Characteristics of Advertising

There are 5 Key Characteristics for advertising which are Benefits Offered, Advantages over other similar product, USP (Unique Selling Point), Lifestyle Appeal & Brand Identity.

For this example I will be using the Snickers Mr Bean Advert:

Benefits Offered:

Throughout this advert we can see that focus was a factor which lacked from Rowan Atkinson. At 0:51 show that he is not himself when he is hungry. A benefit which is shown here is that you can gain energy and focus. Snickers are portrayed as a snack here and something that you will not be eating all the time. The energy aspect is shown throughout the whole advertisement for example at 0:20 we can see that the ninjas are jumping around the rooftops which if compared to in real life would require a lot of energy. Rowan Atkinson shows that he lacks energy at 0:10 because he is hungry. This also indicates that snickers would be a snack you can have to reduce hunger which brings me onto my next point, another benefit that Snicker offers is that it reduces hunger. This is shown at the end at 1:06 where there is a hash-tag for twitter (#hungry)

Advantages over other similar products:

This particular advertisement for Snickers has Celebrity Endorsement who in this case is Rowan Atkinson who is introduced at 0:09 in the advert. By having celebrity endorsement the Snickers Company/Product itself will be able to reach new target audiences who like Rowan Atkinson himself. Another advantage that the Snickers Advert has over other products is that the ingredients/inside of the chocolate is shown to show the audience how the product looks and all the layers that are put into the product itself. This is shown at 1:03 where you can see the bottom white chewy layer with the caramel layer and then the nuts onto covered by a semi-thick layer of chocolate. By showing the audience the ingredients they will learn to trust the company because there're ingredients that the audience are familiar with such as caramel & peanuts. The snickers product itself has another advantage over other products as it is also aimed at people who love peanuts which is shown at 1:03, as not many other chocolates tend to have peanuts and they have just milk chocolate or a runny chocolate inner with a hard shell outside.

USP (Unique Selling Point):

The snickers advert here shows that the target audience is mainly for men as mentioned above as well as a target audience who like peanuts (or any type of nut). This is shown at the end of the advertisement at 1:03. The reason why they put the still image of the Snickers Product, Slogan and the hash-tag is that the audience tend to remember the start of an advert and the end of an advert so by doing something like this it will be remembered by all the people who have watched the advert itself. At 0:53 it shows the person fly up-to the roof-top again which shows that he has a lot more energy and he is focused. This is an important unique selling point as it shows that it reduces hunger and gives your more energy to get through your day. This advert concludes the whole situation by saying that "you are not you when you are hungry" which tells the audience that snickers will help you get back on track during the day.

Lifestyle Appeal:

(what type of person, who will this assist)

In this advert we can see that snickers do give a good lifestyle appeal. Also we can see here that snickers are mainly aimed at males as a target audience. This is shown by the advert as everyone acting within the advert are males. Also the slogan "Get some nuts" shown at 1:03 , when read will ring bells towards a male audience. The slogan has two connotations which can be interpreted as get some nuts which is an ingredient in the chocolate itself and the other which is "Get some nuts" : For example if a person did not want to do something frighting another person would say "get some nuts" etc. Throughout the narrative we see Rowan Atkinson running around with the ninjas. At 0:13 we are shown via the subtitle "Cheung! Focus!" which is telling the audience that he is not focused and is not doing anything right. This instantly tells the audience that during some point in the timeline of the advertisement when he eats the snickers he will gain focus. At 0:45 we are shown what the audience is expecting, the subtitles says "Cheung, you lose focus when you're hungry!" These states that Snickers will give you more focus after you have ate it. At 0:51 we are shown the true identity of Rowan Atkinson who after eats a Snickers becomes one of the ninjas again. The segment at 0:57 says "You're not you when you're hungry" so this indicates that Snickers as a product will ensure that your hunger goes away after consuming the product. Near the end of the advert we are shown with a Twitter hash-tag which says #Hungry this also shows that if you are hungry a snickers bar will help you extinguish the hunger.

Brand Identity:

 The brand identity that the advert itself shows to the audience would be "nutty" which is shown via the slogan "Get some nuts" which is shown at 1:03 at the end of the advert. The reason why they used that slogan was because firstly it contains nuts which are kind of a warning to people who are allergic to peanuts and that where the slogan comes from also that it is being aimed at a target audience of males who like peanuts. Another adjective which describes Snickers would be "Hunger concealer". I chose to use this adjective / word is because of the fact that they used the hash-tag at 1:03 which said "#Hunger" which indicates that people can tweet #hunger and it will instantly tell people that they are going to eat a snickers bar. It also tries to reach to new target audiences from a massive social media site which in this case is twitter. Also another adjective which would describe the snickers bar would be "tasty" this was chosen because at the end where the slogan is shown we are shown the layers of the snickers bar which reaches out the audience and persuades them to purchase the product itself.

Benefits Offered:
The benefits that the Coca Cola advert here is that it is a product which has been within the family for years. This is shown at 0:04 where the Coca Cola bottle is placed in the middle of the table to show that it is a drink for the family. By placing the bottle in the middle it indicates that it could be a common household confectionery item because of the fact that it has been around years. Another benefit that the Coca Cola advert offers the audience is happiness which is shown deliberately at the end of the advert at 0:28 to ensure that the little slogan here is imprinted onto the audiences' heads. The slogan "Open happiness" states that if a Coca Cola bottle or can were to be drunk it'll make you feel more happy. To further exaggerate the happiness element of the advert at 0:18 we are shown when the Coke truck passes by the towns' lights start to turn on to show that happiness has come to town.

Advantages over other similar products:
As Coke is a major brand they have slowly made into a product which is available all the time but mainly focused on a tradition of celebrating the drink during winter holidays or Christmas. This stands out to all the other products as having a tradition people can follow it. For example at the start of the video at 0:00 the little boy rings the big bell to tell the whole town that the Coke celebration truck has come into town. Throughout the narrative we see the trucks coming in for example at 0:07 we can see a long shot of the trucks in the back coming down the road and a person running out of the house to see the trucks up close and in person. As a tradition Coke is within the holidays we can see the whole town is being lit up because the tradition is being followed. When the slogan is shown at the end of the video Coke are stating that when a Coke bottle is opened and drunk during a get together during a holiday it offers happiness.

USP (Unique Selling Point):
The unique selling point in this advert is the time of year. This is because everyone waits for the holidays whether they are in school or work because they get to spend time with the family and kid or even go out with friends. Coke as a product will offer the happiness during those holidays which in this case is Winter or the Christmas Holidays. The target audience here is mainly aimed at kids/families because during Christmas families get together to have dinner and celebrate and but having the Coke on the table it will unite them altogether and spread the happiness around the table. Going back to the slogan at 0:28 it tells the viewer of the advert to buy it so they can "Open Happiness"

Lifestyle Appeal:
The target audience as mentioned above is Kids & Families because its a product which has been brought into the household as a drink for years. The lifestyle appeal here is back to the happiness that the Coca Cola product itself offers the audience. For example at 0:17 we can see that the family is happy when seeing the Coca Cola truck because that is what the product itself offers. The fact that they set it during winter tells the audience that Winter is a happy time of year so drinking Coke would be ideal with a meal. Also at the end where the slogan is shown it also says "holidaysarecoming.com" this also makes the audience happy as their relaxation period is coming which would definitely make the audience happier. Overall the only lifestyle advantage is the happiness factor.

Brand Identity:
A brand identity which is shown throughout the advert would be "happiness" which is shown at the end at 0:28. The aspect of being happy makes the audience more relaxed and does not portray any negativity in the video itself. Also the music throughout the whole video adds to the effect of it being winter and it being in the holidays. Another word which would come into mind would be the word "Holidays" because we all get holidays throughout the years and people always look forward to it. The product itself tries to reach out to the families throughout the world to have a happy meal or get together. A prime example of this is again at 0:04 where the Coca Cola bottle is place in the middle of the dining table where the family would sit down to have a meal. This makes the product itself be portrayed as a product for a target audience of all ages and all genders.

Report on Structures of TV Advertisments

Part 1: Codes and Conventions in television advertising


Camera Angle and Shot:
At the start of this KFC advert we have an establishing shot of the advert at 0:00. The house shows that a family will be involved in the advert. Also we have a shot which is still so we can concentrate on the window where the kids are looking out of. Also via the use of the camera angle we can see the snow on the tree to indicate that it is winter. Also we as the audience are shown that it is set in the winter because of the snow to correlate with the stereotype of Winter always having snow. Via the camera angle and shots we can see that the advert is mainly focused on the little boy. Also during the start at 0:03 when they're looking out the window the Mid-shot is showing us that they are looking at the snow and they want to go outside to play. Also this very shot shows that they have woken up to see the snow which is why they are excited. Throughout the start of the advert the audience are starting the journey through a narrative in the advertisement. Throughout the course of the whole advert we can see it is mainly focused on the boy named "Charlie" who does not share which is shown by the shot at 0:23 where the names on the presents has been scribbled off and then changed with the name Charlie. To further support my evidence of Charlie not sharing is here at 0:10 where he is building a bigger snowman than his sister, 0:16 where he is with his parents and takes both arm rests from his parents and at 0:35 where one half of the Christmas tree looks better than the other side. This is portraying that he wants to to have everything for himself. The advert mainly has straight cuts and no fancy transitions as having transitions could make the advert longer than what it is and possibly put off the audience. By having the straight cuts it gets to the point quicker for the advert itself.

Sound:
There is not much to with sound in the advert from the start at 0:00 until the end of the advert at 1:00 we can hear one music track and that is it. It is an upbeat song which has a happy feel to it but there is no background noise present or any voice overs to guide the audience through the advert itself. The reason why there was only a music track in this video is that the advert itself shows a clear narrative where the boy is going through a change and learning to share.

Editing:
The editing techniques used here are very basic the clips are just put together to make the advert feel faster. Also the editing has been kept to a minimal because of the fact that the advert itself shows a clear narrative and it does not want to get disrupt the flow. At the very start of the advert at 0:00 we can see a Graphics overlay which says "The boy who learnt to share" this already tells the audience what the narrative is about in this advert. Also near the end at 0:57 the editing technique used is to blur the screen and to show the graphics overlay so it stands out to the audience.

Lighting Effects:
Here throughout the whole advert from 0:00 to 1:00 the lighting has been kept natural because they do not want the audience to get distracted by having sudden lighting changes throughout the advert itself. The advert has not shown any aspects of key lighting which shows its all been kept natural.

Computer Graphics:
The advert shows no signs of computer graphics what so ever. I think the creators of this advert have pulled of the aspect of it being clean and simple for the audience to watch. They have not shown anything abnormal which can be created via the computer throughout this advert. The only graphics in this video was at the start at 0:00 where it shows "The boy who learnt to share" and at the end where there is another graphics overlay which says "KFC, it's better to share"

Iconography:
***NOT RIGHT?***
As the video is set in winter the creators of the advert have used an upbeat song because people are looking towards Christmas. Also it is shown its winter because of the snow that is everywhere in the shot at 0:00. The boy in this video is the one who is focused on throughout the whole video because the narrative is based on him and him only because at the start of the advert we see the text saying "The boy who learnt to share"

Special:
Camera Angle and Shot:
At the start of the advert at 0:00 we can see a blurred figure of a man walking. This is done via a mid/long shot of a man walking towards the camera while the sun is placed behind him. This shot then creates the illusion of the man being a silhouette. Here this shot is done to conceal the man's identity before he is revealed later in the advert itself. At 0:02 we have a close up of his legs to show the audience he is walking in the desert which is shown that it is a place that is secluded. At 0:03 we see the silhouette man walking into the ring with a crossbow in his hand. The camera angle here is mid angle and the shot is a full shot of the man but a long shot of the backdrop where we can see there are mountainous hills at the back. At 0:04 we see a close up of the pear then it get defocused and then focused on the man with the crossbow in the distance. At 0:07 we can see another shot of the man in silhouette form still concealing his identity. The shot here shows the full body of the man and the surroundings he is in which in this case is the desert. At 0:09 we can see a extra long shot of the pear and the man with the crossbow to emphasise the distance between the pear and the man himself. Straight after that shot we can see we get an extra close up of his eyes to show that he is focusing on the pear to hit it with the arrow. At 0:17 the shots here is shown to see the arrow being pulled back to be shot to hit the pear in the distance. After we see a few seconds this shot here at 0:20 shows that the arrow is going at terminal velocity towards the pear as it flies past the camera. Straight after that at 0:20 we see the arrow on the left side of the screen showing how fast it is spinning towards the pear and then at 0:21 we can see the impact causes the pear to explode.

Sound:
At 0:02 we can hear the man walking and then gradually we here the music starting to fade into the background sound of the man walking. At 0:15 we can hear the arrow being pulled back to the furthest it can be pulled while the music is playing on top of the background noise. At 0:20 we hear the music stop for a second when the arrow is flying towards the pear itself to show that the arrow is flying at full speed. At 0:21 we can hear the music come back when the beat drops and the pear explodes at the same time. They have synchronised the music and the impact of the arrow with the pear to emphasise the explosion caused by the arrow on the pear. After the explosion we hear a voice over of the man introducing the name of the product which is called "Strongbow Pear" which tells the audience what the product is called and that it is a new product in the market.

Editing:
The editing techniques used here are basic because of the fact that the shots in this particular advert lasted around 1 second long so straight cuts would have been ideal which they have used here. Through the editing technique the audience are shown an advert which is fast paced and exhilarating. With cuts that are fast and shots which last around 1 second each the audience get the sense of speed and tenseness throughout the video itself. For example to make this advert very tense they have used the close up of the eye at 0:11 without that shot in the advert we could see a different perspective of the man just launching the arrow from the crossbow without focusing on the pear. The editing allows the audience see the attention to detail in this advert.

Lighting Effects:
The strong bow advert used various lighting effects by using the sun and the secluded area in the desert. For example at the start at 0:00 the lighting effect used to make the man a silhouette is the sun by making him walk towards the camera while the sun is shining towards his back. This is done to conceal his identity of being a mysterious man or just for aesthetic reasons of the advert itself. Again at 0:03 we can see that they have used no abnormal lighting and just let the sun be the spotlight to create these wonderful shots of the man being a silhouette. They also used the sun as a spotlight at 0:18 to show more aspects of the man such as his face and arms etc. They have not used any key lighting here which shows that it is all natural and also they would not have needed to use key lighting as they were in an open space with the sun shining at its brightest.

Computer Graphics:
The advert shows some type of computer animation within itself such as the close up of the eye at 0:11 focusing on the pear. It maybe an editing technique or it can be real but I think the pupils getting smaller was done by editing where the video was sped up to make it look like the eye fully focused on the pear within a second. Also after the impact of the arrow on the pear at 0:21 we can see that the pear did not have any bots but was fully liquid which was edited to show that it had Strongbow pear inside of the pear itself, also this was done to show a better explosion of the pear as well as telling the audience that it tastes nice or has an exploding taste in your mouth.

Iconography:
***NOT RIGHT?***

The music of the advert creates a mood where it seems like a Mexican stand off between the pear and the man with the crossbow. The music is stating that after you do something tense and focused you earn a Strongbow which is shown via a graphic overlay at the end of the video at 0:30. The music at the start is tense and then becomes more upbeat near the end to show that Strong Bow is a drink you want to drink.

Part 2: Style and Form in Television Advertising


Humorous Advert:

The style of this advertisement by Cadbury is Humorous. They have used children in this advert to identify the target audience. For example at 0:05 we are shown the two main characters of the advert who are kids. This has been done to show the audience that the Cadbury product has been aimed at children. This advert has been made humorous because children are easily amused by the slightest joke. At 0:26 we see their eyebrows moving to the beat of the song which is quite funny to look at because of the fact that they have straight faces and they are doing something unique that most people can't do. Also the creators of the advert have used children who look boring to make them into people who are funny. Also the choice of song makes the advert itself humorous as it is upbeat and while its matching the movement of the eyebrows the combination of the two make it funny. The idea of a humorous advert makes the audience feel happy about the product, that it's fun and something they would trust.


Anti-Realistic Advert:



A form of an anti-realistic advert would be the Birds Eye advert as it has unnatural aspects of the video itself. This is shown at 0:05 where the Polar Bear opens the fridge door. This is something that will never happen in real life and adds an aspect of amusement into the advert. Also the fact that they have used the toy polar bear in this advert is to identify the target audience. This is aimed at children because it is a type of food they like to eat and enjoy and the use of a toy polar bear helps in further to reach their target audience. Also the fact that they have included a a free toy with every purchase is to show that they are yet again aiming it at the younger ages, this is shown at the end of the still image at 0:18 of the product and the toy next to it. The reason why advertisers use anti-realistic adverts is to create the thinking element of the children's minds as they think of toys as living things when they play with them. Also this advert uses the aspect of anti-realism to advertise the merchandise that Bird-Eye offers to the audience.

Surreal Advert:



An example of a surreal advert would be this gorilla advert by Cadbury. This is viewed as a surrealist advert as the gorilla has nothing to do with the product itself and makes people think that this advert is bizarre and something completely unrelated to the product itself. For example at 0:59 we see the gorilla starting to play the drums which is completely off topic to the product and makes the audience think what kind of an advert is this. This makes the advert very odd because Cadbury's Chocolate has nothing to do with Gorillas. By creating this surreal advert the advert itself becomes more viral because of word of mouth. People talk about "the gorilla advert" and others become more interested about the product itself.

Animated Advert:



This kinder egg advert is animated due to the product itself being aimed at a younger audience. For example we are shown the target audience at 0:01 where the kid grabs the Kinder egg. The animated part occurs when the kinder eggs cracks open by itself at 0:06. This has been done to amuse the target audience who are kids to show what you can get through a Kinder Surprise. At 0:10 we are shown the animation of the product which is included in the Kinder egg itself to show the children what you can get and make. The animation aspect of the product itself helps the children target audience be engaged in the video itself and be related to it as they enjoy chocolate and toys which in this case is a win win situation for the children. The advert here creates a nostalgic effect to adults as they will remember the time when they used to love toys and play like that as a kid. Also the use of a animated advert helps re-create what goes through a child's head.

Realistic Advert:



An example of a realistic advert would be the Heinz Ketchup advert as it shows no signs of un-ordinary things except for the computer graphics that they have done at 0:09 where the burger patty appears after the ketchup has been poured on top. Throughout the advert we are shown the uses for the product itself in real life situation which shows the audience that everything tastes better with Ketchup and that its the ingredient you need to complete your meal. This is shown at 0:27 where the still image of Heinz Ketchup shown in the form of tomatoes has written next to it "Bring food to life" which tells the audience that good food with good quality ketchup is a combination you want to go for. Also the use of a realistic advert is to show the product in daily use such as for breakfast, lunch or dinner, also the advert relates to children as they always use ketchup on all their foods as it tastes good.

Talking Heads Advert:



A talking head advert tends to give as much information as possible which this Sensodyne advert does. Throughout this whole advert we are only shown this man talking about the product itself. For example we can see at 0:03 we cannot see the bottom half of the body and that is continues till the end of the whole advert because they want to give their audience as much information as possible while keeping a real environment and no fancy editing. By having talking heads I think the audience understand the product in more detail as they are not distracted by other things going on screen. Also we can see at 0:28 they have still maintained the same shot in a little box and the product he's talking about to show the audience that he is a real dentist who is recommending the toothpaste itself. The reason why creators use talking head advert is to show the audience that the product is trusted and it is being vouched by a professional in the field of dentistry.

Documentary Advert:



A documentary advert gives the audience a lot of information within minutes about a product. In this case we are talking about a new toothbrush which has been created by Philips. For example at 0:03 we are shown the technology used within this product and shows/tells the audience that this product is something you want to have to make your lifestyle better. Also the voice over is a male which also tells the audience that it is a product you want to buy because if it were to be a voice which sounded funny the product would be shown as something that is not serious or worth buying. Also the voice of the man who talks about the toothbrush shows the audience that this man knows what he is talking about. The documentary advert includes information that is important such as what is shown a 0:06. There is a comparison between an ordinary electric toothbrush and the Philips Sonicare toothbrush. This gets the audience thinking to buy the product itself because of it being better than other similar products. The general use for the documentary advert allows the audience to gain trust over the product as it has been proven that it performs better than a product that they have gone up against.

Dramatic Advert:



A dramatic advert often includes tense moments and moments where the audience's emotions come into play. This is all shown in this Road Safety advert which was shown in New Zealand. At 0:01 we can see its two ordinary cars driving in a "T" junction and the car on the right wants to turn right. At 0:09 we are shown that the time slows down and everything around the two drivers stops. At 0:31 the cars start moving in an aggressive way to exaggerate the speed the man was going down that road. This shows the audience that its coming apparent they are going to crash and starts to make the audience think about their lives. Following through the narrative we are shown that there is a little boy in the back seat which now starts to pull the emotional side of the audience because we know the boy is going to get hurt in a major accident. At 0:51 we are shown the speed he is going at which shows the audience that speed kills.

Parody Advert:



A parody advert uses the conventions of  another advert and mocks their idea or just changes the product to make it look like the original advert. Here IKEA mock iPhones advert and replace the actual iPhone product with the IKEA 2015 catalogue. At 0:14 we are shown the side of the catalogue which was originally the side of the iPhone. Also to make it more to the original advert the background is also white which give it the professional look of advert itself. At 0:32 we are shown the features which yet again mocks the iPhone because  here it tells the audience that the product doesn't need a charger and it has unlimited battery life. Also to add more professionalism like the iPhone advert they have a man who is talking to the camera with a white back drop to copy the iPhones original advert. The reason why producers use parody advert is that people will get the joke and they can talk about it as they know it is mocking another product.

Series Advert:


A series advert is an advert that has an ongoing narrative towards it. Here we have the Go Compare advert which has a series going towards it. One element that shows that it is a series as the characters that appear within the advert itself  are shown at the start of the video at 0:02. Also to show that it is a series advert their number plate on the couch says "SAVIN" which shows that their product or company is there to save you money. Another element which indicates that this is a series advert is the fact that they show this sign post which is really long which is shown in every advert of go compare. This sign is shown at 0:10 where the characters are driving the ouch in that direction indicating that they are going down there to save money. Series adverts are used because it helps the audience get used with the advert and its characters so next time the audience sees a new advert they will know all the characters within the advert.

Stand Alone:


A stand alone advert is what is just shown once such as this John Lewis advert which was shown at Christmas. This advert is stand alone because Christmas only comes once a year and this advert will be unsuitable for a time like autumn, spring or summer. To show that this was a Christmas advert there are things such as snow at 0:56 which shows that it has started to snow and it is winter. Another indication that it shows its Christmas is the snow that everyone is playing in. Also throughout the advert we are shown the transition between every season until winter. Another factor this exaggerates this stand alone advert is the food and Christmas tree at 1:39 as turkey is not someone will cook on a daily basis and is there for event such as Christmas.

Unit 3 - Types of Research Methods/Techniques