Elements of advertsing

Short sentences for impact on the reader.

Weasel words are often used. These are words which suggest a meaning without actually being specific. One type is the open comparative: "Brown's Boots Are Better" (posing the question "better than what?")

Humour. This can be verbal or visual, but aims to show the product positively.

Glamorisation is probably the most common technique of all. "Old" houses become charming, characterful or unique. "Small" houses become snug or manageable. Houses on a busy road become convenient for transport.

Use of well known music in order to familiarise the viewer with the product and provoke feeling towards it. It represents the nature of the product and the type of consumer who may use it.

Exaggeration: to generate feeling towards the product in the eyes of the viewer, may it sounds much better than it is in order to sell it.

Use of background/mis en scene: clapping or cheering so the viewer is subconsciously reassured that others use and are pleased with the product.

Use of celebrities to persuade the viewer that they can be like those in the advert if they use the product.

Use of Alliteration: "Buy Brown's Boots Now!"- An element of humour or increased likelihood of remembering product.

Lack of negatives: advertising normally emphasises the positive side of a product.

Simple and Colloquial language: "It ain't half good" to appeal to ordinary people.

Familiar language: use of second person suggests a friendly attitude.

Repetition of the brand name and the slogan.

Neologisms may have novelty impact, eg Beanz Meanz Heinz.

Analysis of Cadbury and L’Oreal advertisements

The brands Cadbury and L’Oreal are both widely recognised house hold names all over the world; however they advertise very different products. Cadbury have been known for years for being the dominant chocolate bar brand that people of all ages love. One factor which is likely to have contributed to this success is their use of inventive, imaginative advertising. Their televisions advertising always uses unusual idea’s which attract the attention of the viewer, making them remember it and therefore remember the product as well. One example of this is their advert from 2007, named ‘Gorilla’ where a gorilla plays the drums to a well known song. The use of such an unusual situation is likely to appeal to the viewer and amuse them in some way or other. Also, the use of a well known song is likely to make the viewer reflect on how they feel when they hear the song, hopefully resulting in a positive reaction. The fact that Cadbury do not narrow down their target market in their advertising, using sketches which are likely to be appealing to all ages means they are able to maximise their sales.

Similarly, the brand L’Oreal has also targeted the mass market, advertising in a reasonably general sense. Their TV adverts include ones for both female adults, and younger children. However, in contrast to Cadburys, L’Oreal has a very different approach to the advertising in terms of creativity and use of celebrities. Unlike Cadbury, L’Oreal tends to use celebrity endorsements in order to attract the attention of the viewer, spending a lot of money on this aspect. The fact that celebrities or ‘ideal’ looking women are featured in these adverts persuades the viewer that she too can look and feel this good after using the L’Oreal product. It is seen to women as a privilege to be featured in a L’Oreal advert, therefore a privilege to be able to use the product, enhancing the L’Oreal name even further.

L’Oreal have an instantly recognisable catch phrase, ‘Because you’re worth it’ which has been used on pretty much every advertisement they have produced, in all countries. This maximises the brand recognition globally and is an easy way of advertising the L’Oreal products for free, due to the catchy saying that everybody wants to be able to say. In contrast to this, Cadburys do not have a globally recognised catch phrase or saying. This could be seen as a flaw in their advertising as it does not generate so much (essentially free) advertising as ‘because you’re worth it’ may do. However, Cadburys did have an early phrase of ‘eat more milk’, which was an amusing play on words and could have escalated into a recognised catchphrase but for some reason it did not. Despite this, Cadbury are widely recognised for their colour purple, featured in every advert and product they have produced. This may essentially be more effective than a catchphrase, as every time a potential customer see’s the colour purple, it is likely to remind them of the brand that is Cadbury.

Analysis of portable music system adverts

I looked at some Sony Walkman adverts from the years 1970 to 1980. I noticed that one advert, ('the WM-10 super walkman'- 1983) showed the cassette player being made, informing the viewer of the complicated internal machinery of the product. This allows the viewer to appreciate the product fully and realize how cutting-edge and innovative it is.
i found the main message in these adverts to be that you have the ability to listen to your music wherever you are. This is shown in the advert below, where a young woman is shown doing aerobics whilst listening to music. the size of the product is often mentioned and shown, with clips such as 0.01 seconds (in the advert for WM-10 super walkman) with a hand holding the device. This gives the viewer something to compare the size of the product with, making it possible to imagine how portable the product is.
I have found these adverts to use a lot longer shots and a variety of shot types, in contrast to that of modern day MP3 player adverts. The length of these shots suggests a calm, relaxed atmosphere, putting the viewer at ease. The music adds to this feeling of relaxation, with classical instruments playing in the background.
The voiceover was heard over the classical music, which is relatively unusual nowadays. it adds to the slow, reassuring vibe of the advert, with a deep, masculine voice in which the viewer is likely to feel safe and secure, making viewing more comfortable. the fact that all of the adverts i have looked at feature a male voice rather than a females is significant, as the feeling of safety may not be as widely received if a women was talking.

Analysis of adverts from 8-10 years ago

John Smiths – Ball Skills – 30 seconds. 2000

-          Grainy picture

-          Not very eye catching lettering for ‘no nonsense’.

-          Clothes are different- e.g. shoes

Halifax - X Bomb - 60 seconds. 2000

-          clothes are different

-          glasses= unusual

-          office is reasonably dull

Budweiser - Whassup - 60 seconds. 2000

-          old fashioned setting- house

-          old fashioned house phones, would otherwise expect modern gadgets

In general, TV advertising has become a lot more varied and sophisticated in the way products are promoted. Rather than simply focusing on the brand name and product, adverts are now becoming more inventive and unusual in the way they inform viewers. For example, the Cadburys advert ‘Gorilla’ shown in 2007 features a gorilla playing the drums to a well know song, with no promotion of the Cadbury brand until the very end. This detracts away from the fact that the clip has a purpose of promoting the product; however it ensures the advert is remembered by the viewer and therefore so is the product. This is an example of modern day advertising in a very subtle way. In contrast to this, the advert ‘X Bomb’ by Halifax from the year 2000 is done in a very different style, always focusing on, and informing the viewer of the brand that is Halifax. It features a man singing, again to a well known song, but changing the lyrics to contain information about the service they can offer. This means the viewer is constantly being given messages to use the service and therefore it may not be as entertaining as the completely unusual Cadburys Gorilla. Both of these methods are likely to be effective to certain audiences however it is interesting to see how adverts have diversified in 10 years. One common factor that both of these adverts have is the fact that they both contain well known, instantly recognisable and light hearted songs. This suggests there is a feel good element which the viewer would find appealing about this and therefore is likely to increase the effectiveness of the advertising.

The Budweiser advert ‘Whassap’ from the year 2000 relies very much on its comedic edge and its use of typical stereotypes of the men at this time. The two men are seen lounging on sofas at home, on the phone to each other, when they are joined by other (equally laidback) friends. Their conversation consists of the word ‘whassap’ several times and this aims to entertain the reader, perhaps allowing them to relate to the characters in some way. This reflection of young men at this time is likely to be accurate, however in more recent years this reflection of men is relatively unusual in advertising. However, the brand is portraying their typical consumer in a laid back, ‘cool’ group of friends. The difference between this advert and one from more recently is the use of old telephones in the house. The phone that is used on the wall is obviously not a modern gadget, which is more likely to be used in an advert aiming to appeal to young, ‘cool’ men. An advert such as the Honda advert, shown in 2010 shows a new, cool car with many modern gadgets and gismos which are aiming to appeal to their young driving market. This is in contrast to the older Budweiser advert.

A common factor in all of the advertisements I looked at was the difference in clothing used in advertisements from the year 2000, to the 2010. A likely cause of this difference is probably fashions and trends. For example, John Smiths, ‘Ball skills’ advert shows men playing football, wearing old fashioned dirty football boots. This is unusual as usually they would be showing top of the range, classy boots in order to make the brand they are promoting look more ‘top of the range’ and ‘classy’. However, it is important to focus on the whole image of the brand – if this is a beer marketed to ‘real men’ the characters in the advertisement would not want to look too shiny or trendy, especially as men want to remain masculine, which sometimes means not washing or wasting money on fashion!