Big Question: Can advertisers say what they want?

Introduction

In this blog post, I am going to analyse four different advertisements (2 from the past, and 2 during current times) which have been criticized on the comments and claims they have made. The two adverts from the past will be image adverts, which will be analysed using spider diagrams, and the current adverts will be videos taken from the ASA agency website, which will be analysed on Prezi.

The ASA

"The Advertising Standards Authority is the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media. We apply the Advertising Codes, which are written by the Committees of Advertising Practice. Our work includes acting on complaints and proactively checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements." (1)

Past advertisements

Reflecting upon this advert, I think that the advert has used the correct strategies in enticing the appropriate target market and to say what message they wished to convey, but the message is misleading and would not be appropriate or fall into guidelines in present times because of misleading opinions and no facts to back it up.

My view on reflecting upon this advert is that the advert is so wrong and misleading if it was to be presented in present times because the facts are wrong, the opinions are wrong, the target audience that they are appealing to is wrong, etc. Although during this time, people were unaware on the facts of smoking, the advert is deemed inappropriate as it is sending out the wrong message to the public.

Present advertisements

Can advertisers say what they want? present TV ads on Prezi

Bibliography

http://www.asa.org.uk/News-resources/School-parent-resources.aspx (26/11/2012)

(1) http://www.asa.org.uk/About-ASA.aspx (26/11/2012)

What is the point of advertising?

Introduction

In this blogpost, I am going to explain the top five points on the point of advertising. I am going to expand and reflect on the reasons on why these are the top five.

Top five points n advertising

• Advertising draws the attention to a product/service

"Advertising draws attention to a product or service" is an important factor of advertising because it grasps the audiences attention, which will result in awareness of the product. If the target market are interested in buying the product or using the service, it will achieve the original purpose of sales for the company. When a consumer buys/uses a company's product/service, the consumer would also advertise the product themselves, by word of mouth with peers or recognition.

I feel that if the attention of the target consumers are fully grasped and achieved, then the product would have a greater chance on not only sales, but recognition and making consumers more aware of your brand through word of mouth, or following brand trends.

• Advertising helps businesses to make a profit

"Advertising helps businesses to make a profit" is an important factor of advertising because it is the main objective for a company. If the advertising for a company's product is successful, the company would make money because consumers would purchase it, ergo raising the sales for a business, which is achieving their main objectives.

My opinion on how advertising helps businesses to make a profit is a very important aspect on the whole purpose of advertising. This is because the final result of adverts is to help promote a company, which results in the company generating a profit, which is every business' main objective.

• There are 20,000 jobs in the advertising agency

"There are 20,000 jobs in the advertising agency" is an important factor of advertising because it is the lifeline/livelihood of many members, so if there was no advertising, they would be jobless or in other careers that they may not have wished to have. Also the fact that 20,000 have jobs in just the advertising agency, that proves how much effort and teamwork must go into the production of an advert. Without these 20,000 people, the final end product of a advertisement would not be in existence.

My thought on the 20,000 jobs in the advertising agency is a important factor because without the crew/employees behind the scene, there would be no finalized media production to help promote a company's product/service.

• Advertising keeps consumers up to date with new developments

"Advertising keeps consumers up to date with new developments" is a important factor of advertising because it informs customers on the latest products and services available on the market, so they are up to date on the latest gadgets/versions/promotions available, which will entice them to buy/use the product.

My view on how advertisements keep the audience up to date with new developments is that it is a important factor because if customers are aware on new products on the market, they would want to purchase the products and wish to be updated on the latest gadgets/trends.

• Advertising helps promote and stimulate competition

"Advertising helps promote and stimulate competition" is a important factor in advertising because it allows a company to inform the target audience on what products/services they offer and what is out on the market, which would also stimulate competition if rival companies are offering the same/similar products/services.

I think that advertising helps to promote and stimulate competition is a important factor because it helps a company stand out from a market, and it lets consumers be aware on what is available for them to purchase/use.

USP's and Slogans (service & product ideas)

Introduction

In this blog post prezi, I will explain the different between a USP (Unique Selling Point) and a slogan. I will also show what we did in class as group work on making our own USP's for a product and service.

Prezi

USP's and Slogans on Prezi

How logos are brought to life in TV adverts

Introduction

In this blog post, I am going to present examples on how brand logos are brought to life in television adverts to help it promote its products/services to the customers and how the company portrays itself (brand identity). The logos I am going to use are Jaguar, Cbeebies and KFC.

1st advert - Jaguar

Great Jaguar TV Ad (Commercial) - (1)

The use of denotation used in the logo on the use of colours, shapes, the brand name and image is brought to life in the television advertisement by putting in camera shots (such as close up shots on the car to symbolize quality), the use of music/non-diegetic sounds (raw jazz music with lyrics that relate to the meaning/purpose of the advert) the mise en scene elements (colours, props and lighting used) has been used such as the silver tones, open stretch safari style roads and dim/key lighting helps create the atmosphere that it is an animal (jaguar) in its natural habitat, performing to it's high calibre status.

2nd advert - Cbeebies

CBeebies Song Time TV Advert - OUT NOW! - (2)

The use of denotation used in the logo which has been brought to life in the use of bright primary colours to help attract the target customers and to relate to the logo/corporate house style colours. The use of fonts helps to promote the service/product of the brand, as it is following the trends of the brand identity scheme. The style of music used is from the brand's products/channels as it relatable to the key target audience. The mise en scene elements (colours, props and animation used) has been put into the advert to relate to the brand by making it more child-like and to the theme of the brand.

3rd advert - KFC

KFC Brazer TV Ad 2011 (Official Version) - (3)

The advert uses elements of special effects to help bring the logo to life as it makes the logo animated/motion. The use of music and non-diegetic sounds is put into the advert to help promote the brand by making the customers feel hungry (persuasion by using senses to lure them into buying it) and the advert also uses the company jingle, slogan and logo to help promote the company by making it visually and auditory appealing to the customers. The advert also uses related colours to the company to allow the audience to link up the theme and it uses mise en scene elements (lighting, camera shots, props) to help emphasize the product and the company identity.

Bibliography

(1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PVODtFaYHU (07/11/2012)

(2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I270zeljJbE (07/11/2012)

(3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOh55nEAagY (07/11/2012)

Connotation and Denotation of logos

Introduction

In this blog post, I am going to explain what denotation and connotation means and apply these ideas to a range of logos. I am going to analyse the denotation and connotation factors of the logos. I will be answering the following questions;

• what do they tell us about the company or product
• what do the colours used represent?
• what do the shapes represent?
• what do the fonts represent?

What is Denotation and Connotation?

Denotation means "In media-studies terminology, denotation is an example of the first level of analysis: what the audience can visually see on a page. Denotation often refers to something literal, and avoids being a metaphor. Here it is usually coupled with connotation which is the second level of analysis, being what the denotation represents." (1) Denotation explores the concepts on "what is it" (shape, colours, font).

Connotation means "A connotation is a commonly understood subjective cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries"(2) Connotation means what it represents (emotional, subliminal meaning)

An example of connotation and denotation is, a red heart (denotation) may symbolize love and affection (connotation) due to the shape and the colour.

Examples using logos

1st logo: Vodafone

what do the colours used represent? The colour red is a unisex colour, which means that the company appeals to both male and females. Red is also a strong colour, which symbolizes strength and reliability in the brand.

what do the shapes represent? The shape used is a speech/quotation mark. This symbolizes communication, which is linked to the products and services they offer (mobiles and mobile network tariffs).

what do the fonts represent? The font is a simple bold curved font to help relate to the speech mark and for clarity of pronunciation for customers. The company name has been shortened into informal/slang text to help it relate again back to the products they offer (mobiles) and to show the service is available for all ages which use technology.

what do they tell us about the company or product? The denotation factors and connotation meanings show us that Vodafone is a company based on telecommunications and offer products/services to a wide range of customers.

2nd logo: KFC

what do the colours used represent? The colours used within this logo are deep red colours which represents a raw and meaty colour, as they offer predominantly chicken based products. It is also a colour used widely within the fast-food industry as it represents taste (tongue) and table sauces (e.g. ketchup, brown sauce, etc).

what do the shapes represent? The shapes and imagery used within the KFC logo is a animated picture of the founder of KFC - Colonel Saunders. The image is used to trace back to the company's establishing roots and it is a good way to represent professionalism (the bow-tie , representing food standards (the apron), representing good customer service (happy smiling face), representing experience and knowledge/wise (glasses and white beard).

what do the fonts represent? The font used in the logo represents the initials of the full name of the company (Kentucky Fried Chicken). The font used is bold, basic and slightly italic to show simplicity, but creativity of the brand.


what do they tell us about the company or product? The denotation factors and connotation meanings show us that this brand offers a happy and good service and it is based within the food industry.



3rd logo: Apple

what do the colours used represent? The colours used to represent the Apple logo is silver metallic colours. This is to help represent luxury as it is a expensive element, it represents technology because it looks futuristic and it is a simple monochromatic colour, which means it does not target a specific audience.

what do the shapes represent? The shape represents the name of the company. "Apple" may have been used to relate to the saying "an apple a day, keeps the doctor away". This is trying to show that if you use Apple products/services, it will help you maintain a "healthy technological lifestyle".

what do the fonts represent? There are no fonts, slogans or text used in this logo as the image explains it all. There is no need for any text and the simplicity of the logo shows luxury in terms of "less is more" or "a picture is worth 1000 words"

what do they tell us about the company or product? The logo in itself does not explain anything about the company products or services except it is brand and name based on an "apple".


4th logo: Nandos

what do the colours used represent? The colours used to represent the logo is based on the menu and types of foods they offer. The black is to help signify the chicken, the red represents their specialty "peri peri" marinade chickens and the green represents the "lemon and herb" flavours.

what do the shapes represent? The shapes used in the logo is based predominantly on the brand's products (chicken). The leaves and decoration relates back to the Portuguese theme and recipes.

what do the fonts represent? The font used for the logo is in a large bold type and the style of the font relates back to the theme of the Portuguese recipe/menu.

what do they tell us about the company or product? The logo shows that the company is based on food, predominantly chicken and it is based on "Portuguese/Mozambiquan" themes and recipes.

5th logo: Jaguar

what do the colours used represent? The colours used to represent the Jaguar logo is silver metallic colours. This is to help represent luxury as it is a expensive element, it represents technology because it looks futuristic and it is a simple monochromatic colour, which means it does not target a specific audience.

what do the shapes represent? The shape used within this logo is a Jaguar animal. This shape is used to relate to the company name. The animal Jaguar represents speed, agility, performance and luxury niche because the animal is classed as the third largest feline and was revered as pets to royal ancestry in the Columbian/Andean/Aztec eras.

what do the fonts represent? The font is simple and bold to show power and simplicity of their products. The spacing of the letters is also spaced out wider than usual to help represent the relatedness of the elongation of the jaguar image.

what do they tell us about the company or product? The logo tells us that the company is a fast paced company and it is a high class/niche company as the animal is revered to be a priceless animal. The logo does not give any indication of what products or services they offer, but the logo represents the status of the company.


6th logo: Cbeebies

what do the colours used represent? The colours yellow represents happiness and joy as it is a "light" primary colour which represents young children's joy and innocence.

what do the shapes represent? The shapes used are soft and curved "blobs" which help represent the simple thoughts and creativity of the target audience (young children).

what do the fonts represent? The font used to represent the brand is again soft and curved blobs to help relate to the shapes and mascots used for the brand and to help represent the softness and innocence of younger children.

what do they tell us about the company or product? The logo shows it is a product/serviced based at a target audience of young children because of the use of the font, colours and shapes.

Bibliography

http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/BTEC%20Nationals%20from%202010/Unit_30_Advertisement_Production_for_Television.pdf (05/11/2012)

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denotation (05/11/2012)

(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connotation (05/11/2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Kentucky_Fried_Chicken (05/11/2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nando%27s (05/11/2012)

Examples of adverts containing characteristics

Introduction

In this blog post, I am going to provide example advertisements and explain the four characteristics of advertisements. The four characteristics of advertisements were;

• Advantages over similar products
• USP (Unique Selling Point)
• Lifestyle appeal
• Brand identity

1st example - Marks and Spencer - Spring/Summer 2012


M&S TV Ad 2012 - Summer To Remember TV Ad - Marks & Spencer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh28zTosjd4&feature=relmfu)

Advantages over similar products - The advantages that that this advertisement has over any similar products or companies is the use of celebrities to help endorse their range of products (food, clothing, accessories, etc.) This shows that the products are of a high quality and are appropriate for the upcoming season.

USP (Unique Selling Point) - The unique selling point for this advertise is how the advert has gathered numerous celebrities to endorse the products in a narrative scenario of them all enjoying themselves and embracing summer using Marks and Spencer products.

Lifestyle appeal - The lifestyle appeal for this advert is shown by using various characters of different ages, races, backgrounds to show that they have products which appeal to customers of all demographics. They also included people in different relation ship diversities (e.g. families, parents with children, siblings, couples, friends, etc) to show that it is appealing to different groups of people to share with their close members.

Brand identity - The brand identity is represented throughout this advert by the use of corporate colours (green, white and blue) and the advert contains clips of close up shots on company products which include their logo.

The advert also shows denotation of British flags, music, utensils, etc to represent the connotation that Marks and Spencer is a British company and still plays a part in the British heritage. At the end of the advert, it shows the company logo and website clearly in the corporate font and colours to help the customers realize what company the advert is representing.

2nd example - Apple - iPod Touch (5th G), Ipod Nano (7th G), iPod Shuffle (New colours)


Apple iPod TV Ad - Bounce 2012 [HD] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE_vLjaN6HE&feature=related)

Advantages over similar products - The advantages that this product has over similar or previous products is that it comes in a wider and different range of colours. Also because they are newer generations of iPods, they are more likely to have a change in software to help make it better. Finally the advantage that these products have is that it is a different shape, which shows that these models are newer and more updated.

USP (Unique Selling Point) - The unique selling point of this advert is the new colours and shapes available, which is different to any other product in the market. This will encourage customers to purchase the products because the customers will get a sense of recognition from peers on "having the latest piece of technology" from the world's leading technology brand.

Lifestyle appeal -  The lifestyle appeal characteristic is shown within this advert as it shows the different types of products available to customers of different wants and purposes. By showing a wider range in one advert, it gives the customers a sense of choice as they can choose which product they wish to get from Apple's updated iPod range.

Brand identity - The proof that this advertisement uses the characteristic of brand identity is show because the advert shows repeated shots of the Apple logo and the iPod brand name as the products are bouncing and flipping around.

At the end of the advert, it also shows the brand logo and product name clearly to show which company is being promoted. The use of corporate colours (the white background which is shown in most of the Apple product adverts) is used to maintain repeated visual links back to the brand.

3rd example - Mcdonalds - Saver Menu

McDonald's Pregnancy Scan 2012 advert (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss1uyn3w4FQ)

Advantages over similar products - The advantages that this product has over similar products is that this product is so cheap, that it has a good reason to be bought and people don't have a reason to complain. Especially in the current economic climate (recession).

USP (Unique Selling Point) - The unique selling point of the product is that it you can get a handful of products at a cheap price, which is good for all types of customers looking for fast food which wont hurt their pocket/wallet.

Lifestyle appeal - The lifestyle appeal is shown within this advertisement by showing that this product can be used by any customer regardless of their demographics. (couples, race, age). It is shown using a pregnant female, which represents that it is available to customers of any age and gender, and it is shown using a couple, which shows it is good for anybody with a family or budget to keep.

Brand identity - The advert uses the characteristic of brand identity because it shows a quick second flash of the company brand name, colour and logo at the start of the advertisement to inform customers who this advertise is representing.

Then the advert shows a McDonalds meal bag, which again shows brand identity as it shows use of the brand's product. Then at the end, the advert uses methods of brand identity by showing items from the company "Saver Menu" and it used the corporate house style factors (company colours, fonts, logos, slogans, jingles) to help promote the company.

Bibliography

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh28zTosjd4&feature=relmfu (06/11/2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE_vLjaN6HE&feature=related (06/11/2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss1uyn3w4FQ (06/11/2012)

Characteristics of advertising

Introduction:

In this blog post, I am going to explain the different characteristics of advertising and provide basic examples to help explain my point. The four characteristics I am going to explain are;

• Advantages over similar products
• USP (Unique Selling Point)
• Lifestyle appeal
• Brand identity

Advantages over similar products

The characteristic for advertisements on having "advantages over similar products" means how an advert highlights the features which this product/service has over rivaling companies. This is a important characteristic because it will help an audience to choose their product/service over the competing companies.

An example of two companies that are promoting the same or similar products/services is the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2. The advantages that the iPhone 4S has over the Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 product is the Apple branded voice control/personal assistant software called "Siri".

iPhone 4S Advert (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD7sZdAaS2M)

Samsung Galaxy S II TV commercial - vivid screen and fast processor (

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfL2DZPqDko&feature=relmfu)

USP (Unique Selling Point)

USP (Unique Selling Point/Proposition) is a characteristic for television adverts which means the key feature or benefits (rewards incentive) available to the customer to persuade them into purchasing the product/service with a company. The USP is a key characteristic because it shows a purpose on why the customer should buy it and what makes the product/service different from any other product in the market.

An example of a USP is the Confused.com advertisements. These adverts offer extra nectar points to the customer if they use their service, which is a unique selling point, because rival companies like "compare the market" or "go compare" don't offer this rewards incentive.


Confused.com - Life Insurance Nectar Points (2012, UK) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvvjJX7NOaw)

Lifestyle appeal

Lifestyle appeal is a advertisement characteristic which means how the product/service/company relates to the lifestyle of their target audience. The lifestyle of a target customer group consists of their age, gender, family, job, social life, how busy/hectic their life is (timing), which season/festivity they are relating to, how much money they have (niche luxury items, or affordable money saving schemes), etc.

This is a important characteristic because to be able to communicate and promote their product.service to the right customer market, they must appeal to their lives and show how it will make their life easier/fit in with their daily life.

An example of an advert which appeals to the lifestyle of their target customer is the Apple iCloud software. This advert shows different scenarios for people of all ages and with different lifestyles on how purchasing this software/apple products will help make their lives easier and how anybody of any ages can use it.

Apple - Introducing iCloud (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCjeSNomXrU)

Brand identity

The final characteristic of advertisements that I am going to explain is Brand identity. This is the visual and auditory representation of a company, brand or product. In simple terms, it is how a brand establishes a face for their company and the use of promotional material which will help customers recognize their company using visual (logos, colours, fonts) and auditory (slogans, jingles, soundtracks) factors.

A logo is a image which represents a brand visually and it helps a company relate its products back to them.

For a brand to help establish its identity and use factors that will get consumers to relate to them, the marketing department of a company undergo research on graphics and promotional design to look into factors called Denotation and Connotation.

An example of a brand identity advertisement is for Aviva. This advert shows when the company Norwich Union changed their name to Aviva. At the end of the advert, it shows the new company logo and name with the use of the brand house styles (colour, font, shapes, etc.). This is done to help establish a brand within the market and to inform customers of it's new identity.

HD: Aviva - Not Business as Usual - The New Advert to Promote Norwich Union's Name Change to (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-bs7xIdmUk)

Denotation means "In media-studies terminology, denotation is an example of the first level of analysis: what the audience can visually see on a page. Denotation often refers to something literal, and avoids being a metaphor. Here it is usually coupled with connotation which is the second level of analysis, being what the denotation represents." (1) Denotation explores the concepts on "what is it" (shape, colours, font).

Connotation means "A connotation is a commonly understood subjective cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries"(2) Connotation means what it represents (emotional, subliminal meaning)

An example of connotation and denotation is, a red heart (denotation) may symbolize love and affection (connotation) due to the shape and the colour.



Bibliography

http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/BTEC%20Nationals%20from%202010/Unit_30_Advertisement_Production_for_Television.pdf (05/11/2012)

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denotation (05/11/2012)

(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connotation (05/11/2012)