textual analysis (levi), (reebok)

Definition of an advertising agency-

An advertising agency contracts with advertisers to manage their advertising. When under a full service contract with an advertising agency, they offer total service in advertising and non-advertising ideas. A famous advertising agency is Leo Burnett, who have made advertisements for companies including mcdonalds and Saudi Arabia telecom. To make the adverts, there is creating, planning and producing, whilst the companies and brands both use research, media selection and purchase.

For the first time ever, online advertising is more successful than TV advertising. One in Six people log onto youtube every day, meaning that adverts on sites like these have more potential for a bigger audience. They use the internet to target their market more specifically, and the advertising space doesn't cost as much.

The two adverts I am going to analyze are a reebok advert with 50 cent and an old levi's jeans commercial. NMI were the company who made the 50 cent advert, which was later banned, but now cease to exist due to bankruptcy. When it was still in business it advertised companies including film channel filmfour. BBH made the levi's jeans advert, and are one of the most successful advertising companies in the world, advertising for companies including British airways and Renault.

Regulation and control-

mr T- The advert for snickers featuring Mr T could cause offense because of throwing of snickers bars which children could copy. It also suggests discrimination to homosexuals and shows images of weaponry.

trident gum- The controversial advert for trident gum was banned because it has a potentially racist stereotype of a rastafarian person.

nike advert- The nike advert, based around the horror movie 'halloween' could scare children, is very violent and clearly shows Michael Myers chasing a girl with a chainsaw.

KfC- Encourages bad table manners and stereotypes people who buy KFC as fat. It also has people stuffing their face whilst on the emergency helpline. It stereotypes women as greedy.

The advertising standards authority (ASA), regulate the content of advertisements if viewers think they are potentially offensive, misleading or harmful to the viewer. They don't just regulate television adverts, but they also regulate posters, TV shopping channels, leaflets and pop up adverts. However, they don't deal with sponsorship advertising or political advertising. They only investigate adverts if somebody has sent in a complaint. The advertising standards codes are used to stop harm or offense on television adverts. The eleven different codes used look at all different aspects of advertising, stopping unacceptable products (beer during a kids show) being advertised, they steer away from contreversial issues, and ensure children won't emulate or be offended by the adverts. They also make sure all claims used in the advert are correct.

For example:

3.1 Unacceptable categories

Advertisements for products or services coming within the recognised character of, or specifically concerned with the following are not acceptable:

(a) breath-testing devices and products that purport to mask the effects of alcohol

(b) betting tips

(c) all tobacco products. Also non-tobacco products or services which share a name, emblem or other feature with a tobacco product where these are prohibited by law from advertising in other UK media. See the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Brandsharing) Regulations 2004

(d) private investigation agencies

(e) guns and gun clubs

(f) escort agencies

(g) pornography

The 50 cent advert for reebok was banned as viewers complained that it glorified gun culture, and that 50 cent was portrayed as a gun toting role model. The voiceover in the background stated that he had been shot nine times, as blood fell in the background. At the end the voiceover asked 'who ya gonna massacre next?' before laughing, as if to connote he was encouraging violence of this sort. The advert was banned over these connotations of violence and that Mr cent's apparent encouragement could be harmful to children who look up to him. Shortly after the advert was banned, NMI media, the company who made the advert, went out of buisness due to bankrupcy. The advert received 57 complaints and eventually was banned in breach of three codes- offense, violence and cruelty and mental harm to children. The levi's jeans advert caused lots of offense when it was released in the 1980's, but wasn't banned and went onto be one of the most successful adverts of all time. People complained because of the public nudity displayed in the advert, because it was 'unnatural'.

marketing and promotion-

After the reebok advert was banned on television, viral marketing would have been used so the target audience could still view the advert. The banning of the advert itself would generate publicity which would make people flock onto youtube to watch the advert. The target audience would now be more aware of the advert, meaning the campaign had been a success if they were aware of it. The campaign would have continued to be successful if the advert wasn't on youtube as there were other adverts in the series featuring celebrities such as Amir Khan which weren't banned from television. In the 1980's it would have been harder to promote the levi's advert without television, as billboards and magazine adverts were the only other places to advertise the product. The advert wasn't banned and went onto great success.

50 cent reebok-

The factors used in the 50 cent reebok advert are coercive due to the menacing stare towards the screen at the end of the advert as well as violent connotations throughout. It also has star power due to the apperance of 50 cent. The lines of appeal however are contrary to the violent factors, as it shows successful lifestyles when it announces 50 cent is 'the best hip hop artist'. And it shows self importance and pride. The audience for the advert are teenage boys and young men who idolise 50 cent, and the advert seems to be made exclusively for this target audience due to the gritty setting, the hiphop music, the violence and the fact it's a reebok product.

levi's-

The levi's advert uses reward power as the main redeeming feature of the product, as it appears to connote if you wear Levi's jeans you will be confident, attractive and get female attention like the man in the advert. It also uses more lines of appeal than the 50 cent advert, as it shows self importance and pride in the shape of the main character in the advert, it has comedy in the fact he's stripping in a public place, and it's fantasy because nothing like this would happen in real life. The advert is aimed at both men and women- women buy for their partners and men buy to have the charisma of the man in the advert.

1) name one of the lines of appeal used to attract the viewers for each advert?

In the 50 cent reebok advert, coercive power is used to attract the viewers, with images of blood, sounds of sirens and gunshots and 50 cent staring menacingly into the camera whilst cackling. It also uses star power thanks to 50 cents appearance. In the levi's advert, reward power is used as if to say if you buy these jeans you will be confident and attractive like this man. Also, in an extremely dark way, the 50 cent ad is aspirational as young children and teenagers will want to be like him.

2) name one factor of persuasion for each advert

The factors of persuasion used for the reebok advert are those of a successful lifestyle- it connotes 50 came from a violent background and now he's the 'best hip hop artist'. It also has connotations of self importance and pride as the tag line for the ad is 'I am what I am', connoting self pride. The levi's advert also uses connotations of self importance and pride, suggesting that if you buy these jeans you will be able to feel proud of your body, as well as looking more important than everybody else. Comedy and fantasy are also used in the fact that the man is stripping in a public launderette, something that would only ever happen in a heightened reality like the one on the advert.

3) who are the primary target audience's for these adverts?

For the reebok advert teenagers and young men are targeted due to the appearance of 50 cent, a rapper whose fan base are mainly teenage males. The use of violence is also likely to appeal to the people in the primary target audience. The levi's jeans advert is aimed at men and women- men will buy the jeans to have the confidence and sexual appeal of the man in the advert, and women will buy the jeans so their partners will wear them.

4) Describe some of the camera shots

The reebok advert uses lots of quick fading establishing shots, including the outside of a warehouse, trainers on a telephone line etc. It then goes on to show an extreme close up of mr cent's face and it ends up with a shot looking up at 50 cent staring menacingly towards the camera connoting that he's looking down on us for not buying reebok products. Throughout the advert 50 cents presence grows, as the camera moves closer to him before he looks down at us. The levi's advert uses close ups of the levi's logo on the man's behind as well as close ups of him in various states of undress.

6) Is there a music bed?

if so, what is the tempo like and why has it been chosen?

In the reebok advert, hip-hop music has been used due to the appearance of 50 cent and also due to the target audience of young males who will like this sort of music. In the Levi's advert the song 'I heard it through the grapevine' is used to give it a more upbeat feel. They use this song to gain a wide target audience as it could appeal to anybody. The tempo for the Reebok advert is downbeat, which fits in with the sinister setting of the advert. The tempo to the levi's advert is upbeat and happy, which makes their advert more memorable due to the song. The reebok advert uses a lot more factors than the levi's advert- for one, it uses varying voiceovers (including one from fellow rapper eminem) mainly telling us about him being shot nine times before telling us he's the best hip-hop artist. The counting to 10 has connotations with boxing, which could link back to reebok as Amir Khan starred in another 'I am what I am' advert. The sound effects used fit in with the violent setting, the sound of a heartbeating and the fact the advert starts with a scream all connote back to the violent background 50 cent came from. The silence before the laughter at the end of the video connotes the start of a new life, but his body language remains confident throughout, even if he doesn't show emotion until the last few seconds. The levi's advert has no voiceover or silence, but uses non-diegetic music throughout the ad. The only sound effects used are that of cars at the start to make the advert to appear normal or to connote these jeans are for everybody, like cars. the man in the levi's advert is alike 50 in the sense his body language is confident throughout.

In both adverts males are used because they are the primary target audience. In both adverts, male stereotypes are used- the reebok advert portrays 50 cent as a hero, a man who was shot nine times and has gone on to be 'the best hip-hop artist'. This will make the target audience buy for two reasons- one, because 50 cent is in the advert and two, because it's something they'll want to aspire towards. The levi's advert uses the stereotype of an erotic male which will hopefully appeal to men, who will want to be like him, and women who will want their partners to be like him.

In the reebok advert, the cultural code is of 50 cent's violent drug dealing background. The fact he's wearing a bandana is a reference to gang culture, and the trainers hanging from electricity lines reference drug dealing, whilst the sirens and the screaming again go back to the violence of hip-hop culture. The levi's advert is retro and set in the 50's, showing cultural codes including classic cars and old fashioned washing machines.

The reebok advert fulfills some of the uses and gratification's- It diverts the viewer to 50's lifestyle, young males in similar situation could form personal identity and it is surveillance as it informs you that he is the bestselling hip-hop artist and that he has been shot nine times. The levi's advert offers a diversion due to it's surreal plot, and personal relationships could be formed by girls talking about the advert.

The adverts both share males in the title role, both of whom are confident. Both adverts are flogging clothes of some kind and both adverts caused controversy. However, the 50 cent advert was banned and the levi's advert was one of the most successful campaigns of all time.