Unit 29: Advertisement Production For Television

Task 1:Advertisement Analysis

http://www.tellyads.com/show_movie.php?filename=TA10433

Apple 'Iphone- An App for just about anything'

This advertisement, which is directed towards a broad audience- both adults and teenagers, is meant to be promoting the iPhone. This advert would be aiming for both the mainstream and aspiring audience, as Apple is a well known, fashionable and trustworthy brand. One of the main features of this ad is the voiceover- an upbeat male voice who explaining the various applications that the iPhone offers. By repeating the word 'app', he is emphasising just how large the amount of applications that the product offers. There is also an upbeat music bed throughout the advert, adding to the friendly, informal tone that is aimed towards making the audience feel that Apple is a friendly, reliable company. The camera angles range from close ups to extreme close ups, demonstrating the various apps as close as you could get to the real thing. These included news and comic readings, weather, games, finding cars and hotels, which is displaying how the iPhone is shown to be suitable for anyone- with the slogan line being 'an app for just about anything'. This advertisement uses reward power as a factor of persuasion, as being able to do 'just about anything' would make the potential buyer feel they are benefitting from the product- it would bring them an easier lifestyle if they had an iPhone.

http://www.tellyads.com/show_movie.php?filename=TA2789

Nesquik Magic Straws Advert

This advert is directed towards a child audience, with a childhood line of appeal, as it brings a sense of nostalgia when the little girl repeats 'magic!' to the boy- bringing a reminder of childhood play, and how things were much more exciting when you were young. The word 'Magic' would interest a younger audience, as they have inquisitive minds, and would want to try the milkshake magic for themselves. The factors of persuasion in this advert is reward power- children will be able to turn their milk into tasty flavours with just a straw. The advert is directed towards mainstreamers, as it is a family advert- which presumably the parents of the children will be buying. the music bed in this advert is quite slow and mysterious- as if connoting magic itself. It is effective as it is quite childlike and provokes the sense of mystery towards the product- intriguing the child audience. The older girl is meant to be seen as the 'hero' figure to the little boy- as she is supposedly making this magic happen, and also the figure that appeals to older children watching the advert- they know it isn't really magic. The boy represents the younger audience- the more innocent, explorative children who still believe in magic. The camera shots used are mainly close ups of the children's faces, allowing the audience to see their reactions throughout.

Task 2:Narrative Structures in Advertising

Cheryl Cole - Loreal Advert

This advert is presented in a realist structure- representing daily problems. The advert features objective narration- with Cheryl dictating to the audience of the greatness that Loreal beholds. Cheryl begins the advert with a rhetorical question for the problem that arises within many peoples hair: "weak, limp, lifelifess?". This, in terms of Todorov's theory, is the disruption of the plot. We can see that the narrative is not in the traditional order, the the equilibrium follows up- which is an explanation of bad hair types, and how Loreal will apparently solve all you hair problems. The resolution at the end of the advert is that the shampoo has solved all of the problems: "5 problems, 1 solution". The pattern of narrative in this advert is a goal orientated plot- with the main goal to persuade the audience to buy the shampoo in order to achieve great hair. The range of information is unrestricted throughout the advert. Becuase of how popular Loreal adverts are, the audience is most likely going to already know the outcome of this advert, as the shampoo would obviously only be portrayed as a reliable brand that works to make hair better. In relation to Propp's theory, although this advert only has one real character- Cheryl Cole, she is shown to be the hero of the story- she 'found an answer' to hair problems, and we as the audience are supposed to be the 'damsel in distress' figures, who should go and find this wonderful product.

Guinness Advert- Good things come to those who wait

The narrative structure in the Guiness advert is non linear. The pattern of narrative is to show a journey. It features three guys in a bar travelling back through time and creation, in order to tell the story of evolution from animal drinking plain water, to man drinking Guinness- hence the slogan 'Good things come to those who wait'. The closed ending of the advert is the resolution of the story- with a close up of the Guinness drink, to glorify how far man has come throughout the millions of years. This ending is restricted- the audience are aware of what is happening during the travelling back in time, however, are given no clues to the ending of the story. According to Vladamir Propp, every narrative features different types of characters. However, in this narrative, the only type of charcter is a hero- which is that of man and their truimphant evolution through time, and their intelligence- they managed invention and creation. In reference to Todorov's theory, this advert features a traditional plot- equilibrium; the guys at the bar, disruption; the travelling through time, and resolution; the men have waited for beer for millions of years, and finally it is perfect. This advert is objective narration- the audience see the three men's journey through the species of animal right until the start of creation.


Task 3: Comparison of Advert styles

Loreal- Jennifer Aniston

Dell 'Lollipop'




Vortex- 1980's advert




These adverts all portray similarities and differences. In the Dell 'Lollipop' advert, an anti- realist approach has been used through singing workers and rainbow colours to create a sense of fun when advertising their Dell laptops. This would have been done to attract the audience, and to portray their company as being fun and reliable. Similar to this, the Loreal advert, presented by Jennifer Aniston, is also anti- realist. The first shot we see is a long shot, of her floating in mid air to connote that the hairspray she is representing would hold hair 'by an invisible force'. However, the Vortex advert, which was produced in the 1980's, has a realist narrative- in a laboratory, where the product is tested. This documentary style shows a presenter talking to a scientist about why this brand of cleaner is better than others- which would ultimately aim to attract the audience into buying this product- if proven by scientists, it must be reliable. Similar to this, the Loreal advert also includes a scientific explanation of why the hairspray is good to use: 'ellnets unique micro defuser sprays microfine'. However, this style of explanation does differ from Vortex's documentary style- no real evidence is used, and there are no scientists used to back this up. In the Dell advert, friendly workers and robotic machines are used to attract the audience to their company, and to give a sense of humour to the advert, and to add to the surreal imagery of how the laptops are made. The Loreal advert is also surreal- with world famous Jennifer Aniston floating in mid air, and looking into the 'magic' that is the Loreal Ellnet. By using Jennifer Aniston as the representative of this hairspray, automatically the audience sees as figure they can rely on because of her celebrity image. Furthermore, the humour of the advert is her looking for this hairspray in the darkness 'i can hardly see it', adding to the reliability of the product. The Vortex advert also feautres a woman as the presenter, which could represent the 'house wife'- the main target audience for this product. By using this figure, the product is automatically being made more reliable, 'which one's best?' the audience feels a stronger sense of personal relationship with the presenter, as they are part of the unrestricted narrative- finding out the facts as she does.

Task 4: Codes and Conventions

Task 5:ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are the UK's independent watchdog who monitor advertisements to make sure they are suitable for public broadcast. To do this they have a set of advertising codes which they follow, ensuring that the adverts broadcasted for the public are legal, honest and trustworthy. ASA cover a range of different types of advertising, including posters, TV commercials, radio adverts, mail- both internet and direct, internet adverts; such as pop ups and banners, and cinema commercials. When a complaint is made, ASA assesses the advert against the cap codes. If ASA find a problem with the advert, they decide on what action to take, depending on the issue.


Task 6: Audience Categorisation

http://heatherharknessbtectvandfilm.blogspot.com/2009/06/unit-21-single-camera-techniques.html

Task 6 from my Single Camera Drama unit focuses on audience classification. For advertisers, audience classification is important when discussing the type of audience their advert is aimed for. The type of audience that the advert will be aimed at also has to fit with the channel that the type of audience watches the most- for example, a working class audience in the D, E, and C2 categories are more likely to watch channels such as 'Five' and 'Channel 4'- so an advert based upon careers or for students would be placed on channels such as this.

Task 7: Client Brief & Budget

Budget: £1200

This will cover…….

Camera hire =

Panasonic Professional Camera (mini dv) = £70 per day (2 days) = £140

Microphones = Boom Mike + Boom Arm = £20 per day (2 days) =£40

MP3 Sound Recorders =

Edirol R-09h £30 per day (2 days) = £60

Recording Studio = £30 per hour (2 hours) = £60

Editing Suite = (imac) £10 per hour ( 10 hours) = £100

Technical Team = Sound Assistant = £10 per hour (5 hours) £50

Camera person £20 per hour = (5 hours) = £100

Actors= £50 per hour (Std equity card) (2 for 5 hours) £500

Total £ 1050

Task 8: Questionnaire

Task 9: Interview

We filmed some students to find out what type of advertisements they prefer to see, asking them a number of different questions so that we could document our findings and take the opinions into account when coming up with ideas for the production of our own advertisement. The expected outcome of the questions should help us decide on the different elements our advert would include- such as effects, type of camera shots, interviewees etc.

Task 10: Focus Group

Before creating our advert, we needed to employ a different type of research in order to find out more information about the type of adverts that a certain demographic of people; which in this case was a group of students, liked and disliked about different types of advertisements. To do this we set up a focus group for this set of students, asking for both positive and negative feedback on a series of different television adverts. As a result of this, we aimed to achieve a good range of diverse opinions; which would ultimately be helpful in the creation of our own advert, directing us in the correct path- what to include, and what to avoid.

The first advert we played to the students was 'John Lewis', which focused on a journey of one woman's life.; with an ultimate message that the John Lewis brand was meant to appeal to everyone, no matter what age- and the years experience the company was, making them a recognisable, trustworthy brand. Te advert was structured to be enigmatic to the viewer, with constantly flowing camera shots to connote the progression of a life- giving a sense of personal identity within the viewer- they could reflect on the changes during their own lifetime. After the advert finished, we asked for feedback from the group, which in turn we received a mixed response. Although 'John Lewis' was placed at the end of the advert, it became apparent that the majority of the student demographic was unsure what the company was, and furthermore, they were unsure what the advert was for- showing that the company who made the advertisement may have been unsuccessful in anchoring a range of audiences. We also received positive feedback, which showed that the atmosphere of the advert was made perfect by the music bed choice, and that the tone of the advert was both nostalgic to the reader, and relaxing.

We then played another advert to the students; which was 'Compare the Market'- an advertisement that has become recogniseable on today's television through the company's icon- the anthropomorphic meerkat; describing his own company as 'compare the meerkat'; which ultimately makes the advert memorable through the 'market' and 'meerkat' keywords. The target audience for this advert seems quite diverse- due to the nature of the advert being to do with business/ finance style approach, however, because of the entertainment factor embedded throughout, the target audience is lowered to younger adults (17+), as it appeals to younger drivers looking for insurance. The advert is intended for multi media expansion, with the repetition of their websites throughout 'comparethemeerkat.com' 'comparethemarket.com' - enabling either url to stick in the viewers mind- with both websites available for use, where looking for meerkats, or for real business! After the advert was played, we received feedback from the students, which, as expected, proved to be a popular advert with most- demonstrating that the intended target audience was reached. However, there was one individual within our focus group who was outside of the general demographic of the group, who disliked the advert. He commented that the advertisement appeals only to the 'lowest common denominator of human spirit'. We could note that whilst the advert appeals to its primary target audience, it holds less amusement and attraction for more higher class citizens.

The final advertisement we played the the group was for the water company 'Evian'; which was one of the biggest adverts of 2009, and it features babies dancing in the most complicated, humorous fashion- obviously created with CGI; all of which the public seem to love. Evian's tag line is 'Live Young'- which is the theme of the advert; obviously taken to the extreme; with the drinking of their water intended to carry across the message that you can grasp youth, promoting healthy living. the music bed in the advert also brings the babies and their dancing to life. After playing the advert, we again asked for some feedback from the group. Positive feedback was given by the female audience, who responded with a nurturing attitude- they thought that the advert was cute, and humorous. The male audience agreed that the advert was funny, however, they focused their attention on the CGI effects. They thought it was too 'fake' and of a 'poor' quality, showing the high expectations of media imagery that the modern audience has developed. Other members of the focus group noted a possible issue with racial representation- a mixed race baby as the head of his crew, a 'gang leader', and the stereotype is recognised amongst American culture, therefore could have held negative connotations.

Task 11: Advertising codes for TV

7.1 Misleading advertising and children

7.1.2 Unrealistic expectations: Advertisements for products of interest to children must take account of the level of experience of those in the relevant age groups so as to avoid arousing unrealistic expectations.

(4) Verbal or visual ambiguity which could mislead children must be avoided. Slogans and comments which adults will recognise as irony or exaggeration may be taken more literally by children. Care is therefore needed.

we will make sure that the titles for the beginning and end of the advert are clear, and only give information about what the advert is; e.g. 'PGS Radio Department', furthermore, we will make sure that the opinions of the students are honest, and not over exaggerated.

(5) Backgrounds, sets and special effects must not give the impression that a product includes more, or does more, than is the case.

We are basing our advertisement in the radio department, and the only settings the children will see include the media room and radio studio, and the equipment that was already there before the camera started filming.

(6) Quick cuts, unusual camera angles etc may confuse very young children

The camera angles include simple tracking shots that will be sped up, so the advert gets straight to the point, further shots include straight forward close ups and medium shots of each student or teacher.

http://bcap.org.uk/The-Codes/BCAP-Code/BCAP-TV-Code/BCAP-TV-Item.aspx?q=BCAP+Television+Code_Section+7+-+Children_7.1+Misleading+advertising+and+children_7.1.2+Unrealistic+expectations

Task 12: Initial Ideas

My team and I held a meeting to discuss and log different ideas for our advert that focuses on raising awareness and promoting the radio department at our school:

Narrative: Could be a journey narrative- hand held camera, walking to the radio dept, students in the radio room recording, interviews,etc.

Music: We came up with a couple of ideas from songs that were about the radio- i.e. 'Video killed the radio star' (Buggles) and 'Rock DJ' (Robbie Williams), and another idea of ours was to have a music track that every type of audience could identify with- something upbeat, like a mix tape.

Characters: Teachers & students of different ages, variation & shows how diverse the radio station is.

Style: Modern, special effects in editing, individual interviews, modern music, personal relationships with audience etc.

Task 13: Treatment

Our team decided to create our advert about the Radio Department at our school- a department that has run for a number of years, and seen hundreds of pupils broadcasting. The factors of persuasion we are going to use in our advert is going to be seen through different students in the school, from different year groups. We aim to film a close up of each face when speaking, and then in editing we will put them into transitions. With these varied representatives of the department we aim to create a sense of personal identity within the viewers- seeing people their own age will encourage them to have a go themselves.We have also decided to use a teacher of the department, who will serve to give extra information as to why the radio department is beneficial to the students. We will use two lines of appeal- successful careers; we are going to get a more mature student to talk about the benefits in the future for students, and also a sort of 'happy families' approach- with the students talking about what they like about the radio department; e.g. meeting friends, having fun etc. These two lines of appeal will hopefully benefit the viewers, they can see the fun aspect of the radio show along with the aspect of radio being useful to them in the future. The style we are going to use in the advert will be a modern style, with a journey style narrative. The opening shot will be of a hand held camera walking to the radio room- which we will speed up in iMovie, creating something that will grab the viewers attention, rather than a slow walk into the room- we want it to look technological- as the radio department is all about technology.

Task 14: Software & Equipment

Task 15: Storyboard

Task 16: Production Schedule

Task 17: TV advertisement for Radio Department

Task 18: Evaluation

I feel me and my group managed to achieve our purpose in the creation of this advertisement. We wanted to aim to attract younger students, and also members of primary schools who would be coming to Grangefield, and encourage them to have a go on the radio. We gathered audience feedback from a group of younger students, and they thought that the advert was useful in giving them information about the department- they liked that there was different interviews from students at the school, because they saw others getting involved, encouraging them to. We got the preferred reading from our advert, we wanted to appeal to students about how fun the department is, and how it would benefit them, and I think that through the students we interviewed, we managed to achieve this in the end result.

We gave only positive messages of the radio department, using a range of students from different year groups, and of both genders, in order to collect more diverse opinions about the radio, and give out the message of how anyone at any age can be involved, and the radio isn't something that you can grow out of! We used a music bed, which was a mix tape of all of the latest songs from 2009/10, which we thought went well with the theme of the piece; after all, the radio plays everything, and so we thought that at least one of the parts of that music track would be recognisable to our chosen audience. The locations were perfect for the video- we used both the media room and the radio studio- with a tracking shot to and from the radio studio, allowing viewers to see the types of technology that the department holds. We made sure that the interviewees used language that was appropriate for our audience, using dialect with some informal slang in order to appeal to the viewers- creating a sort of personal identity; they are all from the same type of background. Our video looked realistic for the genre, we wanted a technical looking approach, with simple but effective effects that made the advert look modern and appealing to an ever fashion changing society.

The levels of the voices were okay, sometimes the interviewees talked a little too quietly for the camera to pick up properly, however, we solved this problem in iMovie where we just raised the sound levels. The music levels varied, from louder at the beginning and ending, to quiet when the interviews were shown. The camerawork was meant to look like a person walking to the radio room, which, when filming we decided to lower the camera to an eye level of an average teen, so sometimes the camera looks quite shaky. In my opinion I think there is enough variety to keep the viewers interested- we used a sped up tracking shot to the radio studio, and then cuts to different students and a teacher, which changed every few seconds, then our final shot was the tracking shot reversed- as if on a turn table. For the beginning and end credits, we used clear bold arial font to make it easy to read and remember.

I think the typical conventions of this drama are the futuristic, modern effects and fonts used on the titles and credits, and also the use of a modern upbeat recognisable track. I think professional products hold some similarities- like the interviewing style to give personal identity with the viewers. Professionals have some advantages over me, such as the quality of the camera- we used a flip cam, and more high tech cameras would be used at professional standard.

In this unit I think I did well with the editing, and with the application of different effects to make the advert look more modern and technological, which was intended to appeal to the viewers, who are living in a world of new technologies. I think I was a good team member, sorting out the paperwork and sharing out the editing so that we all did a more equal amount of work. Our group worked well together, and didn't argue because we held a meeting to discuss our ideas for the advert.