Advertisement Production for Television

What is Advertising?
In short, advertising can be defined as, the various ways in which products and
services are promoted to specifically targeted audiences, and there is a plethora of
structural and technical approaches that adverts adopt to maximise their
effectiveness of product promotion. In this blog, the scope of TV adverts will be
explored in depth, elucidating all overarching forms and styles of TV adverts, in
addition to extensively analysing the various structural, technical and characteristic
means by which these adverts aim to target certain audiences. Moreover, this blog
will document information on the regulatory factors surrounding TV advertising,
essentially providing you with all the information you need to know about this field
within the media sector.

To begin, the structure of TV adverts, in particular, the disparate forms of these

adverts, will first be explored, and these structural forms include: realist narrative,
anti-realist narrative, animation, documentary, talking heads, stand alone and series.

Realist Narrative
The main objective of adverts that incorporate realist narratives is the creation of
situations that closely resemble those of real life occurrences. This structural form of
advertisement focuses on such narratives that are relatable to people within society,
thus making them emotionally evocative for viewers, as they are perhaps able to
empathise with what the character(s) in the adverts are experiencing.
A prime example of the application
of a realist narrative can be found in
the 2016 Kodak TV advert, entitled,
“Understanding”. This advert was
released in the USA on the 19th
December 2016, and in fact went on
to be recognised by ​The Washington
Reader​ whom awarded this advert
with the ​2016 Motion Ad of the Year
award. The advert was filmed using
a 35mm lens for its duration and
follows the everyday life of an American teenage boy, with the advert opening in a
baseball field as the establishing shot, as seen in the image displayed above and to
the right. The advert then further cuts in to medium close ups and close ups of the
advert’s protagonist male and his friend.

The narrative continues with the two

friends shown entering the home of the
protagonist male after the baseball game,
where the two teenagers are greeted
warmly by the parents of the protagonist.
The setting and atmosphere of this scene
within the advert closely conforms to the
conventions and stereotypes of the typical
western household. The female (in this
case, the protagonist’s mother), is presented as the archetypal woman figure within
the home, as she can be seen making food for her family, whilst her husband fulfils
the stereotype of the patriarch, as he sits at
the table and reads whilst waiting for his
meal. These details within the advert are
relevant aspects to the realist narrative
advert form, because they accurately
parallel the dynamic of most nuclear families
within the western world, thus establishing
an instant connection with audiences
viewing the advert.

Furthermore, the advert cuts to a shot where the camera is following closely behind
the protagonist’s younger sister as she races up the stairs and swiftly opens the door
to her brother’s bedroom to find the two teenage boys kissing. The advert then
immediately cuts to a close up of the protagonist’s neck and chest. This close up
portrays the teenager in a discernible state
of distress, as he appears to be overcome
by heavy breathing whilst beads of sweat
begin to appear at the back of his neck -
his father then calls him downstairs,
assumingly to speak to him about what his
sister has just seen. A long stretch of the
advert following this change in the
narrative, presents the protagonist in various locations, including a school hallway
and a back garden, in which he is markedly alone and quite apparently discontented.
One instance in particular (where the
family is sat at the dining table whilst
they eat an evening meal) clearly
highlights the sense of tension between
the father and his son; as they sit directly
opposite one another, the teenager
repeatedly looks up at his father from his
food, almost as if he seeking his
approval, all the while his father makes a
point of averting his eyes.

Moreover, the wheelchair bound father can

then be seen in his son’s bedroom, as he
surreptitiously searches through his bedside
cabinet. A close up of the father’s face follows
a wide shot, as his expression alters upon
discovering something within one of the
drawers, the likes of which remains unknown
to the audience at this point within the advert.
The advert then jumps forward in time to the celebration of the teenage protagonist’s
birthday, unfolding around the family dining table, and alternates between this setting
and a scene where the protagonist and
his boyfriend sit on the bonnet of a car
together in the woods. During the
celebrations, the teenager is then handed
a present from his father, which triggers a
series of flashbacks to the time when he
and his boyfriend were sat on the bonnet
of the car and took a selfie with a Kodak
camera. Immediately after this, the advert
cuts back to the father, in his son’s bedroom, but this time, rather than the camera
focussing on the expression on the father’s face, it adopts his perspective, as it
hones in on what he has found - the printed image of his son with his boyfriend on
the bonnet of the car. This is then instantly followed up with the teenager unwrapping
the gift from his father, and his reaction as he realises that his father has had the
photograph of him and his boyfriend framed. The next shot is a wide angle one that
shows the father standing up from his wheelchair to embrace his son in a hug. And
finally, the advert concludes with the words “The moments that capture your love”
and the Kodak logo. The last three screenshots from the advert are shown below.

Kodak Advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omadTZg2ask

The aim of adverts of the likes of the one detailed above is the evocation of strong
emotional responses from audience members. This advert in particular, cleverly
appeals to current and significant changes that have been and are still happening
within society. With homosexuality now widely accepted within today’s world,
homophobia is becoming ever more scarce among communities. Kodak have
recognised this societal shift, and by creating a realist narrative advert essentially
based on the acceptance of homosexuality, they are making a statement that they
too are evolving with the times. People that share the views and messages
advocated within this advert are likely to purchase products from this company
because people generally endorse companies whose moral and ethical standpoints
run parallel to their own. What’s more, it is often the case with the production of
realist narrative adverts that companies will take a message much larger, and often
unrelated to the actual product they are promoting, and incorporate this into the
narrative, which equally attaches that message to the brand. In the case of this 2016
Kodak advert, this message was that of unconditional love, and not only is Kodak
associating itself with this message but is suggesting that this love can be captured
with the use of their products, thus persuading customers to purchase from them.

Anti-Realist Narrative
The complete antithesis of realist narrative adverts, anti-realist narrative adverts
create situations within realities that entirely juxtapose the reality we exist in.
Oftentimes, these structural forms of adverts offer viewers a chance of escapism and
occasionally, humour. An example of an advert characterised by anti-realism is the
2012 “Three Little Pigs” advert produced by The Guardian newspaper. In this advert,
the well known fable featuring three pigs and their three different houses made from
different materials, of which the first two
houses are destroyed by the Big Bad Wolf, is
transformed into a 21st century version of the
original, with a twist. This advert incorporates
both elements of the surreal and mundane
reality. In the advert, the three little pigs are
living in a conventional estate, in traditional
style homes, among humans. The advert
begins with a shot of a convincingly accurate,
Guardian newspaper headline, reading “Big Bad Wolf boiled alive”, with an image of
one of the pig’s homes underneath. The advert
essentially follows a similar narrative to the
original fable, in that the Big Bad Wolf
terrorises the three little pigs and threatens to
destroy their homes, however where it is
completely transformed is through the
introduction of 21st century technology and
politics. The pigs are being accused and tried
for the murder of the Big Bad Wolf. This sparks
debate among people on the grey area
surrounding homeowners’ rights to protect their properties. Humans take to social
media platforms, such as Twitter to voice
their opinions on the situation, as seen in
the images displayed above and to the left
and the one to the right. The narrative then
takes a turn when detectives start to
question whether the destroying of the pig’s
homes was an inside job, with various
scientific studies into the materials of the
homes and the capability of the Wolf’s
breath (as he apparently suffered from asthma) in blowing down houses,
undertaken. It is then finally revealed that the three little pigs conspired to commit
insurance fraud, framing the wolf in an
attempt to cover their tracks. Their motive
was related to finances - the pigs struggled to
keep up with their mortgage payments. The
advert then ends with the words “The Whole
Picture”, referring to The Guardian’s thorough
and unbiased following of this story.

The Guardian advert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDGrfhJH1P4
This advert offers viewers both comedic and escapism values, in that it allows
audiences to be absorbed into a reality other than their own, but also form a
connection with certain aspects of the advert that relate to their everyday life, such
as the setting of the narrative, in the 21st century, in addition to the use of social
media sites such as Twitter. Comedic aspects are evident in the ridiculousness and
far-fetched nature of the narrative, and this keeps the audience engaged for a long
period of time. Furthermore, these forms of adverts in general aim to capture the
viewer’s attention with their unearthly and surreal settings, narratives and characters.
This advert is quite unique in the ways in which it attempts to attract audiences. The
element of anti-realism, is of course the extreme personification of the pigs and the
wolf, which is one factor that draws attention, however the other factor is quite the
opposite to the former. The Guardian takes the original fable and applies it and
moulds it to the conventions of the 21st century, so as to incorporate elements of
today’s world in the advert that audiences can relate to, which subsequently also
engages the audience. The Guardian uses these two techniques to doubly transfix
audiences all the while portraying the newspaper in a light that suggests it to be a
very reliable source of information.

Animation
This structural form of advertising involves the use of cartoon images, illustrations
and or CGI, which allows for the creation of adverts that showcase the most far-out
and impossible situations. These forms of adverts are often created because the
scenarios that are able to manifest, with the use of animation, cannot be created in
real life.

An example of an advert that has been created

with the use of animation is the Cadbury,
“Aliens” advert released exclusively in Canada
in October of 2016. This advert is completely
animated with the creation of
computer-generated imagery (CGI). It is set on
an alien world, with purple skies illuminated by
two moon like structures, and earth like rocky
formations on the land. The advert begins with an extraterrestrial witnessing a
spacecraft take off in the distance. This alien
then sees that the spacecraft has left behind
a mysterious looking object, which happens
to be a Cadbury’s chocolate bar. Hesitantly,
the alien proceeds to pick the chocolate bar
up. After picking it up, the alien rips the wrapping open, sniffs the chocolate and
takes a bite. The alien’s reaction to the taste of the chocolate is one of pure delight,
as the alien wildly dances seemingly unable to contain it’s excitement. The alien then
throws pieces of chocolate to the other alien inhabitants, and they too have the same
reaction to the chocolate. Although this advert
is meant to be light hearted, there are subtle,
yet completely intentional choices that Cadbury
have decided upon, which suggests the scale
of Cadbury’s popularity - creating an animated
advert, in an alien world, where unearthly
creatures enjoy a company’s product as much,
if not more so than humans do, implies that
this product is universally loved. Cadbury’s apply animation to this advert to create
comedic aspects and a surreal setting, all the
while implicitly suggesting that Cadbury’s is
loved across the galaxies - this serves to
engage audiences through the use of comedy,
coupled with the outlandish scenario.

Cadbury advert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNRSHr3b4uA

Documentary
This structural form of advertising aims to document or demonstrate certain events
or circumstances, unfolding within today’s world. It is common for these forms of
adverts to contain a voice over that further clarifies the situations occurring. These
adverts can also simulate real life events, in a narrative form. Texts and captions are
often overlaying the situation that is unfolding within the advert (commonly in bold or
different coloured writing, to highlight its importance), so as to provide any additional
information to viewers.

An example of an advert that has been

created adhering to the documentary form
is an advert released by the organisation,
SaveTheChildren in the January of 2012.
This advert begins with the image of a child
facing the camera directly, clearly
malnourished and barely clinging to life.
Whilst this image of the child remains, a
voice over exclaims, “She’s just a child...Only nineteen months old…”, and goes onto
to state, as the girl looks away, clearly distressed, “In agony...A terrified little
girl...Who knows nothing but pain”. The technique of directly presenting the viewer
with an upsetting reality, which is then augmented by the voice over’s choice of
words when describing the young girl, is one that intends to play on the guilt of the
viewers - audiences cannot ignore the reality of the situation if it is presented in such
a direct manner, both visually and verbally speaking. Furthermore, the voice over
then takes another step in an attempt to engage the viewer with direct mode of
address - the rhetorical question, “Please will you help? Show her that you care?...”,
is a direct address to viewers which instantly engages audiences as there is now a
possibility that viewers can positively affect change on the lives of these children.
Likewise with the other techniques applied, this rhetorical question aims to guilt trip
audiences into helping these children as,
by stating “...Show her that you care?...”
implies that the people who don’t give to
the charity don’t care about the
wellbeing of the little girl. The advert
then ends with text on the screen,
highlighting the contact number of the
organisation, should viewers wish to
help.

SaveTheChildren advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99pQ0KJfdoE

Talking Heads
This form of advert involves a character or
performer, addressing the camera directly,
which in turn creates a fabricated sense of
audience interaction as they too are being
directly addressed by the
character/performer. It is often the case that
close up shots of the characters or
performers are maintained for the duration of
these adverts, so as to clearly display their facial expressions for viewers to see. An
example of an advert that incorporates the techniques associated with the talking
heads format is the 2015 advert published by Money.co.uk. This advert is one that
aims to provide valuable information to audiences, in this case, information on credit
cards. The advert includes various close ups of
multiple different people, each of which, divulge
valuable information, whilst looking directly at
the camera, which in turn creates a false sense
audience interaction as it appears as though they are looking directly at the viewers.
This is further enforced, when one of the characters points directly at the camera, as
he states the word, “You”, further creating an interaction between audience members
and the character within the advert on a more personal and individual basis.

Money.co.uk advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG_ml69mdlA

Stand Alone
This advertising form refers to such adverts that
aren’t characterised by a continuing storyline or
recurring characters, instead they promote a
product or service in one advert alone. An
example of a stand alone advert is the 2014,
Stand Up To Cancer advert, aired on Channel 4
and entitled, “It’s Payback Time”. This advert
can be considered as one that adopts the stand
alone format, because it is has been produced for the sole promotion of the 2014
Stand Up To Cancer event, and nothing else. It doesn’t have a continuous storyline
because only one advert was produced, and there are also no recurring characters.
The advert also falls into the category of animation and surrealism. The advert
follows the lives of animated cancer cells as they go about their daily lives, however
a spontaneous explosion occurs in one of the cells, which has a domino effect on all
the other cells, and they too begin to explode. Havoc spreads as the cancer cells are
being destroyed in huge numbers, until only
one remains - this cell eventually perishes,
and as it does the setting of the advert swiftly
moves from this surrealist cancerous city to a
science lab, where a scientist is dropping a
blue coloured chemical into a petri dish
permeated with cancer cells, suggesting that it
was this that causes the cancer cells to die.

Stand Up to Cancer advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ0aksbiiXw

Series
Furthermore, this form of advertising refers
to a group of similar adverts all produced
by the same brand, to promote the same
product - these adverts can either follow a
storyline or feature recurring characters throughout the adverts. An example of
adverts that can be considered a series is the Muller adverts where, in recent years,
Nicole Scherzinger has appeared in the majority of them. In these adverts,
Scherzinger is promoting flavour variations of the same brand of yoghurt, and has
also featured in adverts promoting limited edition Muller yoghurts. Scherzinger, is
also the voice over in all of the Muller adverts, where she verbally promotes the
yoghurts to viewers. Series of adverts means that viewers are more likely to
remember the adverts and more importantly, the products the adverts are promoting,
because they associate the storyline and/or character with the product. In the case of
the Muller and Nicole Scherzinger collaboration, this can also be classed as a form
of celebrity endorsement. Not only do viewers remember the product because of a
recurring character within the adverts, they
are much more likely to purchase these
products as they have been endorsed by
Nicole Scherzinger herself (on multiple
occasions), suggesting that if people buy
Muller yoghurts, they can be like Nicole
Scherzinger.

Muller advert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj8A49NmpfY

In this part of the blog, the various structural styles of TV adverts will be explored.

Humorous
To begin with, the structural style of humour within adverts will be outlined. These
are styles of adverts whereby humour is applied to catch the viewer’s attention,
entertain them, and ultimately create a memorable experience for audiences, which
in turn means that, when viewers remember the advert, they also remember the
product being promoted within the advert.

The characteristic traits of the humorous

style is evidenced within the 2013 Evian
advert, where the advert begins with a
shot of a man taking a leisurely stroll down
a street. The narrative of the advert
develops and can also be considered
surreal when the man is stopped in his
tracks as he spots his reflection within the
opening doors of a bus, however, what he saw was too fleeting as the doors swung
back just as he moved in for a closer look. The man then hastily makes his way over
to the nearest parked car to inspect his reflection in the wing mirror. As he looks at
himself, his reflection portrays him in exactly the same clothing, but as a young child.
He then makes his way over to a shop window, where he can see his full reflection.
He starts dancing ridiculously in the busy street so as to prove to himself it actually is
his reflection he is seeing, and he’s not going insane. Passerbys notice the man,
which prompts them to look at their reflections as well, and to their surprise, they too
see themselves as children. This advert fulfills the primary intention of creating a
narrative that is humorous and engaging. Evian use surrealistic aspects to develop a
humorous effect. This advert doesn’t particularly promote anything related to the
product, however, what it does do is attract the interest of viewers with its
implausible
and comedic aspects. It’s obvious that this scenario would never unfold in real life,
which therefore suggests that the advert has been created to simply catch the
attention of audiences. Adverts that affect the emotional states of viewers in a
positive fashion become memorable
to audiences - even if such adverts
do not directly reference the product
they are selling, if the advert is
memorable to audiences, the
products they are promoting will
subsequently become memorable,
and therefore viewers are likely to
purchase products from this
company.

Evian ‘Baby’ advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-p0CxW87pg

Surreal
This category refers to styles of adverts that incorporate atypical, strange and even
freakish themes with the intention of creating an engaging atmosphere. These styles
of adverts typically share a very similar motive, which is to create a shock or wow
factor for audiences, so that the advert becomes memorable to them. This then in
turn means that there is a much greater chance of viewers remembering the
products being promoted within the adverts and are therefore more likely to
purchase these products or services.

An example of an advert that has an

established surrealist element to it is the
Cadbury’s 2007 Gorilla advert, which depicts a gorilla playing the drum beat to Phil
Collins’ ‘In The Air Tonight’. The advert opens with text, reading, “A Glass and a Half
Full of Production” displayed on the screen. The advert then pans in to an extreme
close up of the gorilla’s right eye, as the backing track to the song begins to play. As
the beat comes in, the gorilla begins to passionately play the drums along to the
song - this lasts for the duration of the advert. The narrative of this advert has
nothing at all related to the promotion of Cadbury chocolate, however what it does do
is adhere to the conventions associated with the surrealist style, within TV
advertising. Although this advert not once promotes chocolate, the randomness and
bizarre nature of it means that it stands out from many other adverts, promoting
chocolate, thus it engages, intrigues and entertains audiences and as a result,
viewers are much more likely to remember this advert and therefore the company
and product it is promoting.

Link to Cadbury Gorilla advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzFRV1LwIo

Dramatic
Adverts that are based upon the application of drama are such adverts that are
widely used to force people into addressing certain issues. These styles of adverts
often feature the use of dramatic effect, which has a tendency to hyperbolise certain
situations,which in turn heightens the severity of these circumstance, all with the
intention of ensuring the topics addressed in the advert sticks in the minds of
viewers.

An example of an advert that uses

dramatic effect to urge people to think
about a certain issue, is the road safety
advert by the Department of Transport that
have been delivering campaigns on road
safety since 2002. This advert depicts a
young girl perched up against a tree, made
to look as if she has just passed away
because of a road accident, as her skin is extremely pale and her lips are blue.
Alongside this establishing shot of the girl, the voice over, who also happens to be
the little girl, states, “If you hit me at 40 miles per hour there’s around an 80% chance
I’ll die”, the camera then moves in closer to the girl to establish a close up of her
face, where it is clear to see blood pouring
from her ears. The girl then begins to move,
slowly lifting her hands and sliding herself
from the tree and into the middle of the road,
where she lays, and wakes up. At this point in the advert, the voice over (the young
girl) then states, “Hit me at 30 miles per hour and there’s around an 80% chance I’ll
live”. The advert then ends with bold white text against a black background, stating.
“It’s 30 for a reason”. This advert successfully forces viewers to think about the
importance of speed awareness and road safety through its use of frank and graphic
imagery and straightforward and blunt language. Depicting the young girl in such a
vulnerable state will make viewers not want to ever be involved within a road
accident that proves to be fatal.
Furthermore, the fact that it is the girl as
the voice over to the advert only serves
to heighten the situation that is unfolding
- using the girl as the voice over was an
intentional choice by the company as it
serves to play on the guilt and the
conscience of viewers because they will
clearly be able to hear the innocence in
her voice.

Road Safety advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeUX6LABCEA

Parody
These styles of adverts are similar to those adverts that adopt the humorous style.
However, parodies either actually play on adverts that have already been produced,
or they play on and mock a convention of the advertising of a certain product.

An example of an advert that uses parody

to engage viewers and offer comedic value
is the Specsavers advert from March
2010, entitled ‘The Specs Effect’. In this
advert, hundreds of women in bikinis, race
down from hills onto a tropical beach, all
running in the same direction towards a
specific scent they can smell. The advert
then cuts to a shot of a topless man spraying himself with body spray deodorant on
the beach. The girls all charge towards the man, who then puts huge red glasses on
to see them, at which point, all the girls
look confused and walk away. Text then
appears over the top of the advert, which
reads, “The Should’ve Gone To
Specsavers Effect”. This advert is a
parody of a Lynx advert, whereby multiple girls race towards a man spraying himself
with lynx on the beach, and Lynx coined this reaction ‘The Lynx Effect’. This advert
offers comedic value to viewers, which therefore means they are engaged
throughout the advert.

Specsavers advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x89xAXHd2l8

Codes and Conventions

In this section of the blog, I will be outlining the various codes and conventions that
are applied within TV adverts, analysing an advert in particular, where I will discuss
the evidence of these codes and conventions within the advert, proposing how they
work to engage audiences.

For this section, I will be analysing an advert produced by the car company, Alfa
Romeo (USA).
Alfa Romeo advert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktHO4cgqa3A&list=PLwjxEsq0gttjvRJaLROBjeh
EWZrIbWGXa&index=2

● Camera Angles and Shots

In this advert there is evidence of a wide range of camera angles used in order to
keep the viewers engaged, through the presentation of the product from multiple
different points of view. These camera angles include, birds eye view, worm's eye
view (low angle), medium close ups, close ups, extreme close ups, long shots etc. all
with the intention of conforming to the drama that is unfolding within the advert to
present the car with an air of importance. Furthermore, those advert also applies
certain conventions that are attached to the photography and film industry. Multiple
shots conform to the rule of thirds and leading lines, which both act to direct the
viewer’s eyes towards the product.

Examples of the wide variety of angles and shots captured within this advert:
 ● Iconography
Iconography refers to every object present within this advert - essentially this
encompasses all the visual images entailed within a media product, and what this
iconography may infer about the type of product being promoted. In the case of this
advert, the iconography includes the location of the majority of the advert, which
appears to be a European city, from looking at the architecture, which is most
probably an Italian city considering the company was founded in Italy - a screenshot
of this location can be found below and to the right. Furthermore, other locations
within this advert include picturesque and breathtaking landscapes as seen by the
image shown below and to the left.

The iconography presented within an advert is often used to set the standard for the
product being promoted. For instance, within this advert produced by Alfa Romeo,
the iconography includes breathtaking landscapes and picturesque like cities. This
then suggests that the standard of the product meets the high standards of these
locations, which therefore engages audiences and persuades them to purchase
products from this company, because the iconography implicitly suggests that the
vehicle being promoted is of a high standard and is worth purchasing.

● Editing
Moreover, the editing techniques incorporated within this advert work towards
augmenting the sense of drama and energy already established. The advert includes
fast and sharp cuts between various action shots of the car in various locations - the
timing of these cuts between shots also corresponds with the rhythm of the music
used in the advert. The advert never remains on one shot for more than five seconds
for the duration of the advert, which further works to enforce the dynamism and
drama generated within the advert.

● Lighting
The lighting within this advert is used to set the mood and the atmosphere. Both
highkey and lowkey lighting is used to correspond with the fast paced and dynamic
nature of the advert, which is further applied to highlight the dynamic ability of the
product.

Above are two examples of lowkey shots within the advert that are both used to
conjure a dramatic atmosphere.

● Sound
It is often the case with media productions, and there is no exception with adverts,
that sound effects are used to set the mood or tone of a production. Ambient sound
can be applied to create a calming sense, so for example the chirping birds, or at the
other end of the spectrum, can be used to manifest a sense of drama and intensity
by further enhancing action with the use of sound. There aren’t many examples of
sound effects evident within this advert, because the majority of the sound comes
from the dramatic and high energy music being played. However, there are
occasional sound effects that occur as shots of the car moving swiftly are
established - sound effects of the engine roaring aim at displaying how impressive
and robust the car is, whilst further adding to the drama of the overall production.

● Music
Additionally, the music within this advert is very dynamic in that it fluctuates in pace
multiple times, ranging from medium paced to extremely fast paced, paralleling the
nature of the action unfolding within the advert at any given time. The music in this
advert serves to heighten the drama and passion already established by the action,
editing, lighting and iconography.
 ● Graphics
This is related to any text, logos, titles and styles of fonts applied to the adverts.
Within this advert the only evidence of
graphics can be seen in the bottom right
corner, where the car brand logo is displayed,
and at the end where the car logo is presented
in the middle of the screen to close the advert.
Companies include graphics of their logos so
as to inform viewers of the exact nature of the
advertisement they are watching and thus
what exactly is being promoted.

● SFX (Special Effects)

Special effects, such as CGI, which is
mainly used to create realities that
juxtapose our own, is not evident within
the Alfa Romeo advert. I have found an
advert by the company, Compare The
Market, that applies special effects in
order to add surrealism to the advert,
with the intention of engaging the
audience and adding a comedic value.
This advert was released in the July of 2018 and is set in a tapas restaurant. All is
ordinary until, from behind the two menus at the head of the table, appear two
personified, talking meerkats. These two animated meerkats feature in a number of
Compare The Market adverts, and thus these adverts can be classed as a series.
The relationship between the two meerkats is comedic as they often get into petty
conflict with another and share a friendship that is much like human friendships, this
therefore becomes entertaining and engaging for audiences as the meerkats are
memorable aspects of each and every advert. The meerkats in turn provide valuable
information on the services Compare The Market offer, thus viewers are also highly
likely to remember this information because the characters within the adverts are
memorable.
 Persuasive Techniques
This next section of the blog will provide information of the nature of hidden and
overt messages and signals within TV adverts.

To begin, hidden messages are such messages that aren’t conspicuously presented,
rather they are surreptitiously suggested with the use of certain, intentional imagery
and/or wording that viewers aren’t consciously aware of.

An example of a TV advert where hidden

messages are woven into the fabric of the
advert, is the Dior advert released in 2014
for their women’s perfume, J’adore. This
advert is entitled, “The Future is Gold” and
is focussed on an elegantly dressed
woman, in an extremely lavish ballroom.
The advert begins with an establishing
shot of the opulent ballroom, and the sound of high heels nearing. The advert then
cuts to a low angle shot of the woman’s legs and feet, as she walks, like a catwalk
model, towards the camera. This instance is
the first where implicit, sexual suggestions
are introduced. High heels, have for many
years, had sexual connotations - this
association between sex and a particular
aspect of women’s clothing is applied in
many adverts to layer these advertisements
with hidden messages. Furthermore, the
advert then cuts to a medium shot of the
woman walking, just as she removes the overcoat she was wearing to reveal a form
fitting, and low cut dress, which further reinforces the sexualisation of the woman
within these types of adverts. It is often the
case, and this Dior advert is no exception to
this convention, that these types of adverts
feature only very attractive people to
essentially be the ‘face’ of their product
because this will then inform the viewers
that they too can be as attractive as these
people, with the products they are
promoting.
In addition, the complete opposite of the hidden message within TV adverts, is the
overt message, unlike hidden messages, are elucidated and clarified within the
advert - these messages are obvious and are delivered in a straightforward manner.

An overt message is evident within an advert produced by Barclays in the May of

2017. This advert is a short narrative advert that is intended to be informative and
provide invaluable information for customers on security whilst banking. This advert
begins within an office room and slowly moves in closer to a single office worker in
particular whilst she is taking a call with a customer, whereby she asks for important
security information of the customer’s bank details. She then claims she misheard
the two digits the person revealed and asks for the two other digits of the pin, so now
she has every digit of the customer’s pin and can access the customer’s money. A
voice over then states, “It’s a scam...Never reveal your full security pin, even if you
think it’s your bank calling. Learn how to
protect yourself from fraud”. This is a
perfect example of an advert that adopts
the technique of intentionally being overt.
The advert makes its intentions clear and
there are no need for hidden messages
because the advert is on the topic of
protection from fraud.

Barclays advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPJ6irUDmHI

Emotional Responses or Associations

Our emotions have the potential to greatly affect what we purchase and why we
purchase something. There are several ways in which companies use TV
advertisements as a means to manipulate and trigger certain emotional responses
within viewers, ultimately to ensure they purchase their products.

● To solve a problem
The first way in which an advert can emotionally influence people into purchasing a
product, is to provide a solution to a certain problem or inconvenience. An example
of an advert produced specifically for this is an advert by Dyson. In this advert, each
member of the family creates some form of mess in the home, which then means
they each proceed to vacuum the mess up. This advert is one that aims to highlight
the convenience of the cordless vacuum in comparison to the corded vacuum. Each
member of the family can easily and effectively take the lightweight vac to any part of
the home without being restricted by the bulk of ordinary vacs or by the cords, and
can easily place the vac back on the wall holder, where it hardly takes up any space
- this advert therefore engages audiences and persuades viewers to purchase this
product because it eliminates the inconveniences of standard vacuums.

Dyson advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tof1cmX6RqU

● To prevent something we fear

This technique is can essentially be used to dissuade viewers from taking a
particular action, as this will prevent something we fear. An example of an advert that
applies this technique is one produced by The Telegraph, with the intention of
preventing people from smoking.This advert begins with a man stood in a back
garden whilst having a cigarette. The advert then becomes very graphic, as with the
use of SFX, the cigarette the man is smoking begins to expand as a grotesque
legion begins to grow and mutate from the side of it, mimicking what happens inside
the human body when people smoke. The voice over then states, “When you smoke,
the chemicals you inhale cause mutations in your body...And mutations are how
cancer starts. Every fifteen cigarettes
you smoke, will cause a mutation. If
you could see the damage, you’d
stop”. This advert works to prevent
something people fear, which, in the
case of this advert, is death. The
presentation of graphic and
grotesque imagery to highlight the
fatal effects of smoking are
intentional tools in attempting to
dissuade people from forming or
feeding the habit.

Anti smoking advert:​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIyqcST29wQ

● To play on guilt or compassion

Another technique that will be outlined within this section is that of playing on the
guilt and/or compassion of audiences viewing an advert. These types of adverts
often attempt to influence the emotional states of viewers so as to engage them and
persuade them to invest in their products or services.

An example of an advert that plays on the

guilt and compassion of viewers is one by the
company, Brooke (Action for Working Horses
and Donkeys). Brooke is a charity that
specialises in the helping of horses and donkeys that are subject to abuse and
extreme labour. The advert contains very graphic images, showing donkeys and
horses encumbered with massive amounts of materials and goods thrown over their
backs, clearly suffering. Humans are naturally compassionate beings and so do not
like to see other livings beings in unnecessary pain or distress. Therefore, the choice
to include these graphic images within the advert is one that intends to evoke a
particular emotional reaction from the viewers that will guilt trip them into giving to
the charity, to help these suffering animals.

● To help our social position

The final technique this section will outline is
the one that adverts adopt to suggest that,
by purchasing the product they are
promoting our social position will benefit.
This is evident in the 2013 Bentley advert,
where the car, named Flying Spur is being
advertised. A number of techniques are
applied to this advert that work to associate
a sense of upper echelon society with this car. The advert begins with a picturesque
setting of wooded mountain ranges huddled around a lake of turquoise blue -the
Bentley then comes into shot, with various camera angles capturing its elegance and
speed. The advert then cuts to shots of congested traffic in busy cities, and back
again to the long winding roads of the mountains with the Bentley traversing them.
THis immediately suggests that with the Bentley, people are able to avoid all of the
congestion plaguing cities, whilst also implying that the Bentley is more so of a
standard that relates to the breathtaking scenery of these mountain ranges, than the
polluted cities. Furthermore, the use of
particular words on screen also suggest this
advert has been created to help with social
position - words such as ‘power’ and ‘luxury’
are used to refer to the car and the
experience of it, almost as if it is elite, and
thus the people that drive the car, are
themselves elite.

Celebrity Endorsement
Moreover, adverts often use the technique of celebrity endorsement, as this is a very
effective way that audiences can be targeted. This is because celebrities are very
easily recognisable and attention grabbing, and because these celebrities endorse
the product, and most people idolise and wish to be like them, this can create what is
known as an ‘I want to be like them’ factor,
which is suggested they can be if they
purchase the product that is being promoted.
An example of an advert that uses celebrity
endorsement to catch viewer attention is the
advert by Dr Dre’s company Beats, whereby
the newest Beats headphones are being
promoted, called the Beats X. This advert is
entitled “Got No Strings” and uses celebrity endorsement t catch the viewer’s
attention and essentially purchase the product. There are numerous celebrities who
feature in this advert, including Nicki Minaj, Pharrell Williams, DJ Khaled, Amber
Rose etc. all who have been very successful within their field of work, are talented
and are wealthy. These celebrities can be
seen casually walking, in public places whilst
wearing these earphones, and dancing.This,
subsequently tells the viewer that if they
purchase these headphones, they too can be
as successful, talented and wealthy as these
celebrities, thus making them highly likely to
purchase this product.

Beats X advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7FhAraF3FM

Characteristics of Products or Services

● Lifestyle Appeal
This technique is one in which companies use the medium of advertising a
production in association with what is considered to be a desirable lifestyle - these
adverts tend to try and persuade viewers to buy their product, from the lifestyle they
are promoting alongside the product.

An example of an advert that includes a lifestyle appeal is an advert produced by

Dolce and Gabbana, which features the actress, Emilia Clarke. The advert is called
‘The One’ and shows Clarke walking into a quaint European square, and as she
does, people within the square flock around her to gain her attention, including
buskers in the street, various food stalls and just passersby who dance with her. This
advert portrays a lifestyle appeal as it suggests that by wearing the perfume they are
promoting viewers will also be able to live this type of lifestyle, where they attract
positive attention and enjoy life.

Dolce and Gabbana advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBeqETgrn_w

 ● Brand Identity
This is where adverts incorporate the complete look of their brand within the
promotional video. This includes the name of the brand, the logo, the colours
associated with the brand, the slogan and even the values they promote.

An example of an advert that uses all of

these techniques to promote a brand, is
advert produced by KFC. First off this
advert follows the narrative of a family
who sit down to enjoy quality time together
whilst eating KFC - this is a portrayal of
the company’s values. They have always
catered to and promoted for families, with
their large variety of sharing meals.
Furthermore, the iconic KFC logo features in this advert also, as it does in all of the
KFC adverts. The well known colours of deep red and white also feature in this
advert. All these techniques are applied so as to ensure the audience know exactly
what company is being promoted

KFC advert: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI22NT5LhJA

● Unique Selling Point (USP)

This technique is used to ensure the company being promoted is different and
stands out in comparison to other companies offering similar services. With a unique
selling point, a company will have one specific that is not a service provided by other
companies within the same industry, and thus a technique whereby customers are
persuaded in this company because of this unique selling point -it essentially
convinces customers the product is worth buying.

An example of this is a Dominos

advert, whereby it states that if your
pizza is not delivered with half an hour
of you ordering it then you can have
the pizza for free. Although this advert
has been made for a different country
and is therefore in a different
language, I have done research on the
advert and the company to ensure this
exactly what it is promoting.
Dominos link: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhq9jRnH_8E

Target Audience Classification

● Socio-economic classification
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) is a means by which people are
classified, with regards to their occupation. This is related to advertising, because it
is often that companies will craft their adverts with a particular class in mind, they
wish to target with the advert. Most adverts tend to target those people from the
grades of D and B on the SOC, because these grades refer to such people that
range from working class, to skilled working class, to lower middle class and middle
class at grade B. It is not very common that adverts will attempt to target people of
upper classes because these people tend to not purchase the same types of
products as people from other classes and the products they buy do not tend to profit
from advertising.

● Psychographics
Psychographics is useful in multiple fields, including, demographics, opinion
research, marketing and social research, where the variables of psychographics are
any such attributes that are related to personality, attitudes interests, values and or
lifestyles.

Psychographics are commonly compared and contrasted with other variables such
as behavioral variables (such as usage rate loyalty) or demographic variables, which
are concerned age and gender for example.

● Geodemographics
This is a branch of science, whereby people are profiled relative to where they live.
The systems of geodemographics is involved in the process of estimating the
characteristics of people that are the most probable, with regards to the pooled
profile of all the people inhabiting a small area or a particular address.

Information Sources
● Focus Groups
These are a form of qualitative research, that consist of interviews. In these
interviews, people are asked a number of different questions about their beliefs,
opinions, attitudes, and perceptions with regards to a particular advertisement,
product, service, concept etc.
 ● Ratings/Rate Cards
These rate cards are types of documents that inform advertisers and companies of
the various times and cost of disparate advertising slots, in addition to the audience
viewing figures during these slots, on different channels, so that advertisers can
maximise the exposure of their product, by advertising it within a slot where a vast
amount of the public will see it. However, it is often the case that advertisers will
have to pay considerably more for the slots that have higher viewing rates than those
slots that have less.

● Interviews
Interviews are an effective means of gaining information on audience responses and
opinions of adverts. Interviews normally have a high rate of return, however they also
have a high cost, and it is often that there is very little or even no control exercised
over the interviewer or the respondent. An advantage of interviews is that they allow
companies to obtain significant information, which in turn provides them with a
certain level of control over external influences.

● BARB
Providing the majority of the official television viewing figures within the UK, the
Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB), was founded in 1981, in
replacement of a former information source called the Joint Industry Committee for
Television Audience Research (JICTAR). The information collated by BARB is vital
to television channels and advertisers, as it provides data and figures on the number
of people watching a particular show or channel at a given time.

Research Agencies

Market research companies that specialise in providing studies and surveys on

broadcast media, which includes TV adverts, television programmes and TV ratings
are known as Advertising Research Agencies, and also inform advertising
professionals on the nature of customer responses to a particular product or service.
The information collated can then be put to use, to target a certain demographic in
particular.

Regulation

● ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are the UK’s independent advertising
regulator, which ensures that all adverts broadcast across the UK, stick to the
established advertising rules, known as the ‘Advertising Codes’. Essentially the role
of the ASA is to respond to the concerns and complaints made by consumers, and
they then have the authority to, if it is deemed appropriate, take action in banning
adverts which have the potential of affecting viewers in a negative manner, such as
being generally offensive, misleading, irresponsible or abusive.

● Ofcom

Ofcom is a regulator for the communication services used by people within the UK,
daily. Essentially Ofcom deals with the regulation of the telecommunications industry
within the UK, which includes, TV, radio, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services
and many more. Ofcom works, mainly to protect consumers by analysing the
information provided by telecoms and broadcasters, so that people get only the
highest quality operation from their communication services.