Monday, 18 November 2013

'Constraint Grid'

'Case study of existing advertising campaigns researching the role and impact of - Advertising standards Authority (ASA) and Ofcom'

1) What is the background of the ASA?
The background of ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) first started in 1961 in order to protect consumers from misleading advertisements. The ASA then replaced the Control of Misleading Advertisement Regulations 1988.
2) What is role of the ASA in the regulation of advertisements?
The role of the ASA in the regulation of advertisements are. The types of adverts that they regulate are television advertisement, leaflets/posters, billboards and all media related sources. The ASA is funded by advertisers due to an agreement this allows the ASA some independence which is collected by the Advertising Standards Board of Finance (Asbof). However they gain no money from the government what so ever as well as being free from the tax payer.
3) What is the legal standing of the ASA in relation to Ofcom?
The legal standing of the ASA in relation to Ofcom is to maintain standards in broadcast advertising. The power that ASA have is they are able to remove advertisement from the television causing them to be banned from that source. On the other hand ASA have no control over the banned advertisements being shown to the members of the public on sources such as youtube and some Internet pages. When advertisers break rules they have to investigate and research that specific advertisement then suggests to the producers why and then to change the source to an appropriate state to then be re-shown to the target audience. Ofcom manages the day to day running of the basis for broadcasting advertising content standards.
4) What are the procedures of the organisation?
The procedures of the organisations are. The member of public are able to make a complaint by reporting the advertisement to the ASA and then further investigation will be done as it only takes one person to make a complaint for it to be looked into. When the complaint is made ASA then looks into all aspects within the advert to see what parts have effected the audience, this is then labelled as upheld. What ASA uses to judge complaints are whether an ad is in breach of the Codes, this would then determine the result of the advert.
5) What are the key parts of the code governing food and soft drink advertising and children advertising that you think will be important to bare in mind for your advert? The key parts of the codes governing food and soft drink and children advertising is that it must not include any children within the food and drink
advertisement suggesting to the children that over eating and being unhealthily is acceptable.
Orangina Advert:

My first example of food that has been banned by the ASA is the Orangina advert that received 147 complaints by the public and through investigation it was then decided to be upheld. Due to orangina mainly targeting to a young audience including children, however the advert manages to portray the advert and product in a sexualised and provocative manner. We can see this within the advert at (0.35) where a character is shown dancing around a pole as well as minimal clothing worn by the animal characters. This may influence young people negatively as they will believe it is correct for them to witness such images.
K.F.C Advert:

My second example of food/drink advertisement that has been banned is the Kentucky Fried Chicken advert. Which had received 1,671 complaints by the members of public making it the most complained TV advertisement of all time. The advert was first aired in 2005 and as later on upheld by the ASA. This featured call center workers singing with their mouths full of food as we can see this at (0.02-0.22). As people felt that it encourages bad manners among children, as well as it not being aesthetically pleasing to eye.
Smoking Advert:

This advert that was banned by ASA due to the content of children copying their parents may influence the idea of copying adult in actions that are not acceptable. The advert 'Smoking: I wanna be like you' received over 200 complaints in 2008 as policies were not followed and encourages children and young people to smoke. As we can see throughout the advert the children are copying what they see for example at (0.32-0.35) children may copy what they see especially their parents despite the action being   good or bad.
Barnardo's Advert:

This Barnardo advert was banned by the ASA due to the content within the advert containing violence, drug abuse and an uneasy atmosphere which include of a jail cell as well as a rough street corner, we can see this at (0.05-0.25). The shots are constantly being repeated within the ad as it gets faster and faster towards the end of the advert, as it suggests a cycle being made. However people believe that it may get the wrong idea as young children be slightly influence by what they see as well as the footages being quite graphic.
http://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA.aspx
http://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA/Our-history.aspx

Friday, 15 November 2013

'Styles and Form'

In this section of the assignment I will be describing the different style and form within each of the specific advertisement. Which include; Style- Humorous, surreal, dramatic, parody and Form- Realist narrative, anti-realist narrative, animation, documentary, talking heads, standing alone and series.

Style;

Humorous: This advert includes of an humorous style which grabs the attention of the viewer through the situation occurring within the advert. In the 'Pepsi' ad it shows men with designs on their heads (0.07) but towards the end we understand that the mark is due to the Pepsi can suggesting its irresistible and you can have it once your ready at (0.53) which is funny. The gratification with this advert might relate to the target audience through entertainment as it grabs their attention.


Surreal: This surreal advertisement style has a quite a bizarre feel/atmosphere to it as we see a man drinking a tango drink and is then attacked by a false orange foot at (0.05) and a angry orange man at (0.12)  this adds a the surreal mix of fantasy. However with surrealism their is some aspects of fact which we can see at (0.01-0.03) where the members of public are standing having a drink can be relate-able to the audience, through gratifications such as personal identity.


Dramatic: This dramatic advertisement includes of a mother and daughter in an situation were our first initial thoughts seem as if she is in jail and is going to be there for a long time we see this at (0.01-0.17). The mood and atmosphere is serious and dramatic, engaging the audience as they are think what is going to happen next. This style is memorable as the audience will remember the product and discuss it through social relationship.


Parody: This advert 'Spec-savers' mimicking the 'Lynx/Axe' advert as it includes of women being attracted to the smell of lynx however they are put of by the mans glasses, then suggests he should of gone to spec savers we see this at (0.43-0.50). Parody is humorous and engages the audience through comparing the original advert to the parody allowing the audience to use gratifications such as social relationship and for entertainment purposes.


Form;

Realist Narrative: Realist narrative is when the advertisement is realistic and literal where the audience or anyone are able to relate to in some situations. This example of realist narrative includes of a realistic fire awareness advert, suggesting that never to leave your cooking on and not paying attention could be very dangerous. We can see this at (0.16) where the stove has been left alone and the fire starts within seconds. This advert makes the audience think about there safety when cooking and to make sure all fire safety sources are available within the kitchen.


Anti-Realist Narrative: Anti-realist narrative is when the advertisement is very unrealistic and is unlikely to happen any time soon. In this 'Lynx' advert we see car accidents taking place that shows uninjured passengers falling in love with the first person they see. We see this at (0.30-0.39).


Animation: Animation is when fictional characters are used within an advert to help portray the message towards the target audience. This advert 'Flora Butter' is an example of animation where we can see an animated family having toast and then surprise their parents at (0.10-0.20).

Documentary: Documentary is when facts are used within the advert to help promote the products to the audience through real public member testing the product out and the results are then shown at (0.23-0.45). This allows the audience to have a good first impression of the product due to the positive comments given, as well as the facts shown at the beginning of the advertisement shows it is reliable and trustworthy product.


Talking Heads: Talking heads is when a real life customer  talks about  the specific product or service and their personal opinion on it this can vary from good to bad, but in this case the 'Laser eye surgery' advert is very successful in the eyes of Caroline as we see what she thinks of the product and her journey in getting laser eye surgery. We see this at (0.10-0.24).


Stand Alone: Stand alone is when a one off advert is broadcasted throughout various media sources. An example of this is 'John Lewis Christmas' advert where it will not be shown again or in any series where the advert is carried on. In this advert we see an animated bear who has never seen Christmas at (0.03) then we are shown the bear having a great day at (1.53) due to John Lewis gifts. This advert impacts the audience making loved ones Christmas the best day ever for them.


Series: Series is when an advertisement is carried out by the same narrative carrying on from the previous advert that was previously shown. This 'BT advert' includes of Simon dating where we can see this at (0.01-0.35) as the next episode of BT's advertisements includes of Simon and his date actually dating. This may relate to the audience due to the situation occurring within the advert.

Saturday, 9 November 2013

'Codes and Conventions of TV advertising'

For this section of the assignment I will be using two adverts which are 'Three-pony' and 'Barclay-card roller-coaster'. Also describing the camera angle and shots, iconography, editing, lighting, sound, music, computer graphics and special effects.

Three-The Pony:

Camera angle and shot: The camera angles and shots are used within this advert helps portray the message across to the viewer and helps impact the target audience when viewing the advert as well as their desire to purchase the product or not. The camera angles and shots entertains the audience visually instead of boring the audience with one simple angle/shot. As we can see here at (0.01-0.10) six shot including different angles ranging from establishing shots to close up, this variety shown within the first ten seconds of the advert engages the audience also eye catching. There are many different camera angles and shots used throughout this advert.
Iconography: Iconography used within this advert allows the audience to be aware of what the advert is offering to the audience through the awareness raised by the visual images and symbols. The iconography is the slogan/logo and brand name which is 'Silly Stuff. It Matters/Three(3)' (0.54-1.00). This is a popular mobile phone service which is recognisable and well known to the target audience.
Editing: The editing in this advert is very good as the footage flows nicely and consistently throughout the advert as we can see at (0.33-0.35) once the pony has reached the edge of the cliff and changes shot where the pony reverses in time and does not jump shots within the advert.
Music: The music used within the advert is also very catchy and well known as the music is by 'Fleetwood Mac'- 'Everywhere'. Due to this song choice it allows the audience to take part and dance around through the mood/atmosphere given from the song within the advert as we can see the pony dancing the moon walk at (0.27) this attracts the audiences attention as well as wanting to dance too.
Barclay-card Roller-coaster advert:

Lighting: The lighting within this advert is is portrayed well due to the bright natural lighting we can see this at (0.11) as the sun is rising suggesting that the advert is positive engaging the target audience to watch it throughout. However if the lighting was dark/dim the mood given would perhaps make the viewer feel that the service is not as trustworthy.
Sound: The sound that is portrayed through this advert helps engage the target audience as its is sounds that is heard in every day life such as the sounds of an roller coaster, trains, screams, boat horns and more where we can see this at (0.14). This allows the audience to connect with the advert due to personal identity as they are able to relate and recognise familiar sounds.
Computer graphics: The graphics used in this advert occur at the end of the video (0.57) which is 'Barclay card' the brand name/logo of the service then an image of the actual product showing the audience what is offered to them.
Special effects: The special effects in this video is the use of the roller coaster in between each of the building, we first see this when the lift is mimicked by the roller coasters seating entrance at (0.04) as he uses this transport to get to work as we can see at (0.51). This helps connote that with Barclay card its quick, simple and easy just like when using the roller coaster for successful transport.
                                                                                                                                                                 

Shock/Surprise and Sympathy: Shock, surprise and sympathy are emotions mainly portrayed by the target audience when viewing a specific advertisement. An example of this is an charity advert that shows the audience of heartbreaking situations of families and children that are lead to starvation. This image shocks the audience in order to help them understand difficulties faced to them help donate money.

Annoyingness/Catchiness: Annoyingness and catchiness is very common within many adverts as it is an easy way to get the target audience to remember their specific advertisement. This can be done through a song used within or an annoying squeal such as 'William hill bingo-bird is the word' and 'Go compare' advert. This strategy ables the audience to remember and use gratification such as social relationships when discussing that specific advertisement.

Celebrity Endorsement: Celebrity endorsement is when a famous act either an artist or actor is shown within an advert to promote a service or product and to increase the awareness of it. An example of celebrity endorsement is 'Muller yogurt' advert starring Nicole Scherzinger a world wide superstar as the main selling point. The audience will engage more of the target audiences attention when celebrity endorsements are use as they will recognise the celebrity and suggest to themselves if famous people are using the product or service then it good enough for us. Fans of the artist increases more awareness as they will use social relationships and talk about the advert with their friends.

Music: Music is used majority of the time within adverts either the latest tunes or old school songs, depending on who their target audience is. When using music it engages the audience through it being well known and when listening to the music the audience are able to make that link between the to. An example of this is the advert is No.7 'Sexy lady' by Jessie J, this allows her to promote her song through the advert targeting to females increases awareness of both product and her song.

Catchy/Strong Message: A catchy, strong message are used in many adverts to ensure the message sticks and get across to the audience. An example of this is 'Terry's chocolate orange- Don't tap it, whack it!'. This advert released in 2006 is still recognisable today when the chocolate orange is shown, proving the success of the advertisement through the catchy message included.

Aspiration: Aspiration is used within many adverts to give the audience ambition and hope to achieve something, as this advert includes of an famous successful Olympian makes you aspire to be as successful as them due to the product shown. Especially if the celebrity is the audience role model.

Humour: Humour is when an advert uses funny materials and techniques to engages the audience through laughter and smiles. An example of this is the M&M advert 'Get in the bowl', I personally enjoy as the story line catches your attentions as well as the gratification used for social relationship being able to talk to your friends about the humorous advert.

Animal Factor: Animal factor is when an animal is used within the advert. This is eye-catching and funny due the specific to the way the animal has be adapted to a human role. An example of this advert I have use is 'Fox's melts biscuits' is where a panda promotes them through the aesthetic appeal and taste.

Nostalgia: Nostalgia is when an sentimental era within your past that brings back memories, the example that I have used for this is 'Hovis- as good as today as it's always been' allows the audience of an older age reminisce about the past. For example the advert use personal identity so the audience are able to relate to the situation that occurs in the advert.

Intertextuality: Intertextuality is when a media source of a recognisable nature such as a movie or Tv series (soaps) are used within a text such as advertisements. This allows the audience to instantly make the link between the advert and the movie. The example I have used is the 'Mercedes Benz- A class' includes of actors and actress that star in a new movie that helps promotes their story line.