The ASA - Advertising Standards Authority is the body that regulate adverts shown in the UK. They actively watch any adverts made and act on any complaints that are made to them. They specifically take action against adverts that are misleading, harmful or offensive.
The majority of adverts first have to get cleared and go through a company called Clearcast, with this company you have to submit your ad - edit and pre production and if it is approved then your ad can be aired.
The ASA works along the UK Code of Broadcast, they have rules in place that your advert has to follow in order for it to be approved. Some of those being about children, gambling, alcohol and weight loss.
Adverts have been banned in the past in the UK, one of them being the mobile app that is a "nude scanner".
In this report, it explains how is was banned because it was considered as demeaning to women and could be exposed to children. In the advert which was shown on Channel 4, you can see a woman being "scanned" as she walks past and it includes images of her naked with her breasts and crotch blurred out.
Although is had the disclaimer "For entertainment purposes only... 16+, bill payer's permission." It was was still approved by Clearcast but with an ex-children restriction.
Another example is the Volkswagen advert. It was banned as it suggests that the man in the ad is a suicide bomber, we see the man inside it and he blows it up. The point of it was to advertise the new Volkswagen Polo car, its slogan is "small but tough" which they show by only the inside of the car exploding and nothing happening to the outside but audiences thought this was very controversial .
The KCF advert also hit a nerve with the public as 1,040 complaints were made within 2 weeks of it being aired. It's the most complained out UK TV advert because it shows women in a call centre having KCF for their dinner but speaking with their mouths full, people felt like the advert was encouraging bad manners but the company wouldn't drop the advert because they said that the whole thing was just "meant to be funny"
The ASA received the most complaints about the Mr Kipling advert promoting their Christmas mince pies. The reaction to this was largely negative as it shows a woman giving birth in the middle of a nativity play in a school, being watching by children and a horrified looking audience. Complaints came from those who felt like it was mocking a holy event in Christianity and made them feel uncomfortable watching it. The ad was withdrawn by Ofcom as they felt it was "appropriate under the circumstances"
Lucozade sport made an advert that was banned as it claimed that the drink fuels you more than water. In the advert that sparked a debate, 63 complaints were filed, 1 coming from the Natural Hydration Council which sell bottled water, they said they were glad the ad was drawn from TV as the health claims weren't true. We see 2 groups of men, 1 drinking water and the other drinking Lucozade Sport, a voice over says "Lucozade Sport gives you the electrolytes and carbohydrates you need, hydrating you, fuelling you better than water." The ASA responded by saying "the campaign did not make it clear that the benefits of the drink would only be got during prolonged endurance exercise." The advert no longer remains in its current form.
There are 3 different techniques you can use when making an advert, overt - when it's obvious what the ad is for, hidden - it's not as obvious was the advert is showing and emotional response, when you want to make the audience feel a certain way for it to have an impact.
An example of a hidden advert is for Mercedes Benz.
The McDonalds breakfast wrap advert is an example of an overt advert.
In this advert you can clearly see what it's promoting - the Mcdonalds breakfast wrap and it shows a McDonalds restaurant at the start. Throughout the ad you can clearly see the product and it shows different people eating it. What the voice over is saying corresponds to what's happening on screen and the fact that what he's saying rhymes helps it to flow and it keeps it interesting. From the get go the audience know what this advert is promoting and the strengths of advertisements like this are that we know what we're watching and what it's about, we're not left guessing or confused as to what the meaning of it is. It is straight to the point and the fact that the wrap is featured so much makes the audience want to buy one. However the disadvantages of ads like this are that when we see the product so much, we expect it to look like that when we buy it. The majority of times you go to McDonalds and buy something it doesn't look like the posters so you will get some people complaining that it's false advertising as the actual one doesn't look as put together as they've seen advertised.
Finally, the NSPCC advert is an example of the emotional response technique.
Adverts like this are designed for a purpose - to have an emotional impact on the viewer. They want you to feel a certain way whilst watching the ad so that you're persuaded, in this case, to donate to the NCPCC. This advert in particular makes us sympathise for the children in it and when it shows the statistic that 2.4 million calls are made to them annually, it makes us aware that it's a very important charity and it helps children so we have to donate money. The strengths of adverts that have an emotional response are that they are hard hitting, so will most likely have an affect on the audience so the company will achieve what they want - in this case donation money. The weaknesses on the other hand are that sometimes they can be too much for some people, making them feel uncomfortable or guilty for not donating. Adverts like this have raked in complaints as people feel like it's not suitable that although those in it are actors, to use young children and babies to play on peoples' heartstrings and get them to give money, also because some names used for children are names of children who have died due to child abuse.
Thinkbox are a marketing body that are responsible for TV advertisements in the UK. They cover them in all of their forms; on demand, broadcast and interactive. Its shareholders include Channel 4, ITV, Sky Media, Turner Media Innovations and UKTV, collectively they represent at least 90% of commercial TV advertising revenue.
The Thinkbox research told us that TV was a way that all of those in this experiment passed time in their homes. Also how there are 3 different types of TV viewing; our time, in-between time and my time. They concluded that TV still plays a big role in peoples' lives.
The research told us that audiences reacted to adverts differently depending on how they were put across. Music for example was a way that the ads were engaging for the audience as it got them to start singing and even occasionally dance and they said it was fascinating to watch the kind of behaviours that were recorded. Across the 15,000 exposures, 68% of those who watched the adverts recorded observable ad-related behaviour - whether that being singing along to a jingle or doing a voice over of the advert.
The advantages are that we learn more about audiences and how they react to things, it gives us simple and reliable information. It will help when making an advert so we know how to structure it so that it's engaging for them - we can change it based on the results of the thinkbox research so that it's popular. It also means that we don't have to do the research as it's already been done.
How to find out about audiences.
- Viewer engagement study
- Quantitative survey with 3000 people
- Goggleboxed people by putting cameras in 22 households
- Got people to watch adverts in a lab
Strengths;
A lot of people so you'll get a wide range of answers.
You're getting realistic responses.
Not all opinions, you can get statistics.
Get a lot of reactions so adverts for your survey, easy to send out a survey.
You're doing the research first hand so you know it's relevant to your study.
Getting your results there and then - it can get you qualitative data.
It's cheaper.
Weaknesses;
All those houses might skip adverts and not watch them.
Done in a lab/they're being recorded so they might change their reaction.
Taking people out of their comfort zone.
Feel pressured to give a reaction.
They might be observationally biased and change what they watch.
Can be expensive.
Time consuming.
Advertising rate cards are a way of showing how much it will cost to air an advertisement at a certain time on different channels.
The cost can vary from a few hundred to millions of pounds. Prices in rate cards aren't set in stone, they can change depending on different factors, some being; the region the ad will be aired in, the length of it, time of day it's shown, time of year and the volume of viewers.
For an advert in the middle of the X Factor it would cost you around £250,000. In the middle of the Superbowl in America it would cost up to $4,000,000.
This is an example of a rate card for the BBC, the prices change depending on the time of day. The price more than doubles if you wanted to air your advert during the early peak time of day opposed to during the day time.
To find out when is prime time to air an advert you have to look at TV ratings - which are found out by BARB, Broadcasters Audience Research Board. BARB is important for advertisers so they know which channels are popular and which shows are best to put an advert in-between.
The psychographics are mainstreamers as Barclays is a safe and legitimate brand and it also can be a family bank. It also targets aspirers as any young people, around 16 and up who are looking to open bank accounts will see it and think it's a good place to go and will like the idea of the contactless card that no other bank offers.
The form is narrative.
The style is humorous/surreal.
The technique used is hidden.
The characteristic is selling the unique selling point.
The Barclaycard advert uses the form of narrative. We know this because the scene starts off in the setting of an office in his work suit costume and as it progresses the setting changes from the office to around New York and his costume goes from the suit to swimming trunks. At the end the speed slows down when he pulls out the only prop used which is the Barclaycard.
The style of this advert is surreal as the whole idea of a big waterslide wrapping round buildings in the setting of New York isn't real and also it's not everyday you see a waterslide going through a food market which is why it is surreal.
It also can be taken as humours as when he's taking his work costume off and walking through the office setting, none of the other characters seem phased by it - acting as though it's normal. Also where he gets stuck at the top in the library setting and he has to push himself down is funny because of all the characters' reaction and the fact it's in a library.
The characteristics are selling the unique selling point and selling the lifestyle, this is shown through the dialogue at the end when the voice over says "making payments simpler" they're selling the fact that their card is less hassle to pay with and Barclays has the contactless cards. It also sells the lifestyle because the mans character went out to buy something and went down in a slide which is fun so it's promoting a fun and laid back lifestyle with their product.
The technique used in the Barclays advert is hidden message. We don't see the card prop or which brand the advert is for until the end, nothing in the advert would make us guess that it's promoting a bank and the sound has no relevance to Barclays either.
This advert will persuade people to bank with Barclays because it's a fun advert to watch as it's so surreal and out of this world. It makes us want it to be real, the demographics include younger people, around 16 plus as we open bank accounts around that age and if they see the advert and they think it's all fun and laid back there is more chance of them going to Barclays, the structure uses humour so it makes it engaging to watch.
The hidden message technique works for this advert because when we see a bank logo we presume it's going to be boring and un entertaining and because the logo doesn't feature until the end it keeps us watching and we're surprised by it.
The fact that it's promoting the fun lifestyle will persuade to bank with Barclays because they're showing themselves as a fun and unique company as they use a big waterslide to buy their dinner and they don't even have to come into contact with the pin machine to pay.
I think it's successful at targeting the audience as it's intriguing when we see him so into the store room and there's a random waterslide so we keep watching until we see that it's for Barclays.
I'd say it targets those in groups D/C2 and up because anyone who's earning money can save up and pay for a room at these hotels.
The psychographics are mainstreamers as it's a hotel company which is family friendly and it also appeals to suceeders as older people are the ones who pay for the hotel so they want the advert to target them.
The form is talking head and series.
The style is humours.
The technique used is overt.
The characteristics are better than others and selling the lifestyle.
The secret escapes advert uses the forms of talking head and series. We know this because it's just a woman speaking to the camera in the setting of the secret escapes hotels and the dialogue, she's telling us about the company and why they're good to come to.
The style of the advert is humours because at the end in the bedroom set we can hear the sound of the shower which her partner is in and when she's talking to the camera he asks who she's talking to she says she's talking to no one, more so herself.
The characteristics included are better than others because the woman tells us how the company hand pick hotels and give their members the best rates. Also selling the lifestyle because the settings are all in chilled out places, her costumes are always simple but look nice and she isn't stressed out so it's saying if you buy a room from secret escapes you'll be as relaxed as she is.
The technique used is an overt message. From the start she's the sound is always quiet and her dialogue is delivered by her whispering so we know it's something to be kept quiet - kept a secret. Also in each new setting at the beginning of her lines she says "at secret escapes" so we know which company it is from the start. Her costume at the start is a swimming costume and at the end a dressing gown so we know that whatever this company is, is a relaxed one.
This advert uses the overt technique which will intrigue people to watch because if they happen to be looking into going away, knowing right away it's a holiday company will make them want to watch it and if they like what they see they'll book with them.
The characteristics would persuade the audience to book a room from Secret Escapes because the woman featured is very relaxed and chilled out, selling this lifestyle is very appealing to most people - especially women which are a big part in the demographics and they will see it and want the same. In the dialogue she says that they guarantee their members the best rates which will persuade those on the socio economic scale to go to them because they will want a cheap holiday that's good.
The structure uses humour which again makes the advert interesting to watch and it suggests that you can have a laugh whilst relaxing at their hotels which will be appealing for customers. There are a few of these adverts that are slightly different so the audience will see a range of rooms and deals that are available which will make them want to buy a room even more.
This is successful at targeting the audience as when anyone wants to go away they want it for a good price, for it to be a nice hotel and they want to be relaxed and all this is what the company promotes in the advert. Adults will see it and know what they're getting when the book with them so it will appeal to them.
The psychographics are mainstreamers because it's a family household brand, explorers because it might be new to some people as well as aspirers because younger boys who play football will relate to the men in the advert and buy the product.
The form is narrative.
The style is dramatic/surreal.
The technique used is hidden.
The characteristic is selling the lifestyle.
The snickers advert uses the form of narrative. We know this because at the start in the changing room setting we see all the characters and a woman which at the start we don't think too much of. The woman looks very dolled up to be in a changing room as her costume is an evening dress and as the advert goes on a man comes over with the snickers bar prop and calls her Dan. As she eats it she then turn back into her "old" self which is a man.
The style is dramatic as it's very exaggerated when she starts going mad at the other two guys because she can't find her deodorant. The whole idea of it is surreal as in real life you don't get a man switching genders and turning diva as they call it, because he's hungry.
The characteristic used is selling the lifestyle. This is shown by using all men in the advert and because mainly men have snickers so they're saying if you have one then you're manly - and most importantly, you won't turn into a woman. The technique used is a hidden message. Until the character comes in with the snickers prop I didn't know it was an advert for snickers, the costume, setting and there's no music that gives it away so it's a hidden message advert.
The characteristics and techniques used will persuade the audience to buy the product because it's saying get some nuts and have a Snickers, men who are all about proving their manliness will be persuaded to buy it. The comedic element makes it entertaining for the audience to watch and there's less chance of them turning it off, and if they watch the narrative form also is intriguing and it makes them want to watch on to see what happens. When you make someone watch it, they'll see the end product that it's promoting and it might make them want to buy it.
I think it's successful at targeting the audience because it's put across in a funny way and it catches peoples attention. The slogan of the product is "get some nuts" and manliness is something that males take pride in so the advert creates the illusion that snickers make you more of a man and this will urge the target audience to buy it.
The psychographics are suceeders as all those targeted will have to be old enough to drive and those in this category are usually older.
The form is documentary.
The style is dramatic.
The technique used is overt.
The characteristic is selling the lifestyle and better than others.
The LV advert uses the form of documentary. We know this because it's set in a street and as we go down it we see props like street signs and billboards and we're informed about LV and their prices. The style of the advert is dramatic, I say this because it's quite over exaggerated, it's like a full street party for a car, there are big props like balloons with lots on confetti and characters are wearing quite bright costumes to get the party feel across, the sound is also very party like and it's what everyone is dancing to in the street.
The characteristics used are selling the lifestyle and better than other, this is shown throughout by them including statistics about their prices and why they're the best car insurance company. This is also accompanied by the sound of a voice over. It's selling the lifestyle because it's a very upbeat advert and everyone in it is happy and dancing so they're saying if you get car insurance from us you will be happy like this and everything will be great.
The technique used is overt, from the start you can see the company green heart logo and we know it's for a car insurance company because we can see the crash that nearly happens with the 2 prop cars.
The characteristics, structure and techniques will persuade the audience to buy car insurance from LV because the fact is a party scene will make customers think they're a faun and upbeat company to go to and if they but car insurance from them then everything will be great, the better than others element also contributes to making people want to buy from them because they're selling themselves as a better company than others and they're prices are lower which will obviously talk customers into getting insurance from them. The overt message is good because like in the holiday advert, 18+ people who watch TV and might just so happen to be looking for car insurance, they will find this appealing and interesting to them. The over the top dramatic style will make people think it's an interesting company that are fun and not dull and they want to promote themselves as an upbeat business.
This is successful at targeting the audience because it makes you think they're a fun company to go to because it just shows a massive party and especially for younger drivers the party scene is appealing to them and they want an easy company to get car insurance from.
The demographics of this are both older (parents) and younger people, the adults will see that Thomson deliver relaxing holidays and the younger children will be drawn in by the friendly looking ogre character. This appeals to both genders as the ad features men and women.
It would target those in at least D category on the socioeconomic scale as you need to be earning money to pay for a holiday.
The psychographics are mainstreamers as the advert shows a family and it's a family company. As well as suceeders and explorers as they're an older/younger dominated group and this advert has something for everyone.
The form is documentary.
The style is humorous and dramatic.
The technique used is overt.
The characteristic is selling the lifestyle.
The Thomson advert takes the form of documentary. We know this because of the different settings that are shown; their home, on the plane and on holiday - we learn from this advert that their holidays aren't stressful as the man in ogre costume turns into a normal human while he's on holiday.
The style is quite humorous as when we see the man in the birds eye view shot of him in bed asleep he looks stressed and then it goes to him on holiday and his character scares a cleaner in the hotel setting. It also can be taken as dramatic because the sound used builds up and up and the pace picks up when he runs onto the beach set.
The characteristic used is selling the lifestyle because when we get to the end of the advert where they're on holiday and on the beach setting, the ogre costume goes and he's a normal man they're showing it's because of the Thomson holiday. The message of the advert is that their holidays are chilled an relaxed.
In this advert they use the overt message technique, at 0:17 text comes on screen that says "Thomson presents.." so the audience know it's a holiday advert. We also see the birds eye view shot of the plane in the sky so if anyone missed the text at the start they know now it's a Thomson advert. We can see by facial expressions from the ogre that he's sat and wants to be closer with him family when he sees a dad and his son on the beach set and that's when he starts to lighten up and by the end they're a happy family.
The characteristic of selling the lifestyle will persuade those who see the advert to book a holiday because they will see it's relaxing and what it looks like and they'll want the same, also the overt message works for this company because if someone is looking for a holiday and they instantly know this is a holiday company then they'll pay attention to it. The dramatic and documentary style structure makes it engaging as it's interesting for us to watch and it shows that they're selling good family holidays that are full of action and things to do.
This advert strikes the right balance so that adults and kids will enjoy watching it, the demographics are targeted well because the adults will find the selling the lifestyle element appealing and kids will take to the ogre character.
This advert is successful at targeting the audience because kids will find it appeals as it includes a Shrek like character that they see in films, it appeals to adults because the majority of people will want a break to go somewhere relaxing and when they see this advert and what Thomson holidays look like they will want to book with them.
Comparison
From the adverts I chose, the techniques used were all quite similar, 3 out of the 5 used overt messages and the other 2 were hidden, overt was used more because then the audience isn't guessing what the advert is for and they're not confused. Hidden messages can have a good affect so the audience are surprised when they see what the company is but it also can leave them confused and have the opposite affect. When it comes to the styles, they again were similar in some ways, the Secret Escapes and Thomson adverts included an element of humour in theirs which I think is important because it makes them more entertaining to watch and there's less chance of you zoning the advert out. 3 used a dramatic style in theirs which can be a risky style to use in my opinion because sometimes they can be over dramatic, be a bit too much and not make sense.
The forms were the most diverse as the Secret Escapes ad used the talking head and series form, none of the others used this and it was very unique. The other 4 were all quite similar as they used the documentary and narrative forms.
The majority of the advert used the selling the lifestyle characteristic, I think they did this because if the customer can see the product and how it will benefit them there's a higher chance of them buying it.
Barclays is the only one that was different and didn't use selling the lifestyle and I think this was because they concentrated more on the actual product and how easy it is to use it rather than the character in the ad.
Narrative was a popular form used and I think it was used so frequently because it makes more sense for the viewer and they can follow it along. Humour was also used a lot because it makes the advert engaging and not boring to watch, to sell the product in a 30 second ish slot you need to keep it interesting but straight to the point.
Jade
ReplyDelete• Can you explain how your advert uses the techniqes, structures and characteristics to persuade the demographic and psychographic of the target audience to buy the product.
• Can you make sure you discuss the similarities in structures, characteristics and techniques and the differences across the advert and begin to explain why you think these adverts have used these things in similar or different ways.