Unit 29: Advertisement production for television

Task 1: Analysis of adverts


Lines of appeal

Factors of persuation

Target audiences

Sounds used

Stereotypes

Heroes/Villains/DiD

Camera shots

Advertisements rely on their effectiveness in order to sell the product effectively, this means that the advert creators must use certain factors to make their adverts as effective as possible. These include anything from the Factors of appeal to the Camera angles used in the advert. The two adverts I have decided to analyise are Fox's Vinnie series and Cadbury: Chocolate charmer. These adverts are different, because of the style of the adverts, as well as the fact that the adverts I am analysing use animation in different ways.


Advert 1: Fox's Vinnie

The Fox's Vinnies series of adverts feature an animated panda called Vinnie sitting in a chair talking about how Fox's biscuits are his favourite biscuits. the lines of appeal of this advert follow his description of a lifestyle he has beel living for a long time. The dialogue of the advert tends to show that "Vinnie" is a very successful personality, rich enough that he can afford to buy thing from different countries. The advert persudes the viewer to buy the product using expert powers, such as "From england? Fox's biscuits, these people know a thing or two about biscuits" Even ocming from an animated character, this seems as though some sort of endorsement for the product, this could easily persuade the viewer to buy the biscuits.

The target audience for the advert i think would be adults who remember films such as the Godfather and othe mafia films, this is because the character of Vinnie is very reminisent of several mafia don characters. I tihnk that this was to appeal to the target audience, as the style of character is universal with the genre that the advert is geared towards. The advert uses a voiveover for the character as well as a music bed at the end of the advert. This is effective as "Vinnie" seems to be talking directly to the viewer; this style of advert also gives the advert a direct message for the product. There is no hero or villain in the advert, as there is only the one character, although, the character of Vinnie seems to be somewhat of a villain, as he is, or seems to be a Mafia style of character; who is generally a villainous type of character, however, the character was very stereotypical as an italian-american mob character. The camera shot used in the advert is very simple, the animation uses a medium long shot throughout the advert, there was no need for the advert to utilise any other camera shots, as the advert takes a conversational tone, meaning a dynamic camera style would distract from the product itself.


Advert 2: Cadbury Chococlate charmer

I think that this advert uses special effects very effectively in order to create an entertaining and engaging advert, despite the lack of dialogue. I think that the advert aims for its target audience well, although this could be considered to be a massive target audience, I think that it manages to showcase the Tradition of cadbury, while also managing to engage an younger audience and retain interest of the viewer throughout the advert.

Task 2: Narratives in advertising

Advert 1 - Barclaycard: Water-slide

Advert 2 - Hovis: Go on lad


Examples of narrative:

Narrative in advertising can be quite difficult, for example, the short space of time that an advert uses (from 30 to 180 seconds unedited) does not allow for very thorough storytelling, however, there are a few examples of narratives in advertising that seem to challenge this, and produce a vivid and encompassing story to interest the viewer. The two adverts I have chosen for the reason of comparing narrative are two of the most famous for telling a story in a short space of time; the barclaycard advert(s) "Waterslide", and to a lesser extent, "Rollercoaster". as well as the Hovis advert, titled "Go on lad". These adverts are considered some of the best ever TV adverts, due to their use of narrative, telling an amazing story in such a short time. These adverts have been made to use the narrative structures to entice the viewer to buy their product. For example, the barclaycard advert uses a goal oriented plot, to get home while connecting the other locations as seamlessly as possible. This connects with the 'waterslide' concept, as it allows the character to travel from work, to several locations, then home in one fluid motion.

The Hovis advert, uses a journey narrative. This can be seen as the central character runs through a series of streets, as each one represents an era in british history, this connotes that Hovis was running throughout the major events in our history, from the late 1800's all the way to the present day. the different eras included in the advert include World war 2, The coronation, England winning the world cup, as well as the miners strike and the millennium celebration. by including these pivotal events in our history; the audience begins to feel nostalgic, and possibly identify Hovis as a brand cemented in british history, therefore becoming a trusted brand to use in the future.


Task 3: Advertising styles

Advert 1: L'Oreal

Advert 2: Skoda, Cake

Advert 3: Citroen, Transformer

The different advertising styles used by companies define how the advert is portrayed by the viewer, for example, the L'Oreal advert uses a surreal style, as there are several examples of animation in the advert. this is shown as the character actually appears to float on screen, this is done using CGI, as is the beams of light flying around the room during the advert. I think that this might be effective because the viewer might identify the advert with the actress, and therefore see that this product has been endorsed.

The second advert, Skoda Cake, uses a documentary style; as it shows several shots of a team baking a cake shaped like a full sized Skoda car. This style, combined with the music bed, allows the viewer to enjoy the advert as well as see the components of the car/cake being made. This process is designed to peak the interest of the viewer as most would think there are some special effects and other trickery that allow the team to make a small sector of a cake, or even a very small car cake, and manipulate it so that it seems life size. The documentary style of this advert, without any narration, does not seem as though it could be considered a documentary, although the camera styles as well as the shots used help to classify this.

My final advert, the Citroen Transformer, uses two styles, Animation, as well as Parodic. This is because, there is no way to actually create a 15 foot tall Robot that can shape-shift into a Citroen car. Therefore, Motion capture as well as CGI allows a person to act out the part of the Robot, then use animation to create the rest of the advert, this is very effective because the viewer sees special effects of film quality, in a 30 second advert. The advert parodies the whole concept of transforming robots as well, as it would seem unlikely that a transformer would do so for the sole purpose of dancing for a few seconds.


Task 4: Codes and Conventions of advertising

There are several features of adverts that are present in most if not all advertisements. They are known as the 'Codes and Conventions' of advertising.

Brand name/Logo

Action Statement

Slogan/Catchphrase

Factual information

Unique selling point

Persuasive language

Mode of address

Target auduence

Psychographic profile

The adverts I have chosen to talk about for this task are John west Salmon, Bear and PG Tips, Breakfast. These two adverts are well known as humorous adverts, for different reasons.

My first advert, John Salmon, Bear Shows the brand image at the end of the advert, this is used to close out the advert. This is done in most modern adverts, as the end of the advert is generally what seems to stay in peoples minds after the advert has finished. The Use of humor in the advert, the over exaggerated "fight" between a bear and a fisherman over the salmon connotes that the advertisers want people to remember the advert, and therefore consider buying the product.

My second advert, PG tips, Breakfast. Uses a parody of a very famous comedy sketch, in order to attract a target audience of adults who would remember the original sketch. The psychographic profile of the advert (Using nostalgia as well as humor and cultural references) Attract the attention of the viewer, and can also cause the viewer to identify the product with memories of famous entertainers and their craft. These similarities are made during the advert, from the music used, to some of the actual features of the advert are almost identical to the sketch to which the advert is based.


Task 5: The Advertising Standards Authority

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK's independent regulator of advertising across all media, including TV, internet, sales promotions and direct marketing. Their role is to ensure ads are legal, decent, honest and truthful by applying the Advertising Codes. Each year, the UK public sees many millions of ads, direct marketing and digital communications about products, services, charities, causes and awareness campaigns. The vast majority of these are responsible and comply with the existing advertising rules. Last year they received just over 26,000 complaints and assessed thoroughly every one of those concerns, investigating the ads that seemed to breach the rules. As a result, nearly 2,500 ads were changed or withdrawn in 2008, thanks to a range of effective sanctions at our disposal and the cooperation of advertisers who respect our decisions.

Examples of Complaints

An example of an advert that was banned from UK screens die to complaints to the ASA is the controversial Volkswagen Polo advert. This advert is controversial because it depicts a man trying to set off a terrorist attack in a volkswagen car, only for the car to fully withstand and contain the explosion. Obviously this caused outrage with many different groups due to the content of showing a serious act in a humorous way.

Another banned advert is the Ford sport KA advert, this was banned because animal rights activists complained to the ASA in mass. This was because the Ford Ka's "Evil twin" was shown deliberately killing pigeons.

Task 6: Audience cassification

Audience classification chart - Scroll to task 6

Task 7: Brief








Task 8: Questionnaire



Results analysis



Graphs








Task 10: Interviews

Task 11: Focus group

In the planning stages, we decided to hold a focus group, to aid in helping us add the right content for our adverts. We showed a few adverts to the group, and got collective feedback on the positive and negative aspects of these adverts.

John Lewis advert - The John Lewis advert was centered on a woman, following her life as she aged and needed more possessions as her life progressed. The advertisement made use of good connections between the different characters, which represented this woman through her years, as one disappeared out of shot momentarily, a slightly older version would appear. Furthermore, the journey is unclear to those who aren't familiar with the company, this enigma makes you feel like you want to follow this narrative and unravel its meaning. The music bed was a good choice for the product, it was calm and sentimental, adding a degree of poetry to the woman's journey. Unfortunately, the advert was very unspecific, the company name is mentioned at the end, but the products it self isn't made clear.

Compare the market - The famous Meerkat advert was received well by the group. The majority of the group agreed that the advertisement is entertaining, and incredibly unique for a car insurance provider. What makes the advert memorable is the meerkat's repetition of 'compare the market' although it's trying to make a distinction between the car insurance provider and the meerkat comparison website, the repetition drills the name of the company into the mind of the viewer. The meerkat's parting noise has become an addictive aspect of the advert, as viewers attempt to replicate the noise in social groups, the advert has even claimed to create personal relationships between people as they discuss it (an area of the uses and gratification theory). The latest adverts have become anticipated by the audience, as they become more and more interesting and enjoyable. Unfortunately, one critic described the advert as 'disgusting' stating that the advert only appeals to 'the lowest common denominator of human spirit'.

Evian babies - The skating babies is one of the most popular adverts at the moment, the spectacle of CGI babies roller skating is a unique concept and draws the attention of the audience. Evian's action statement, is calling out for the viewers to renew yourself naturally, attaching positive connections between drinking the product and benefiting from natures splendor. The group described the sight as 'cute' and 'humorous' with a catchy music bed which suits the scene. The use of Computer Generated Images in the advert makes the viewer believe that the product is unique, using the digital age to reach out to consumers. On the other hand, compared with other digital products of the age, the CGI used on the advertisement is described as 'poor' at best, the group thought the CGI was obviously fake and 'tacky'. Finally, the advert has a small aspect of ethnic stereotypes, the one still where a coloured baby is shown, is where he appears to be the leader of a 'gang' looking 'posse' challenging the other babies to a dancing competition. Stereotyping the coloured child as a gang leader and a dancer wasn't the classiest move the French company has made.

Task 12: Code consciousness

The advertising codes and conventions apply to making sure that the products are created complete and not to offend any person, group or race. therefore there are a lot of things advertisement producers must consider in their advert. because we are producing an advert for the food tech department, the most important code to think of in our advert is that referring to the role of gender. We want to avoid gender stereotypes in our advert in order to make the final product more accessible.

Task 13: Programme choices

I think that our advert would be best placed at the beginning of, or during a food, or culinary related programme. As our advert is for the schools food department, therefore, using the programmes relevant to our adverts subject matter is important to maximize the effectiveness of our advertisement. Although the placement of the advert is important, the demographic we aim for is just as important, if not more so. In order to gear the advertisement towards the right demographic, the style of the advert must reflect the target audience, as well as where the advert is placed in the TV schedule. Therefore, I think that the best way to achieve all of this would be to place the advert in a time slot where a lot of both parents and students ay be watching of students and the students themselves might be watching.

Task 14: Creative documents

Advertising mind map

Creative meeting notes

Task 15: Treatment for advertisement

Our advertisement will be about persuading year nine pupils at our school to continue their food tech studies through GSCE. A secondary target audience would be Year Elevens going into Sixth Form and the parents of GCSE students. The advertisement needs to be attention grabbing and exciting, but also informative, as students and parents alike want to know why choosing food tech would be the right decision in the future.

This means our primary factor of persuasion would be reward, as the advertisement shows benefits. In a comical way it could also be viewed to be coercive, as the main person used follows two ‘paths’, in one he takes food and is successful, in the other he doesn’t take food and is unsuccessful in his attempts to cook. The ‘threat’ therefore is the comical allusion to the idea that if you don’t take Food Technology you might not be as successful in your cooking ventures. The line of appeal we’ve chosen to include is that of a successful ‘career’. The juxtaposition of success against failure would most likely increase appeal. We also included humor, as it tested positively with our target audience.

Within the advertisement the style we’ve chosen to use a humorous style and a slight documentary style. We’ve interchanged styles like this to create a more dynamic advertisement. We want an advertisement that does inform, but also entertains, to appeal more to the target audience of Year Nine students. Also in our advertisement, we’ve chosen to employ a multi-strand narrative to aid us in conveying the inform and entertain. One ‘scene’ is that of the Food teacher Ms Khan explaining why Food Technology is a good choice to make and the benefits it provides, the other is the scene of the student attempting to cook, then two alternative endings, success and failure. A final element is the opening establishing sequence which features fast-paced cuts to create an air of excitement, as well as anchoring the location of the food department.

An important factor within the advertisement is the use and inclusion of different shots that create the excitement and the unpredictability of the Food Technology department. The use of creative angles and and close-ups allows for a more inventive approach. All the shots are edited with fast paced cuts to generate increased interest and create an idea of excitement and enigma. There are color and visual effects to increase aesthetic appeal and create an all-round more intriguing advertisement.

Task 16: Equipment report

Task 17: Storyboard

Task 18: Production Schedule

Task 20: Production of TV Advertisement

Task 21: Evaluation of TV Advertisement

Purpose

The purpose of our TV advert was to try and persuade the students in year 9 to continue their food tech studies through to GSCE. It could also help the parents of these students become informed about the subjects their children are interested in studying. I think that we achieved our purpose as our advert is informative as well as entertaining and shows how the food tech department would benefit year 9 students.

Audience

We had a generally positive reaction to our advert, as the audience enjoyed the humour of the advert. They also found the advert to be very helpful and informative, and that it would help them to make a decision about what GCSE Courses to take. This was the preferred reading of the advert; we were pleased that our primary target audience were so positive towards our advert.

Representation issues

The humour we included in our advert was intended to make the final product seem less boring and dull, therefore we managed to make the advert entertaining and light hearted, this was our goal throughout the project. There was a problem with ethnic diversity, although we had both males and females in our video, in our group we could not find anyone to make the project seem more diverse.

Technical issues

As our advert was edited outside of school by a member of our group, there was an issue with the final video being finished on time, we managed to get a version complete on time, although this was not the correct version, and we were forced to use this preliminary version of our advert for the unit of coursework.

Self-evaluation

My part in the TV advertisement was mostly helping with the planning of the advert, creating several of the pre production items, although I did help with the filming as always, I would have hoped to have been more involved with the practical creation of the advert, although I am glad to have been a part of it anyway.