Structure and Techniques | mishasillifant

Structure and techniques behind television advertising.

There are many structures and techniques used within advertising and this is mostly done to help the advert in the way it is perceived by the audience and to make it successful.

Before an advert is even shown on the TV it has to go through the ASA. The ASA are an organisation who takes responsibility on checking that adverts are suitable to be shown on TV, they are one of the biggest regulation companies in the UK. They constantly deal with complaints and check the media for adverts that could be seen
as offensive or harmful to an audience. The organisation also make sure adverts are shown at a suitable time and
if they are offensive to children that they are placed to be aired after the watershed. They follow the codes which are written by the Committees of Advertising Practise to make sure every advert has the correct content to be shown on TV.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Company had 119 complaints to the ASA for their TV ad cinema release of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

This advert was shown on ITV during the World Cup Semi-Final at 9:50pm. The scene of the film showed an ape picking up a gun and shooting two men who were sitting on sandbags. The major complaints that it received were that people believed that the ad was inappropriate for children and that it might not have been placed at the right time as a young audience might have been awake watching the TV due to the big event of the football. A large number of people also found the advert violent or distressing and discussed whether the ad irresponsibly condoned violence. However the ad was a one-off which was to promote the film, this meant that it wouldn’t have been shown again on TV anyway. It was a memorable advert for the shock factor and the controversy it portrayed, for these reasons it also engaged the audience. It was also placed after the watershed so audiences should know
content after 9 might not be suitable for children and the film was also a 12A, for these reasons the ad
wasn’t banned by the ASA.

The ASA can also ban adverts for many other reasons, for example they banned one of Moonpig’s adverts in 2014. Moonpig is a company who create personalised cards online, send gifts and flowers to households around the country. The advert which was banned by the ASA originally said "Moonpig flowers, perfect for any occasion with free next-day delivery and a free personalised Moonpig card. Because it's great to know who your flowers are from, but it's even better knowing they’re for you. And now with beautiful British flowers.” However the last line has now been changed to "beautiful flowers from Moonpig." This is because the ASA got one complaint about it as the flowers shown weren't grown in the UK so they were accused of having misleading content. The ASA told Moonpig.com Ltd to ensure that "in future advertising which made claims for the provenance of flowers that it was made clear what flowers they referred to.”

as offensive or harmful to an audience. The organisation also make sure adverts are shown at a suitable time and
if they are offensive to children that they are placed to be aired after the watershed. They follow the codes which are written by the Committees of Advertising Practise to make sure every advert has the correct content to be shown on TV.

I think that the ASA are a very important company for the UK and I also think that they have some trends in what they ban. For example most adverts which they ban promote violence, have sex references or have false fact/advertisements. The ASA also ban advertisements depending on the watershed, this means whether it can be aired before 9pm. The watershed is judged by whether an advert is suitable for, or could be offensive to children or younger people. For example if an advert got many complaints for not being suitable for children as it showed elements such as violence, yet it was broadcasted after the watershed then they may not ban it for this reason of parents should know the content shown after this time might not be suitable for children.

The ASA often ban adverts that are stating false information about a product, an example of this was Amazon Prime as they didn’t mention that after their 30 day free trail that you would started getting charged straight away so many people got charged for something they didn’t want. They ban adverts with false advertising because the companies are lying to the audience to try and make more sells. People can then be tricked and conned due to this, meaning they could lose money without even knowing.

However the ASA don’t always just ban an advert for the amount of complaints it received, this is seen as sometimes adverts can have as little as 1 complaint yet the advert is still banned if the content is bad enough. This was also seen in a Paddy Power advert as it got many complaints but wasn’t taken down because the ASA didn’t prove it to be bad enough due to the editing, yet it caused many people to be unhappy with it. This can cause issues as people will still be unhappy with the advert yet nothing has been done about it. The advert uses language and references to countries and events which the audience find offensive and adults will be annoyed about the ASA not banning it as they want their children hearing it all or even copying what it says.

Other regulations are Ofcom and ATVOD. Ofcom are a protection organisation and they are the communications regulator in the UK. Their job is to protect people from scams and sharp practices while making sure they get the best from their communications service. Ofcom also directs you to the ASA, on their sight, if you wish to complain about an advert on Ofcom’s behalf. ATVOD is an independent service which ensures that On Demand Programme Services are suitable and enjoyable for audiences by using the protection required by the law. They take great care in making sure that the Communications Act 2003 is not in any way broken.

These advertising regulations are very important as they make sure that content showed on the TV will not offend anyone. If someone was to be offended by a company’s advert they can have the confidence that something way be done about it if they send their complaint to a regulation company. However this can be a disadvantage for companies because they would have spent a lot of money to then have their advert banned, meaning they would lose all airtime that this advert should’ve got. It would also mean that a lot less people would see the advert meaning the product/company they are advertising would get less attention which would then lead to it having less sales.

Although if adverts are banned they will then be in the public eye for this reason and people will watch them because they’re banned and the fact that they’re not meant to be looking at it will draw them in. So this could be some company’s techniques to get the advert banned so it will be getting attention, increasing the products sales as the adverts still getting views.

An advert which I looked at is advertising Lynx/Axe deodorant and body wash and is also advertising their competition of sending people into space.

The company teamed up with moonwalker Buzz Aldrin to make a USP of sending 22 people into space and “make sure they smell nice doing it”. Many adverts use these techniques of competitions to draw people in as they’ll be getting the product which they may buy anyway and the chance to enter a competition for free.

The advert starts with a lifeguard sat overviewing the beach looking as if there’s not much for him to be doing by the way he is positioned, slouching on the chair. As the camera is still on him he then hears a scream and picks up his binoculars and starts to look through them. The use of the camera staying on him while the audience hears the scream allows them to wonder who is screaming and why, making them want to continue watching. You then see what’s happening in the lifeguard’s perspective through the binoculars and the lighting has gone darker to suggest danger and the music has also increased to create tension. A girl far out in the water screaming for help is first seen, which is a very realistic scenario however as he moves his binoculars across a shark appears moving towards her which is a little less realistic but still believable.

The advert then becomes more dramatic as you see the expression of the lifeguards face change, him throw down his binoculars and finally jump off his seat. This expressions suggest panic and as the music gets faster again the audience know that he is about to go and save her. The pace of the advert then increases as he runs down the beach and jumps into the water. The camera shots are also the very quick as it changes to underwater shots to onshore shots which causes the audience to feel like they are in that position to cause panic and is meant to make the audience know how dangerous that situation is.

The next thing that is seen is a long shot of the lifeguard swimming over to the shark, this then shows how big the shark is so the audience can admire the lifeguard for risking his life to save the girl. He then starts to hit the shark still with the fast paced shots one which is a close up shot of the sharks’ teeth again suggesting the danger of the shark.

The lifeguard grabs the girl and carries her back to the shore. There is a shot from behind showing him carrying her and the people on the beach can be seen in the background all in a line watching and he walks towards them as if he is the ‘hero’. He then lays her down in front of everyone which is followed by a low angle shot of the lifeguard with a light background behind him to signify him being good and angel like.

The girl then sees an astronaut and leaves the lifeguard for him. This is unexpected to the audience as the lifeguard is stereotypically very good looking and it wouldn’t be expected for her to leave. The editing is then changed to slow motion as she runs towards the astronaut which is used for male gaze. Continuing the slow motion the astronaut takes off his helmet and isn’t as attractive as the lifeguard. This then appeals to men as they might believe that the girl will choose them over any other man. The message that is then perceived is that AXE/Lynx want people to buy their product to then enter the space competition to think that they would be able to get a girl just from being an astronaut and going to space.

This way of advertising was successful for Lynx as “The YouTube desktop masthead exceeded the average interaction rate by 25%” and “video content received over a quarter of a million views and drove over 90,000 visits to the site – a conversion of 36%”.

Another main technique used in advertising is persuasion. This is when the company use persuasive language to encourage an audience to buy the product or do what the advert is advising then to do. An example of persuasive language is rhetorical questioning. This is when the advert will include a question at which makes the audience think about what the advert is saying. This is an effective way of advertising because it can make the audience think in more depth whether they need this product or need to do what the advert is suggesting. Which means the more thinking they do, the more effect the advert has on them leading to either buy the product or do what the advert is advertising.

Compare The Market and Go Compare are both popular companies used for comparing car insurance and are widely known for their adverts.

This is because Compare The Market uses animation of meerkats and has created a whole new image. For example they now use the picture of the meerkat as their background on their website and advertising posters that they use. They have attracted a younger audience to the advert as they have now released toys of the meerkats and a whole new website of a game where you can compare the meerkats.

A young audience isn’t Compare The Markets target audience as its targeting people who can drive and would want to look for the best car insurance. This means children will want these toys meaning that their parents will have to get the toys by joining the company.

As well as the merchandise, within their adverts Compare The Market use a catchy slogan of “Compare the market.com simples” which is known by everyone. The effect of this is that it then gets stuck in the audiences head so they will definitely remember the name of the company and the website to visit if they want to join the company. Or even if they don’t want to join the company and just have a look as the name is stuck in their head.

Another technique which has been used in a Compare The Market advert is celebrity endorsement. The company used Gary Barlow as he is a famous singer who was in the limelight during that time with X Factor. This means he is widely known by the audience and some people will be more inclined to join the company if they know he is a part of it and advertising it. The first advert which Compare The Market broadcasted used the animation of the meerkats and they approached Gary Barlow as he was running asking him to perform at the ‘Coronation Street Party’.

This advert is then not just advertising Compare The Market it’s also promoting the television programme Coronation Street. The advert includes nothing about the company and just has the website at the end for ‘comparethemeerkat.com’ suggesting as the meerkats image represents the company now that Compare The Market doesn’t even have to be mentioned for the audience to know what company the adverts for. The advert also included some humour at the end, as if an advert includes humour it’s then more memorable and enjoyable.The advert used ‘To be continued’ at the end which lead it to the next advert. This advert then included not just Gary Barlow but his song as well.

This advertising technique works better than Go Compares as they have just used the catchy style but created their own song out of it. The main Go Compare character who sings the song has a fake moustache and is a larger man, this could be seen as a humorous element which then allows some people to have enjoyment from it. The lyrics of the song include the name of the company and what they do, this is effective because people will then remember the lyrics and know what the company do without even realising. However this song can become annoying and then put people off using that company. So Celebrity endorsement as well as a catchy song, humorous characters and ongoing adverts following on from each other, which Compare The Market adverts use overall is a stronger technique.

Sponsorship is another advert technique which can help a product to sell. For example sponsoring a programme which is shown on a popular channel such as ITV can really help to get the product moving. It allows the product to then become known to the people who may be watching the programme. The audience will then also associate

this product with the programme and allow them to grow closer to it. Sponsoring a show with a product allows

you to have a certain amount of short pieces to place around the programme. It can feature a message and

most importantly the logo of the product. These sponsorships can just be for a single programme shown or as

partof a package with an ongoing programme. An example of this was Iceland sponsoring I’m A Celebrity Get

Me Out Of Here with help from Peter Andre starring in the adverts. This helped Iceland’s sales increase and some

of the products they were selling sold out while the show was still on air. Iceland has also made products based

on the programme due to the attention the company was getting from it and the close relationship it then had.

The Bushtucker Trial Game and Exotic Meat Feast they created sold out nationwide and combined generating

nearly £500,000 in sales. With how popular Iceland was getting from sponsoring I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of

Here they branched out even further creating online games and they created celebrity signed photos to give away with over one thousand entries which made their twitter followers and Facebook likes increase by thousands.

Sponsorship boosts sales because if a product is associated to a certain company it is easier to remember and audiences may be more likely to try that product if it sponsors a programme that they like. Also if it’s the type of audience who don’t like to watch adverts so skip them or change the channel when the adverts are on then they’ll most probably catch the advert which sponsors the programme.

Another way a product might sell is through adverts or TV is product placement; this is when a product or company is used within a programme which the characters may be using or be at. It’s a unique marketing opportunity. It shows the product in a more natural setting which could then be more relatable to the audience. It could also make the audience think that the product is reliable id they’re using it in the programme. For example during ITVs X Factor the judges were using Samsung devices which then advertised that phone. The programme then gets an advantage from this as the company will play for their product to be in the programme.

An airtime break innovation is a successful technique used within advertising where an advert which is different to the rest and stands out. The advert uses a ‘break the mould’ style and is then remembered for being unique. This can be done in many different ways for example Nintendo joined with E4 to create a competition through their advert. This then allowed views to get involved, targeting superfans to win a ‘many can’t buy prize.’ Another example is the use of using celebrities such as Sam Smith. However, channel 4 didn’t just use his face; they streamed a live performance from the singer’s biggest performance to date in London. This resulted in 5 companies merging once for it to happen, these companies were Channel 4, Google Play, MediaCom, The Outfit and Universal Music label Capital.

This was then promotion for Sam Smith and Google Play as this is the company which is shown at the end of the advert.

Overall advertisement has many structures and techniques behind them and a lot of thought goes into it. Some of these techniques being more successful than others and this is then the reason why some adverts are a lot more effective than others. Persuasion, catchy themes and celebrity endorsement being the main techniques as the most successful adverts use these. Also sponsorship to promote items as well as the TV program has a high impact on being able to remember the advert. A memorable advert is what all adverts need to entail, or else there is no purpose as if the audience can’t remember the advert they won’t do or buy what the advert is trying to persuade them to do then being a unsuccessful advert.