Advertising

Primary research result

Do you like to see celebrities endorsing products in adverts?

Yes	9
No This research shows that people like to see celebrities in adverts. This means that if we include a celebrity in our advert it is more likely to succeed.	3

What is your favourite advert at the moment?

Compare the market	3
Dell	3
Safe style UK	1
Coca cola magic keyboard	1
Cadburys dairy milk African head	1
We buy any car	3

Compare the market, Dell and we buy any car are the three most popular adverts. All three of these adverts use comedy, meaning that we are more likely to make a better advert if we also make a comical advert.

Do you like adverts with a narrative?

Yes

10

No People are more likely to be influenced by the advert if it has a narrative, with the most affective narrative being a comical one. Do you think taglines are important in TV advertising? Yes 10 No This research tells us we need a catchy tag line such as 'washing machines live longer with calgon' for our brand to get stuck in people's minds, and make the advert more affective. what appeals to you most in adverts? comedy-7 nostalgia-0 happy families-0 beautiful people-4 successful lifestyles-1 This research goes to prove that laughter is the best medicine, and that a funny advert is more likely to catch the viewers eye. what is the worst advert on TV? safestyle UK-4 cadburys eyebrows-2 DFS never ending sale-5 barry scott-1 NSPCC-0 The DFS advert is the worst advert because it never goes away, and irritates people. With our advert, we have to be funny without being annoying. what type of music do you like in adverts? pop-2 rock-3 classical-4 other-3 Classical music is the best for an advert as it soothes the viewer, and hopefully makes them reach for their wallet to buy the product. do you like animation? yes-9 no-3 A staggering three quarters of people like animation in adverts, showing that animation makes the product more appealing to the viewer. when do hate watching adverts? always-4 during my favourite shows-7 never-1 This shows that people hate adverts interrupting their favourite shows, but we all knew this anyway. what do you dislike in adverts? annoying catchphrases-3 annoying people in it-7 other-2 2 For our advert to succeed we have to do the hard task of being funny, but not annoying, as annoying people in adverts is the biggest turn off for viewers. Matty Adams-15, Pupil, Pudsey Grangefield favourite advert: dell (barbershop quartet) Matty likes to see humour in advertising- an advert that has caught his eye is for tribor gum, as it is a funny advert. He also likes adverts with catchy songs as they are more effective and more likely to get stuck inside his imagination. The only celebrity he likes seeing is Barry Scott, but likes seeing Mickey mouse as he has a 'kind face', which makes him feel warm and more likely to buy the product. He doesn't like seeing NSPCC adverts as they are depressing and don't say how they help the children in need. Adam Cowling, 15, pupil, Pudsey Grangefield- favourite advert: cillit bang! The advert most likely to catch Adam's imagination is Cilit Bang, as it is annoying yet memorable, this is due to the repetition of the slogan/ catchphrase. He also likes seeing animated characters as they are more viewer friendly. However, he dislikes the DFS adverts as the sale being advertised has never ended- this makes it appear hyperbolic and unrealistic. He also dislikes seeing Celebrities as he doesn't relate to them- he has no sense of referent power. The most effective power in an advert is expert power, as he wants products to be thought through and tested so he knows they work. Jordan Keenan- 15, Pupil, Pudsey Grangefield. favourite adverts- Peter Kay John Smiths Adverts most likely to catch Jordan's eye are funny ones, such as John Smiths adverts with Peter Kay. He also likes seeing the advert for the DFS never ending sale. He likes seeing celebrities as he thinks that if celebrities use it the product must be worth using. However, the only celebrities he likes seeing are funny ones so he'll laugh. He dislikes charity adverts as they don't appeal to him, but an effective advert in his opinion features comedians or beautiful women. Personally, one of the adverts I like is the compare the market advert starring a russian meerkat who is simultaneously advertising compare the meerkat. The reason I find this advert successful as it is different from what I expect of an insurance advert, as it doesn't mention insurance and mentions something completely irrelevant. I also like the viral marketing campaign for the advert, which includes an actual website for compare the meerkat. The main line of appeal is comedy, as a meerkat advertising car insurance is surreal, yet amusing. It uses expert power, albeit one that is irrelevant to the advert sue to the appearance of Alexander founder of compare the meerkat. Further adverts featuring the character could be classed as star power, as the meerkat has become a celebrity. The target audience is broad- from small children who like the meerkat to young people who are getting their cars ensured for the first time. My other favourite advert is the dell advert, which I find successful and memorable due to the catchy tune on the advert. Another successful aspect is the fact the song is about a 'lollipop', something thats fun and enjoyable, connoting dell is fun and enjoyable. This also subverts from the norm of computer adverts as it represents the computer with fun instead of work. The factor of persuasion for this advert is reward power, as it promises that by purchasing this laptop you will have fun. The advert also uses the line of appeal of fantasy (singing instead of working), and comedy/humour (people singing as a barbershop quartet instead of working). The target audience for this advert is again very broad, children will like it due to the catchy song, and young people buying a new laptop will like it due to the connotations of fun instead of work. The only thing I don't like is the voiceover talking over the end of the song. Disneyland advert- pre-production mind map: Codes and conventions: Dress codes- people dressed as Disney characters Cultural codes- the castle and the rides. Narrative/characters- Equilibrium- family walking towards castle/rides Disruption- screaming on rides Resolution- happy family at the end Sound- Non-diegetic music bed (Disney theme tune) Voiceover- Mickey Mouse telling us about the special offers if we book a holiday at Disneyland today. Uses and gratifications theory- Personal identity- happy families Diversion fast rollercoaster’s Lines of appeal- Happy families and star power Primary target audience- Small children and their parents. Factors of persuasion- Reward power as children get a day out star and expert power- Mickey Mouse camera shots- establishing shot of Disney castle Panning shot of family walking towards castle High angle shots of kids on rides finish with close up of disney characters Idea 1- A family day out at Disneyland that starts with the family walking towards the castle, before taking part in various activities such as going on rides. Throughout there is a voiceover from mickey mouse telling us about special offers. The advert ends with a close up of disney characters. Idea 2- Idea 2 serves as a prequel to the first advert, and shows the same families journey to Disneyland Paris and ends at the place where the first advert starts. The advert starts with an establishing shot of a family getting in a car, as well as the Ferry to France, driving past the Eiffel tower going the wrong direction, before climaxing with the family walking towards the eiffel tower which is what starts the second advert. Throughout the advert a French song is playing as they are going to France. It ends with the disneyland logo and special offers if we book now. Treatment- The lines of appeal that feature in my campaign are happy families and dreams/fantasy. Dreams and fantasy are used from the appearance of Mickey Mouse which will make the target audience of small children want to visit. Happy families will be seen at the theme park, which will make families want to go for a happy day out. The use of childhood nostalgia is also used due to the various Disney appearances. The factors in persuasion that will feature are reward power, star power and expert power. I have chosen to focus on these because reward power will be used on the fact Disneyland is a fantastic day out, whilst star and expert power are used by Mickey mouse- the worlds biggest children's entertainer and an expert on Disney. The primary target audience are children, who will want to go to Disneyland from watching the advert. The secondary target audience are adults, who will have to fork out for their children's holidays. There are a variety of camera shots in both adverts- the establishing shot in advert 1 is the Disney castle, whilst advert 2 has a family getting in the car as an establisher. Advert 1 also features panning shots (of the family walking towards the castle), high angle shots (of the kids on rides) and a close up (of the disney characters). Advert 2 features a high angle shot of a ferry, a low angle shot of the eiffel tower and a close up of the family looking at the disney tower at the adverts climax. The narrative of the adverts fit together, however advert 2 serves as a prequel to the first advert. Advert 2 has the families journey to Disneyland which features them going on a ferry and past the eiffel tower. The first advert starts where the second left off, with the family going on rides at disneyland and doing various other activities. The music bed for the first advert would probably be a French song as the family are journeying into France. The second advert would feature a non diegetic music bed of the stereotypical disneyland music. Finally, the advert uses some of the aspects of the uses and gratifications theory. It uses personal relationships in the fact it shows a family having fun, meaning they have personal relationships with each other and families will be brought closer together from visiting disneyland. The advertising standards agency (ASA) is an independent government body stet up to regulate adverts to check they have no offensive, misleading or harmful materials. In our advert we have to consider the codes and try not to break them. One of the codes we have to consider is 5.1.1; no advert can directly or by implication mislead about any characteristic or fact about the product or service. This means we can say the theme park is fun, but can't say it will 'change your life'. We would show our advert during television shows that get large audiences of children and families, such as Britains got talent, the x factor and dancing on ice. The advert would also be shown on channels such as the disney channel and nickelodeon so children can see it. The advert will appear in newspapers to get a wide audience, as well as appearing in children's magazines and other magazines such as OK! which mums read. The advert will be advertised virally on all disney websites, as well as on youtube and games websites.

radio evaluation

The aim of the show was to inform and entertain on the subject 'food'. The purpose was, in my opinion, only partially achieved, as we entertained but didn't inform. The representation issues were met well- the music we played was met with a positive image, and all of our songs, apart from linkin park and enter shikari, were related to food. However, the representation wasn't met with equality as all of the songs were by male artists, although one of the songs was a parody of a song by a female artist. We had no requests as we were playing our own songs, but we did have shout outs for boys and girls. We didn't make fun of the 'older generation' because we didn't play any old music. However, this could be a problem for older listeners if we don't have old songs as well as new, but we only played obscure food songs as an alternative to famous songs. Nothing we said was biased, as it is very hard to be bias about a topic such as food. The show didn't sound realistic for the genre, but it did sound hilarious. 

Throughout the show the levels were kept between 5 and 6, however the levels did go over 6 when were talking. The balance of talking and music was okay, we concentrated more on the music to play rather than the talking. We put the microphones up quite fast so nobodies voice got cut out, and we followed every ad break with a jingle and a song. The only embarrassing gaps came when Matthew was to busy laughing to ask questions on the interview, but we left the microphones down when talking so as to not add extra noise in the background. We also wore headphones to check our voice levels weren't too loud, and we also varied the links to music tracks. 

The narrative and conventions seemed to be unique, as it is very rare to have a show about food on the radio, and the radio show wasn't typical as it was seemingly unpredictable, as things kept going wrong, in a good way. On a program on a professional station it would have been planned out a lot more carefully, and we would have played a variety of music instead of just songs related to the topic of food. The professional stations have other advantages, such as they have money to produce the program, and would give us better guests and a better topic than food. The only convention of good narrative we used was the tease which teased listeners as to what was coming up later on the show. 

textual analysis

1) Walt Disney studious was founded in October 1923 by Roy and Walt disney, with an animation studio added in 1937. The most successful animated film was Aladdin, which made over 200 million dollars. Disney is the largest media company in the world, and it's success has spawned theme parks, toy shops, the ownership of TV channels and even the Disney world cruise ship. Some of the film companies owned by Disney are pixar, touchstone, Miramax and hollywood pictures. In total, Disney owns ten TV and over 20 radio stations across America. Disney is not part of a bigger organization, although it has joined forces with dreamworks to produce animated films for the next six years. Disney also owns American TV channel ABC, which has world famous shows including lost. Other than Bambi, other animated films produced by Disney include snow white and the seven dwarves, Bambi and the hunchback of notre dame. Disney is also in partnership with Pixar, and in partnership with them they have made toy story, monsters inc. and wall-e. Disney is also in partnership with miramax and touchstone pictures. 

2)Dreamworks was set up in 1994 by media moguls including Steven Speilberg, as a company to make film, television and computer games. After the success of the original shrek film, they made a separate company, dreamworks animation SKG, which is now owned by Disney. The most successful dreamworks animated film was shrek 2, which is one of the highest grossing movies of all time. Dreamworks also owns a record company, to put out the soundtracks to the films, as ell as copyrighting the songs used in the films. Dreamworks are owned by universal, but their animation unit is now in partnership with Disney. Other animated films Dreamworks have made include madagascar and kung fu panda. The other services provided by dreamworks are television and computer games. 

4) Bambi was released in 1942, and shrek 59 years later in 2001. The both use different types of animation, although they are both similarly fairy tales. But, they would have been promoted in different ways. Bambi was released during world war 2, and Shrek was released in the age of internet and satellite television. Bambi would have been promoted on Billboards and posters outside the cinema. It would have also been advertised before other big release films. At a long stretch it could have been advertised on radio, but this is a long stretch as it was before the days of commercial radio. Shrek would have been advertised on commercial radio as well as all of the above methods. It would have also been advertised on television, mainly children's television and in newspapers/magazines. Also, in the age of the internet it would have been advertised on games websites as well as having a site devoted to the film itself. 

In the UK, the BBFC gives films their ratings, such as PG, R18 etc. For example, for a film to be rated PG, it has to be suitable for children. No sexual content should be allowed, and only natural nudity can be seen- any sexual content and the film is not suitable for a PG rating. Only mild bad language- words such as 'bloody' or 'damn'- can be allowed into the film. Also, no violence can be shown and horror sequences should not be scary enough to frighten young children. If any of these rules are broken, the film will receive a higher rating which will be more suitable to the audience of the film. 

Up until 1968, the Hays code was in action in America and it censored films in the strictest manner, not allowing any scenes of sex or 'suggestive dancing'. On a similar note, no french-kissing was allowed in the films also. Illegal drug use and alcohol drinking were not allowed in the film- consumption of alcohol was only allowed if it was directly necessary to the plot. Cruelty to children and animals could not be shown, and all criminals had to be shown in a negative light. However, some rules did get broken- the film 'child bride' had a scene involving a naked 12 year old, whilst the film 'the moon is blue' said the then taboo word virgin. However, this film went onto win seven oscars. However, the most controversial film was 'kings row' which had scenes of incest and sadism. Nowadays, the film studios choose the ratings for films in America, ranging from PG, PG.-13 and r. NC-17 was also used for pornographic films. 

Today, the Hays code has lapsed, and the studios decide the ratings for their own films. This is arguably a good thing as if the studios give the films the wrong rating they know that the general public will lose faith in them. The film shrek has been rated PG because, although it's a kids film, has scenes featuring unnecessary flatulence and scenes of mild peril. The film Bambi is rated U, although it contains scenes of death, but does it in a way that couldn't scare young children and will make them want to watch on. It deals with a grim subject in a way that can't scare young children, giving a positive effect. This again contributes to disneyfication- even though the film has some grim subjects, the film is relatively happy, and will make children want more merchandise from the film. 

Before the release of these films, they would have advertised these films on billboards, on television and radio in film trailers and in magazines. They would also have been subjected to outdoor advertising- the adverts for the films would be on bus shelters and on the side of buses. Viral advertising could also be used- the internet and phone applications could be used to market it in this way. However, the films were released in different era's- shrek in the 21st century and bambi was released in 1940. Shrek would have been marketed using all of the above methods- Bambi would have been a lot harder to advertise due to the fact internet wasn't invented, only the rich had TV and not everybody went to the cinema. Also, it was before the arrival of commercial radio, so it was very unlikely the film would be mentioned on there. The only place the film could have been publicized to the general public could be in newspapers and magazines, but the quality of the advertisements would be a lot poorer to those of today. Over the years the ways in which films are advertised today were developed, making it a lot easier now to advertise films than what it was almost seventy years ago. Nowadays, you have to try hard to escape advertising, but in the 1940's you would have had to do the same just to find advertising. However, despite the lack of advertising, the film Bambi still went onto be a massively successful film for disney, as was shrek for dreamworks sixty one years later. However, the promotion of these films doesn't stop after you've left the cinema, as the films will have merchandise everywhere so the young audience of the film have more fun and the films producers have more cash in their bulging wallets. There will be mcdonalds promotions, cuddly toys, action figures, spin off television shows, DVD's, rides at theme parks and special edition DVD's. Bambi wouldn't have had as much in spin off merchandise, although special edition DVD's of the film are still released today. 

The dress code for shrek is a historical code, as it is set in medieval times. The castle, the dragon and the princess also convey this code. The cobbled street also conveys it, because they were also used in medieval times. The characters are symbolic codes, as they certify the fact the film is a fairy tale.The bambi characters convey a symbolic code, as they show this is a film for young children.  Also, the animals gesture codes show they are all happy, as it is a happy film aimed at young audiences. Both of the film posters are captured in a long shot, and involve the viewer in different ways- the bambi poster looks like we are viewing the through the barrel of a gun, whilst shrek looks like the characters are running towards you. The shrek poster is more direct and informal; the bambi one is indirect and formal.

3) The only two similarities at first glance between the two posters are that they are both successful films and that they both feature animals. However, everything else appears to be different. Shrek features an ogre, a donkey and a princess escaping from a fire breathing dragon outside a castle. Bambi features a deer, a rabbit, a skunk and a butterfly playing happily in the forrest. Shrek and Fiona's clothes in the Shrek poster are old fashioned robes - because that links in with the setting of the film. The animals in Bambi don't need clothes, but are made to feel more human so the children can relate to them.  When you look at the posters in deeper detail like this you see there is less similarity. However, both film posters are long-shots,but on a different note, the colour contrast of light and dark on the Shrek poster suggests the meeting of heaven and hell. Above the flames you see clouds which look suspiciously like the dreamworks logo. For the Shrek poster we are viewing it as a long shot, making it look like the characters are running towards us. Connoting that we are the only people who could help them and that we have to watch the film to see their outcome. It also gives the effect that the poster is involving the consumer, this is done through the gesture code of facial expressions which are positive making it feel a lot more welcoming towards the audience. 

The Bambi poster is a lot stranger- it's a children's film but it looks like we are viewing it through the barrel of gun, connoting the death of one of the animals in the film. The propp's theory method doesn't apply fully to the Bambi poster- Bambi is obviously the hero and the other animals are obviously helpers. The Shrek poster is more stereotypically Propp- Shrek the hero, Princess Fiona the damsel in distress, the dragon the villain and donkey the helper. The colours for both films are a juxtaposition of light and dark- in Shrek the fire is bright and the castle is dark. In Bambi, the forrest is light and the 'gun' effect dark. Only Shrek has a further Juxtaposition, the juxtaposition between good- Shrek, the donkey, Fiona- and evil- the dragon. The mode of address is informal for both posters- informal. However, whereas Shrek may have a more direct effect, Bambi is in-direct and shows the characters playing, connoting it's is nothing more than a peaceful children's film. The shrek poster involves the reader, which is more welcoming and exciting for the target audience. Todorov's theory applies to the films- Shrek lives a peaceful life, before being whisked away to save the princess, who he later marries. The disruption in Bambi is the death of his mother. 

pre-production

Production:Film Trailers

 

            Evaluation-

Purpose-

The purpose of our film trailer ‘a light inside the darkness’ was to make an entertaining crime thriller. Whether we did that or not is questionable, because I thought the trailer was entertaining, but not a serious crime thriller. However, it was still a good body of work, whether it stayed in the genre or not.

 

Primary Target Audience-

For our film we didn’t have a specified target audience, but we did suggest it should be for teenage boys and young men due to the fact its an action packed film, filled with violence, which people of that age group find appealing in films. However, we didn’t represent this in the trailer, and it looks more like a comedy, albeit a comedy that appeals to the same age group.

 

Genre-

The genre of the film is action or crime thriller. However, whereas at the start of the project we set out to make a serious film, we ended up making a crime spoof because it was unintentionally funny, making an unexpected change of genre. However, the film was still entertaining, and more entertaining that what it should have been. Luckily, it will still appeal to the same primary target audience. Originally, we did try to stick to the conventions of the genre, filming chase scenes and lots of action packed scenes, but we found that it was a lot more amusing to edit the clips to give them a comedic twist. This made us stroll away from the conventions of the genre.

Feedback-

We had a range of feedback about the trailer, with people positively commenting on the sense of mystery created in the trailer, whilst the trailer ends with an enigma that is also a good movie tagline. There were also positive comments about the Connotations of drama and adventure. Plus there was good acting in the trailer. The voiceover levels were the main problem in the trailer.

Representation issues-

I gave positive messages in the film, as my aim was to entertain in two senses- first the dramatic sense, then in the comedic sense. My video only contained boys as the film was aimed at young males, however, the full film would be aimed at everyone. However, we didn’t convey this in the trailer as we only had white males- ignoring females and other ethnic groups. The music track added a sense of drama to the piece, making it a stronger form of satire. It was an instrumental piece, so it gave the trailer a stronger sense of tension, making it more epic to view. The locations were appropriate as the film was set in a school, making it seem familiar with the target audience of young males. Finally, the language was appropriate for the target audience as it used simplistic language, but it was used in a way that could appeal to adults among other people. However, the video didn’t look like a crime thriller, and was obvious to all who viewed that it was a satire.

 

Technical issues-

The voice levels were too low, but the music levels were at a good level, adding tension. I didn’t cut off anyone’s voice editing the film, although I did cut off a scene of Matty acting, because it went on for too long. The camera work was okay, but the scenes where the camera work looked shoddy were cut from the film- the edit looked a lot cleaner due to the excessive editing of the rest of the scenes making it feel a lot less clunky and more accessible. There was also a lot of variety in the shots- we did film similar shots, but removed them from the final trailer to keep the audience interested. The editing took longer than the filming, but we took excessive scenes and edited them down to the key points to make a trailer that was entertaining, but also snappy and to the point.

 

Conventions/narrative-

We made a clichéd film of the crime thriller genre- so we included a slow motion chase scene which is typical of crime films, and we also contained a slightly over the top voiceover sequence. In a similar professional product we would keep a lot of it the same, but use the big budget a lot more- there would be clichéd element such as un-necessary explosions and the like. The only way professional films have an advantage is they have a bigger budget, making them get away with stupid things. In our narrative, we concentrated more on making it rather than having a storyline- but we used enigmas, heroes and villains. However, these were all linked in with the same narrative, making our film a single strand narrative.

 

Self evaluation-

In making this video the only new skill I learnt was how to successfully edit a video using the imovie application. The strengths in making the video were that I took average scenes and edited them to make them better and fit better with the narrative. The weaknesses were the fact that my workmates were never here so I had to do all the work on my own. I was a god team member in the sense that I had to do the majority of the work, as I was the only person who ever seemed to be there.

 

Future targets-

If this was a professional movie trailer, we would promote it by doing a lot more than just show it before other big film releases. The trailer will be subjected to viral marketing- it will be shown on youtube, facebook, twitter, myspace etc. Secondly, we will put out giant two page adverts in newspapers like the sun or the mirror, but will also put the adverts in magazines like the nme or whatever the kids are reading these days. There would also be giant billboards, and finally we would advertise the film on TV as much as possible- during all of the most watched shows, such as Britain’s got talent- a show which gets up to fourteen million viewers means that a large proportion of that audience would want to see more and go to the cinema to see it. For the teenage audience, we would advertise during dire but successful programmes on dramas such as hollyoaks or comedies such as balls of steel. Before looking at the ofcom broadcasting regulations I guess that I haven’t broken any of its rules. Even though the ofcom rules are complex and at times difficult to understand, I haven’t broken any of them- the film trailer was suitable for broadcast, meaning it was successful on the purpose of entertainment. The code we had to ensure not to break was the depiction of young people in the film. However, as we were the only people in the clip, the representation was not an issue. We didn’t use commercial music in the film trailer, as we used non-copyrighted instrumental music from the soundtrack of a computer game I’ve never heard of, but it was successful in creating tension and making the film trailer sound, if not look, epic. This means the trailer was successful to blind people, but still maintained the light-hearted frolics for everybody else.  

 

 

 

Production:Film Trailers