The Structures and Techniques of television advertisements

Brandon Evans & Charlie Livesey

Structures of TV advertisements

• There are many structures of TV adverts, these include:

• Talking Heads• Realist• Anti-Realist• Animation• Series• Documentary• Demonstrations

Talking Heads

• Talking Head adverts consist of somebody talking to the camera as if the person in the advert is personally addressing the audience.

• These types of adverts usually feature close-ups or mid-shots of the person addressing the viewer.

• A good example of a talking head advert is the Bet 365 advert in which Ray Winstone is literally a talking head informing the audience about live betting odds.

Realist Advert

• Realist Adverts portray realistic events and potential scenarios which the audience may find themselves in.

• An example of a realist advert is a Green Flag advert in which a mans car breaks down and a Green Flag van pulls up, the green flag man repairs it and the car drives off.

• Close-ups are used in this advert to show the displeasure of the man who owns the car.

Anti-Realist

• Anti-realist adverts are intentionally unrealistic, this is often done to create a comedic effect.

• An example of this are the comparethemarket.com adverts which feature talking meerkats in a short story, this is then followed by a meerkat saying the name of the website.

Animation

• Animated Adverts are expensive to make (usually) and are made for entertainment purposes.

• An example of an animated advert is the 2014 Nike Football: The Last Game advert in which animated versions of some of the best players in the world (and Wayne Rooney) participate in a game of football to save football.

Series

• A series advert is when multiple adverts link together to create a story which also advertises a product.

• An example of this is the Daz Cleaner Close adverts, these adverts portray Cleaner Close in the from of a soap.

Documentary

• A documentary style advert is a style of advertising which is informative to the audience.

• An example of a documentary advert is a THINK wear a seatbelt advert in which there is a car crash in which the driver dies due to the person sat behind her not wearing his seatbelt.

Demonstration

• A demonstration advert is an advert in which the audience is shown a demonstration of how the product or service works.

• An example of a demo advert is The Lenor Unstoppables advert starring Amy Sedaris.

Techniques used in TV advertisements

Humorous

• A humorous advert is created to make the audience laugh.

• An example of a humorous advert is the Carling: Catch advert.

Surreal• A surreal advert is created to show something

unusual in the context of everyday life. This is often created to create a comedic affect.

• An example of a surreal advert is the Skittles: T Touch advert

Dramatic (shocking)• Shocking adverts are created to make the

audience feel bad, these types of adverts are used in charity appeals as they attempt to guilt trip the audience into donating money.

• An example of one of these adverts are any of the UNICEF adverts which feature slow-motion close-ups of starving african children.

Nostalgic

• Nostalgic adverts are created to make the audience remember the past and hopefully their fondness of it. This could persuade the audience to purchase the product because it reminds them of good times.

• An example of a nostalgic advert is the Hovis Bread advert which features a kid running home through different time periods.

Parodic• Parodic adverts are created to make the

audience laugh. Parodic adverts parody tv shows, films and other adverts.

• An example of this is the ALDI: man on the moon advert which is a parody of the John Lewis: man on the moon advert.

Characteristics of products or services

USP (unique selling point)

• Each product has a USP and the advert should exemplify what the USP is. E.g. Dyson vacuum cleaners USP is that they require no bag.

Advantages Over Similar Products

• Adverts are also used to show how a specific product is better than other competing products e.g. iPhones are “better” than other phones because of their camera quality.

Lifestyle Appeal

• Some commercials advertise a lifestyle which is desirable to the audience, this is primarily done to advertise expensive products such as iPhones.

• Adverts appeal to the audiences lifestyle in order to show that their product can make the audiences life easier. E.g. iPhones

Brand Identity

• An advert should also be used to show the brands identity, this will allow the audience to easily identify the brand so that they know what they do. E.g. Adidas is a sports brand which is easily recognizable due to the iconic 3 stripes which are present on most Adidas products.

Regulation

• Adverts need to be regulated by The ASA, this is for numerous reasons. One reason adverts are regulated by The ASA is: False Advertising. False advertising is unethical and illegal. The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) prevents unethical advertising from taking place.

Regulation

• The ASA also ban adverts due to them being inappropriate, false advertising, controversial or offensive.

• An example of a banned advert is a Morrison's advert which showed a child removing salad from her burger, this advert was banned because it appeared to condone healthy eating.

ASA• Creators of Adverts can’t say exactly what they want in adverts, this is

because they are monitored by the ASA (advertising standards authority). ASA are the governing body for advertising and they are able to ban adverts to be broadcast on TV. However they are still able to show adverts that are somewhat controversial. An example of this would be:

• 1. Paddy Power plc.• 5,525 complaints – Upheld• The ASA banned the ad that offered incentives to bet on the outcome

of the Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial. The ASA banned this advert because they trivialized disability and murder, they also concluded that the approach brought advertising into disrepute.

Audience information

• BARB stands for ‘broadcasters audience research board’. It is the official source of television viewing figures in the UK. The company develops new ways of measuring what the public of the UK are watching at home.

• TV advertising is a better form of advertising as it is more exciting to the audience than other types of adverts. When measuring audiences it isn’t just the numbers that are focused on, it is also focused on who is in the audience, looking at things such as age, gender etc.

Audience informationAs you can see happy valley lead this weeks viewing figures with 8.4 Million viewers.

This information is QUANTATIVE because they are statistics.

Sources of information

• http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-30/

• www.asa.org.uk/• https://images.google.co.uk

Audience classification

• Before an advert is produced, the creators must classify their audience, the NRS social grades are a system of classification used in the UK.

Metaphors

• A figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance. – Dictionary.com

• "It's What Comfort Tastes Like”• This metaphorical slogan was used by Werther’s

to advertise Werther’s originals, The slogan associates the product as comfort food which implies that they are enjoyable to eat.

Similes

• A simile is “a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared”

• An example of this would be the Silverado advert as the vehicle is compared to a Rock

Any Questions?