Advertising is all around us and is integral to everyday life. It is one of the the largest section of the media sectors of the media such as television, film, radio, magazines, posters, billboards, the press and the Internet. Of all of these, television advertising probably has the highest profile, some television advertisements being so effective and memorable that they have become classics and part of the cultural background of a whole generation of viewers. Television is used to market almost every product one can imagine from everyday consumables, like washing powder, to extravagant sports cars, whilst some advertisements promote a service such as insurance, banking of vehicle breakdown cover.
Tv advertising has become more and more sophisticated, utilising the very latest digital production techniques. Content and style can be simple or complex, using traditional narrative structures or less obvious surrealist imagery, and messages can be overt or understated.
I have created this blog to show my understanding of the structures and techniques used in television advertisements.
I have covered structures relating to form, style and the codes and conventions used in adverts.
I have also dicussed with examples the different technigues that advertisers use to promote a product.
Friday, 3 February 2012
Form- Animation
Animation in advertisements are used to make the impossible, possible. They use it to bring they're well known characters to life such as The Coco Pops monkey and Tony Tiger. Some animations are to show what happens when a person uses a product such as drain cleaners or antibiotics when it is not possible to show it for real. Animation and cartoons in adverts mostly appeal to children as they have bright colours.
In this advert there is a animated duck in a plane which is attacking animated germs as the woman cleans the toilet. As the name of the product is Toilet Duck they have created a recogniseable character using animation. The use of animation and real footage makes the product more realistic.
In this advert there is a animated duck in a plane which is attacking animated germs as the woman cleans the toilet. As the name of the product is Toilet Duck they have created a recogniseable character using animation. The use of animation and real footage makes the product more realistic.
Form- Narrative Structures
All adverts are told with a narrative. Every narrative consists of characters, settings, conflicts and resolutions. A linear narrative means that the story is told from beginning to the end. Where as a Non-linear narratives are not always in chronological order to show memories or past events. An Open Ended narrative is where the narrative continues in the next advert (a series of adverts). A closed narrative is a narrative that does not continue after the advert is finished.
Todorovs' theory is that every story/narrative has a beginning , middle and end. At the beginning everything is normal, in the middle there is conflict and at the end it is resolved.
Levis-Strauss theory is that a narrative contains a binary opposition, meaning a difference of people or ideas meet.
Propp's theory said that narratives usually contains a hero, a villan, a donnor (someone who helps the hero by giving them something), a dispatcher (someone who sends the hero or even villan on a quest), a false hero, a helper, a princess and a person who gives the hero a reward.
Robert Mckee believed that the story is effected by what a person does. He believes that the story shows how the person grows.
The advert bellow is about two young people moving into a flat with another person. This person has BT Infinity, a broadband provider. When the people move in they get shown round the flat. It also shows what the broadband is used for. This video is the whole advert, when shown on TV it is split into a linear open ended narrative (a series).
In previous BT adverts they showed the boy's parents using BT products. The narrative shows how the family grows and now as a new product has been introduced it shows how the boy grows up.
Todorovs' theory is that every story/narrative has a beginning , middle and end. At the beginning everything is normal, in the middle there is conflict and at the end it is resolved.
Levis-Strauss theory is that a narrative contains a binary opposition, meaning a difference of people or ideas meet.
Propp's theory said that narratives usually contains a hero, a villan, a donnor (someone who helps the hero by giving them something), a dispatcher (someone who sends the hero or even villan on a quest), a false hero, a helper, a princess and a person who gives the hero a reward.
Robert Mckee believed that the story is effected by what a person does. He believes that the story shows how the person grows.
The advert bellow is about two young people moving into a flat with another person. This person has BT Infinity, a broadband provider. When the people move in they get shown round the flat. It also shows what the broadband is used for. This video is the whole advert, when shown on TV it is split into a linear open ended narrative (a series).
In previous BT adverts they showed the boy's parents using BT products. The narrative shows how the family grows and now as a new product has been introduced it shows how the boy grows up.
Structures Of Advertisements
The structures of television advertisements relate to its form, style and the codes and conventions used by media producers. Over the next series of blog posts I will discuss each of these in detail with examples.
Form- Documentary
Adverts in the form of documentary are to inform the viewer about their product or their cause. Some are used to amuse audiences. Some documentaries are very dramatic and hard hitting to catch the audiences attention.
The Carphone Warehouse advert uses documentary to tell us the history of the company and what they provide. This gives us an insight into the lives of the creators.
The Carphone Warehouse advert uses documentary to tell us the history of the company and what they provide. This gives us an insight into the lives of the creators.
Form- Talking Heads
Talking head adverts are adverts that are based on a group of people's opinions. An interviewer would gather a group of people or just a single person and asks them questions about a product or brand. Toothpaste adverts go into a public place and ask people to try the tooth paste and them come back to them and tell them what happened.
In the advert bellow the company asks a group of people who have sensitive teeth to test out their product. They tell them to use the tooth paste and then drink or eat, a drink or food that would usually cause them to feel pain in their teeth. They then found that they can eat the ice cream or cold drink without pain. This tells audiences that the product works effectively because every day people said so.
In the advert bellow the company asks a group of people who have sensitive teeth to test out their product. They tell them to use the tooth paste and then drink or eat, a drink or food that would usually cause them to feel pain in their teeth. They then found that they can eat the ice cream or cold drink without pain. This tells audiences that the product works effectively because every day people said so.
Form- Stand Alone/ Series
Stand Alone
Stand alone advertisements are adverts that don't have a continuous story to them and sometimes is only shown once on TV. Stand alone adverts usually advertise things that are only available once. No effort would be put in to making the next advert and will be focused on just the one advert.
Series
A series is a group of adverts that follow on into the next advert. It shows how the characters grow over time. It makes audiences feel for the characters, making it more memorable. They take a lot of money to make and it would take a lot of money to buy slots on TV. The Bridgestone advert was a series that was shown during the super bowl. This meant that the whole series could be shown throughout the breaks in the game.
Each part of the series makes you want to watch the next.
Stand alone advertisements are adverts that don't have a continuous story to them and sometimes is only shown once on TV. Stand alone adverts usually advertise things that are only available once. No effort would be put in to making the next advert and will be focused on just the one advert.
Series
A series is a group of adverts that follow on into the next advert. It shows how the characters grow over time. It makes audiences feel for the characters, making it more memorable. They take a lot of money to make and it would take a lot of money to buy slots on TV. The Bridgestone advert was a series that was shown during the super bowl. This meant that the whole series could be shown throughout the breaks in the game.
Each part of the series makes you want to watch the next.
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