Key concepets of adverts - Ideologies

Advertisements are one of the most important cultural factors moulding and reflecting our life today. They are ubiquitous, an inevitable part of everyone’s lives: even if you do not read a newspaper or watch television, the images posted over our urban surroundings are inescapable. Advertising has two main functions. The first is obvious - to sell us something. But the second function is more complex, as it projects advertising as a creator of structures of meaning.  Ideology is defined as the body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture. With this being said, the connection between advertising and ideology becomes clear and so does the deeper meaning of advertising

We often buy products which are promoted by people who seem to be in the same social class as us, and if we do not we are only looking to purchase products which are of a higher quality than we can afford because we feel that we succeed or fold in society based on what we are able to buy. The same goes for our news consumption. This relates directly to framing and agenda setting. According to Mass Communication Theory there is a general tendency to look for well-known people, especially leading politicians and celebrities, around which to construct news. The more prominent the person involved in any sphere, the more attention and privileged access as a source can be expected. News is often reports of what prominent people say about events rather than reports of the events themselves.

When a product is advertised it is projected onto the public in a way that will have meaning to consumers. When consumers purchase a particular product, elements such as social status, class, and culture are represented through their purchase. People identify their lifestyles by the products which they consume. An attempt to differentiate amongst both people and products is part of the desire to classify, order, and understand the world, including your own identity. With that being said, do you people associate your class or social status according to the products that you purchase? And if they do, do they think that purchasing products of a lesser value than they're used to will actually lower their social status? We are made to feel that we can rise and fall in society through what we are able to buy, and this obscures the actual class basis that still underlies social position. The fundamental differences in our society are still class differences, but use of manufactured goods as a means of creating classes or groups forms an overlay on them.

Key concepets of adverts - Narrative

Just as narrative theories apply to films and TV shows, they also apply to adverts. TV advertiser's main goal is to convince consumers to buy products and in doing so they create stories surrounding them.

The structure of the narrative is a reference to the ways the story is told. There are lots of different ways of telling stories and therefore many different narrative structures can be used.

Linear or sequential narrative structures  are the most simple. We are presented with a version of the events as they happened with the beginning, middle and the end in the 'correct' order. Like Soap operas taht give us an endless linear narrative.

Non linear or non-sequential narrative structures  therefore refer to productions where the story is presented in any other fashion. They may occur when we see the same events from a number of points of view, or where the ending is shown and the advertiser decides to tell us the story of how we got to that destination.
Flashbacks  are a form of non sequential narrative that involve details of the past being revealed before us on the screen.

Realist or anti realist narratives can also be discussed. Obviously, a realist narrative will draw its power from the portrayal of actual possible events. An anti realist narrative will have the freedom to indulge in the inclusion of aliens, vampires and all kinds of CGI.

Endings are also an important part of narrative structure and warrant much analysis. They can be open, where we are left with a sense that the story is unfinished or may continue after the section of the narrative we have seen. Alternatively, they are closed and present a definite end to the story being told.

The narrative of my chocolate bar adverts will present the viewer with the idea that the confectionary item is desirable and also brings something different into their life.

Propp and Todorov's theories can be applied to adverts as well. Will I give the role of a hero to a character? Will the advert show a disruption and resolution? Will the narrative be goal-orientated or just a journey? These are the ideas I could incorporate in my advert in ultimaletely the narrative that reflects the sweetness of the honey inside of the bar the best will be chosen.

Wrapper photoshop skills

I already had some practice at making a chocolate bar wrapper but I had to develop my skills on photoshop. The creation of the chocolate bar wrapper helped me to identify the style and appealing aesthetic qualities I need to put across in my adverts. 

I started the design by drawing the outline for a rectangular wrapper, in pencil, that would be folded down the middle. I then used a scanner to surn the paper drawing into a .jpeg file which was then opened in photoshop CS6.  

On the same layer as the scanned in outline, I used the pen tool to set a pathway around each letter of the 'Honey's' logo and then filled in the stroke path by right-clicking then selecting the brush tool. The brush size was too thick at first so I made it smaller so that the black outline of each letter looked less over-bearing. I also used the pen tool in the same way to put a black outline around the sides of the wrapper to make it look bold and pristine. I used the quick selection tool and highlighted all the unwanted space then deleted it to that it was left blank.

After taking a picture of honey on my phone and then putting it on the computer, I made a new layer on the same document and pasted the honey image  into this layer. This layer would be behind the initial layer so that the honey can be seen behind the black outlines. I used the smudge tool to make the honey look more like it is flowing and fluid. The orange and yellow hues are eye-catching.

To make the whole design feel more honey based I made another new layer and pasted a picture of a hexagon so that I could make the background seem like a honeycomb. Using the free transform tool I rotated the pentagon to a more appealing angle. I had to copy, paste and align each hexagon to get the effect of a hoeycomb. I chose to make it white becuase orange and white seems to be an alluring yet underused combination.

The hexagons appeard behind the black outline layer but in front of the honey layer so I had to select the hexagon layer at the same time as keeping all three layers on so that I could use the rubber tool to get rid of the white hexagons which were inside of the logo. This was done to make the logo stand out since it kept only the oranges and yellows of the honey which also gives it the effect of looking like it is in front of the rest of the wrapper design.

The overall design is original in that therearen't really any commercial brand honey flavoured  chocolate bars in the UK which takes advantage of the gap in the market and so the design of the orange and white will make full use of the appeal of the honey flavour by having the entire design focus of the honey aspect. I can develop this plain wrapper design further by adding logos, information and nutritional information on the other side. I plan to show the wrapper in the shape of a chocolate bar in the adverts so the creation of the wrapper was necessary; even more so with the fact that it is a new product and so consumers will have no idea what to look out for if it is not shown to them.

Ebay stop-motion viral advert

Media Regulation Research

In the UK, all broadcasting adverts have to adhere to the Code Of Broadcast Advertising which was created by the ASA ( the independent regulator of advertising across all media within the UK). 

Advertisers must consider the rules of the code  when making a broadcast advert to be aired in the UK and comply to the code's rules or else the advert broadcast cannot be shown to the general public. The rules cover various issues such as privacy and adverts on child focused channels and stations.  

 

I cannot, for instance, put misleading information into the radio advert or television adverts that I will be making. It is considered highly unfair to consumers and an audience to misrepresent the the subject f the advert as well as inaccurately inform the viewer about the aspects of the subject of the advertisement. I would not, for example, be able to imply that the new chocolate bar that I am advertising will decrease blood pressure levels when eaten when in reality it can actually increase blood pressure.

The advertising codes have been set out to ensure that advertising does not mislead harm or offend anyone. Advertisements must also be socially responsible and must be prepared in line with the principles of fair competition.  These principles are applied throughout every type of advertising not matter what it is.

Furthermore depending on the product being advertised  there are specific rules for certain products and marketing techniques. For example, rules for alcoholic drinks, health and beauty claims, children, medicines, financial products, environmental claims, gambling, direct marketing and prize promotions.

  

The guidelines that the ASA set must be followed to the fullest as each advert must be verified before being allowed to be broad. This is why my television adverts and my radio advert (which has it's own specific guidelines) will stay in line with the rules of the Code Of Broadcast Advertising. Since adhering to regulations of advertisements is also a convention my adverts will follow the rules otherwise they would not be realistic or effective to the viewer.

Snickers radio advert

Textual analysis of ebay stop-motion viral advert

This advert has used over 1000 photos and put them together smoothly through the editing. It appears that quite a few of the photos may have been manipulated on a photo editing software which improves the overall quality of the stop-motion movement. Even though the photos are shown in a smooth sequence the audience can notice  most cuts to the next image; for this video, the stop-start movement adds to the quirky inventiveness of the advert. The appeal of stop-motion is the focus on fantasy rather than reality so, with the picture by picture movement,  a tennis ball can appear to come out of a page. Since the photos are edited to seem animated the creator can have a lot more happen than if they were filming  which gives the video a sense of  being a cartoon in real life. The stop-motion movement is interesting and creative with what is done with it.

The only sound in the advert is the non-diegetic music. It is whimsical and has a steady rhythm which compliments the different items in the advert as well as the movement. The acoustic guitar suggests a mellow mood and the voice of the female singer has a soft tone and a high pitch thus  giveing the advert a playful and fun undertone. The song isn't very complex which is in cooperation with the simplicity of the white colour.

 There is not as much emphasis on the camera angle and framing since each of the pictures make a continuous sequence of different photo shots. However, when a shirt seems to be pulled out of the page there is a fast zoom out so the whole shirt can be seen as well as the table being worked on and the sheet of paper made to look like the ebay website. This angle highlights the almost instant delivery aspect of the website since the shirt just pops out of the page and the quickness of the zoom-out tells the audience that the delivery service is very quick. The continuous aerial shot of the page shows the whole drawn and animated website indicating that the website is accessible and easy to use.

A lot of colour is displayed by the props in contrast to the simplicity of the white paper backgrond. This is let's the audience know that the website is very straightforward and that you can bring colour to your life by buying items online easily and having them delivered quickly but also being able to sell items easily as shown by the small house sinking into the page. The movement of the drawings on the page are fluid and yet messy at times  which makes it appealing to watch and directs the user to expect the website to be innovative like the advert.


The slogan 'shopping worth talking about' hints at the idea of spreading the word p others about the website to get the viewer to promote the website themselves since the website's creative and innovative functions are meant to be 'worth' visiting and speaking about. This has seemed to be successful as the advert went viral on the internet.

This advert is effective because overall because of the creative stop-motion and use of pros going in and out of the page as well as the hand drawn website. This makes the user feel as if it is so responsive and simple to use that they could have designed the website themselves.