Ancillary Text Two Research

and Planning: Newspaper

Advert

Codes and Conventions

• Upon researching various newspapers, the most common codes and

conventions of an advertisement is:

• The scheduling information of the programme: The date, time and

channel.

• Branded - the channel logo is normally prominent aside the show

title.

• The name of the programme is normally at the lower side of the

advert.

• Bold colours.

• One central image that represents the programme and anchors

meaning to the programme title.

• Limited use of words, short and concise.

• Simple graphics.

The Guardian

3

Ads vary in size due to design and ad pricing. This

specific ad takes up half the page, perfect for this ad

because it holds all the information in a succinct way.

The image links

well with the

content. As this

image is most

likely the first

thing the reader

will see, having

a well-suited

image is vital.

The title is centred, however, yet

doesn’t stand out. If I did something

similar to this I would make it bold to

stand out.

It uses a slogan as

to connect with their

potential customers.

Bold colours (compared to the rest of the page), which

allows to create a more attractive design to stand out. This

specific design has simple graphics suited to the season.

The Guardian -

5

Image: As it’s black and white photography, in reference to classic

filmography, it serves as an anchorage to the ad.

Colour: The ‘French Film First’ logo is blue, adding emphasis to the

ad through symbolism of France.

Overall the ad is simple in graphics, uses a limited amount of words

and provides the information required – these being the basic

needs of a print advertisement.

Image: Photo of the actual product being advertised.

Colour: Constant throughout, the most important parts are in a darker

green. The two different shades of green allow a more visually

pleasing design.

The Independent

7

Title: Broken convention of a review being

bigger than the film’s title.

Limited words: Broken convention of having

limited words. There is a lot of text used, yet

they are in short concise areas so it’s justified.

Colouring: Black and white.

Graphics: Brilliantly positioned and designed.

The main interests of the ad are carefully

selected to stand out, such as the quote ‘The

Coen brothers are the greatest filmmakers on

the planet’ - ‘the greatest’ (superlative) being

much larger font to stand out.

Scheduling info: Placed in the traditional

position of a film ad.

Title: The name of the film that stands out; the

conventional way of presenting an ad.

Limited words: This ad sticks to the convention of

limited words, with the use of minimal selected

reviews.

Colouring: Colouring is consistent throughout the

whole ad, which I find useful as it appears more

visually appealing.

Scheduling info: Placed in the traditional position

of a film ad.

Channel 4 AdsImage: Related to and anchors the title

and content of the show. As it’s children

photographed, it implies young people

may be the subject of the programme.

Colour: Selected darkness, creates an

ominous atmosphere, connotating

negative subjects will arise in the

programme.

Scheduling info: Vital part of an ad. All

the information is positioned in one

place.

Branded: The Channel 4 logo

represents the brand.

Image: Related to the the title. The

child in the photo is small in

comparison to the letters, presenting

the struggle children go through (from

the context of the show).

Colour: Darkness to create an eerie

effect. The contrast of dark colours

against the child in red serves to

highlight and bring attention to the

child.

Scheduling info: Vital part of an ad. All

the information is positioned in one

place.

Branded: The Channel 4 logo is

8

Channel 4 Style Guide • As I will be advertising my documentary under Channel 4, I looked at their style

guide

(http://www.channel4.com/about_c4/styleguide/downloads/C4StyleGuide1.1.pdf).

• Channel 4 have very specific and strict rules when producing content to create a

well-recognised, unique brand identity. Although I will try to stick to all the codes

and conventions of Channel 4, below I have selected five main conventions I will

try to emulate when creating my own ad.

Logo to have a

transparent

background in allow it

to blend in successfully

with my ad image.

Logo to be placed centre right.

I will use my specific

colour (social network

blue) used across all

three tasks to create a

brand identity of my

own.

9

(Continued)

Large title going across the

lower third of my photograph

along with the date of the

programme.

Channel 4 have a specific way of

forming their dates which I will

follow in my advertisement.

9

Design Ideas

10

When I initially planned on making a social networking documentary, I knew

it’d focus on how it is affecting the way we communicate. I hope to incorporate

this theme into my ad as a way to foreshadow the documentary’s topic to the

reader. Here are designs I came up with to fit with this topic:

InspirationA rather metaphorical advertisement, implying social interaction

in a public place yet people go on their phones when they’re

meant to be socialising (depending on interpretation).

Graphics: Although the graphics appear to be simple, a great

deal of detail and skill would have been needed to create this.

Colouring: dark. Connotes the negativity involved when people

take part in that behaviour.

Slogan: Suits specifically to the ad.

Positioning: Main part of the ad is centred, however the

background compliments it as a whole by adding context to the

image as a whole.

Ads can be seasonal (as presented in

the DFS advertisement), so it was a

possibility I’d recreate this Christmas

card in the form of an ad.