a product that would benefit them and keep them interested. Advertisers would also use this to advertise products relating to the average family and what their lifestyle would be like, so it could reach a bigger target audience and keep more people interested.

Geo-demographics This is research which looks at the audiences preferences according to their location, city, country etc. Advertisers would use this to help them advertise their product in the right country. An example of this would be; concerts that are being held within the U.K would only be advertised on English television,

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whereas Justin Biebers concerts would more than likely be held in Canada and America because that is where his fame started. Advertisers would also use this to know what to advertise where- so they could look at the whole of England and see what advert was used the most, therefore they can keep advertising that product in England. This would happen across the globe.

Age and Gender Advertisers tend to show adverts that relate to the young adults and above after the watershed. This relates to age, because they have to know what they can and cant show before a certain time because young children will still be up watching television. Advertisers also advertise different products that will relate to a specific gender as well as both genders, i.e- female hygiene products and aftershave and right guard for men. So people who are trying to break into the Media Industry will have to take all these points into account to help have a wider target audience.

Techniques Hidden Message- A message which is not clear until the end of the advert- then you realise what product they are advertising.

This is a good example of a hidden message, this advert involves a man going through different towns on a waterslide, paying for different things on his card towards the end of the advert- this advert goes on for about 2 minutes.

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Its not until the end of the advert that you realise it is for Barclaycards. I think the reason why the advertisers would do this is to try and create a relationship with the audience and try to get them intrigued, because this advert is so unique as well as showing the seamless, effortless fun and nature of this product and advert, it sticks in your head, so the more people that watch it, the more people are going to want to know what its about.

Solution to a problem- Creating a solution to a problem.

This is an example of an advert that is creating a solution to a problem. The reason why advertisers would do an advert like this is to make people happy, and by doing this, they feel good about themselves and are creating a solution to a problem. They are targeting people of the older generation who are single. I think another reason why they have chosen to do an internet site is because technology is becoming more and more modern and more and more people are getting the latest software, so by doing this, they can just log on to it and sign up.

Emotional response- An advert that the audience feel they can relate to.

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This is a perfect advert to talk about emotional response. This advert is about a man who has been off work for a few months with a mental illness and when he comes back to work, not a lot of people know how to talk to him, or if they should say anything. The reason why the advertisers have chosen to do an advert about mental health is because a lot of people who watch this advert feel that they can relate to it, either recovering from a mental illness or not knowing how to act around them- they have made this advert to show that you dont have to be afraid of people with mental illness or be afraid to talk to them.

Compassion- An advert to get the audience to show they care.

This is the advert I am using to talk about compassion, because just by watching this advert, I got emotional. The reason why advertisers would have done an advert like this is to make people aware and my showing actual footage, people become caring because they know it happens in real life, even though people dont speak up about it. They have chosen this particular music to hit home, and to make people have compassion. They are doing this advert to make people aware of what happens all around them.

Celebrity endorsement- Using a celebrity in their adverts to try and make you buy their product.

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This is an example of celebrity endorsement, this is the Pepsi advert which has Beyonce, Britney Spears, Pink and Enrique Iglesias- it is showing the iconography of Roman Gladiators The reason why advertisers would use some of the worlds biggest popstars in their adverts is because teenagers tend to look at people like Beyonce as their idols- they are very clever by choosing who they put in their advert, and by having celebrities in their adverts, people will watch it because they want to see what they are advertising- also, when people see they are advertising something so cheap like Pepsi, they are more likely to buy it purely for the fact that it has big popstars in it; the more celebrities the advertisers use in their adverts, the more people are likely to buy it.

I would also use this advert when talking about how advertisers have advantages over other similar products. This advert is a prime example, Pepsi and Coke are almost the same thing, but because this advert has celebrities in it, more people are likely to buy it, because as I said before, people idolise celebrities, whereas there are no coke adverts which have celebrities, so therefore, this advert has an advantage. You could argue that the Coca-Cola advert also has an advantage, especially at Christmas time, because the Coca-Cola advert only really happens at Christmas, because it gets everyone in the Christmas spirit with the contents in the advert- around Christmas time we do not see a lot of Pepsi adverts, so, in this case Coca-Cola has the advantage.

Lifestyle appeal- An advert which makes you think you need this particular product.

Holly Collier

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This is an example of an advert that uses lifestyle appeal, they are targeting everyone and making them think that they need a holiday like this. The reason why advertisers chose to do adverts like this is because by making them think they need a holiday, the travel agents will make more money. They are targeting people that arent on holiday and are sat at home. They tend to put these adverts on when the weather is bad, because it tricks more and more people, because they think they need it at this is particular time of the year.

Unique selling proposition (USP)- Something that no other brand does and is different from everyone else.

This is an example of a USP- the iPhone 4S is the only phone that has FaceTime. This advert is used to show that the iPhone 4 was superior to other smart-phones from Apples competitors, such as Samsung or Blackberry, as it is the only phone that allows users to communicate face to face through video, via the FaceTime app. Apple is showing that their iPhone has this unique selling point as it isnt available on any other mobile device; they have combined the intimacy of a computers webcam with the mobility of a mobile phone. To make this USP appealing to the potential consumer, they show various different users of all ages using the phone, showing it is accessible to all and easy to use and they picture users being able to witness important moments in their families life, such as their graduation, which, without the iPhone they would have missed.

Holly Collier Conclusion

22/02/12

To conclude this TV advertisement U30, I would say that the most effective forms of advertisement are realist and the editing adverts, because for the realist adverts, it really hits home a lot more because happening to people all over the world, it creates more of a dramatic affect because they are using real life footage and the music just makes you feel a lot of concern and fear for those humans- they play these adverts all over the world so realist adverts go worldwide to try and reach a bigger audience. The reason why I think the editing adverts have a bigger impact is because they use so many different techniques to create more of an effect and grab more peoples attention- there are so many editing techniques used such as cutting to the beat, cutaways, green screen, as well as many different camera angles.

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