3. What I have learnt about the codes and conventions of television adverts and how I intend to demonstrate this knowledge and understanding in my production in order to communicate successfully with the target audience

Adverts I have looked at:

To begin my research I watched a range of adverts which were selling a product and identified which category they belonged in.  I created a table to show this, then chose one ad from each category to analyse in detail. I also looked at an advert which had been featured on E4 as this is relevant to my media industry context.

Conventional Men's Advert

Jimmy Choo Fragrance for Men:

Features (Media Language):

• A sexy woman wearing revealing clothes
• Sultry nature
• Upbeat, Pop soundtrack
• 'Tall, Dark Handsome' stereotype
• Subtle use product
• Kit Harrington (well-known celebrity) is focus
• Focuses on man, only woman's body shown
• Dark lighting
• Range of shots, mostly at mid and wide angles
• Slow movement
• Shows product throughout advert
• Voice over at end
• Finishes with product close-up and brand

Connotations:

• Sex appeal ('sex sells' stereotype)
• If men wear this they will be attractive to women
• If men wear this they will be popular and conform to attractive stereotype
• Focus on man identifies product clearly as a male product (targets the male market)

Conventional Women's advert

Sure: Women are Strong:

Features (Media Language):

• Only women featured
• Product clearly shown
• Unique features of product explained clearly and in detail
• Range of races and ages
• Mostly composed of mid-shots
• Close-up shots of product
• Serious tone and atmosphere
• Upbeat, intense music
• Whistle sound effect
• Voice over
• One set/location
• Ends with pack-shot, brand and slogan

Connotations:

• Promotes positive and empowering message about women being 'strong'
• Serious tone implies important message
• Suggests wearing product will make audience 'strong'/benefit audience
• Clearly identifies target market as women
• Promotes equality
• Sound effect of whistle connotes sport and endurance

Conventional Youth Advert

Converse: Forever Chuck. For Every You:

Features (Media Language):

• Bright and colourful lighting, costume, background
• Young people only
• Cole Sprouse featured (recognisable and popular actor/model)
• Both genders featured equally
• Typical youth trends such as taking selfies
• Close-ups of product and people throughout
• Voice overs throughout
• Casual and fun tone and style
• Range of ethnicities
• Ends with close-up on product and brand and slogan

Connotations:

• Connotes freedom and self-expression
• Promotes diversity
• Voice overs connect with audience as well as promoting positive messages about being true to yourself, a common insecurity amongst youths in modern society
• Youth market clearly identified
• Casual and fun style engages and uplifts the audience
• Bright lighting and colour scheme connotes different personalities and interests which are brought together by the product

 Conventional Unisex/Youth Advert

CK2 Fragrance:

Features (Media Language):

• Range of shots from different angles
• Slow pace
• Range of events
• Shots featuring men and women
• Focus on couples, romance and sex appeal
• Pop music
• Typical depictions of attractive models/actors
• Only shows young people
• Multiple locations and situations
• Ends with a pack-shot of product and voice over from both genders

Connotations:

• Shows rebellious and daring situations; connotes freedom and being young and wild
• 'Sex sells' stereotype
• Youth market clearly identified
• Unisex market clearly identified through equal representation of both genders

Conventional Advert Featured on E4

Crunchy Nut Cereal:

Features (Media Language):

• Humour
• Farcical situation
• Play on words 'Ludicrously tasty' in a 'ludicrous' situation
• Features young and old actors
• Doesn't feature a soundtrack
• Uses diegetic sound effects
• Natural lighting
• Ends with pack-shot and voice over
• Range of shots; close-up, wide and mid shots

Connotations:

• Appeals to younger generation due to comical style, which relates to E4's target market
• Immerses audience due to diegetic sounds, keeping them engaged
• E4 entertains their audience during advert break through comedy, enabling them to captivate and encourage viewers to keep watching

What I have learnt from my research:

From my research I have concluded the following:

1) In men's adverts, advertisers try to encourage men to buy their product by suggesting it will make them attractive to women, confident and sexy. They often feature women in revealing outfits, focusing on sex appeal, or attractive, successful men using the product, to inspire the audience.

2) In women's adverts, advertisers heavily feature themes of empowerment as well as natural beauty, confidence and happiness. They sometimes will also feature romance and relationships.Will generally only feature women, but sometimes feature men in relation to love and romance.

3) Unisex adverts generally focus on appealing to couples, using sex appeal as a selling device as well as promoting romance and suggesting their products provide convenience. They always feature both male and female actors.

4) Youth adverts most often promote freedom and self-expression. Romance and sex appeal are commonly featured as well. They will normally use pop music and young, attractive models.  

5) Adverts featured on E4 are often comical and appeal to the youth demographic. They can also have an artistic, gritty and unique style which particularly appeals to youths in London.

6) In general adverts use voice overs, upbeat music and bright or atmospheric lighting. All adverts I looked at featured a clear brand and slogan, and ended with a pack shot or close up of the product. Cosmetic/personal hygiene adverts are mainly composed of beauty-shots, with a clear focus on the product and its properties as well as how it makes the consumer feel. Youth adverts commonly show adrenaline-inducing situations. All adverts feature actors of the same age group they are intending to appeal to.

In the production of my advertisements, I will incorporate the collective conventions I have identified in all of the adverts I researched. I will particularly focus on the conventions of youth and unisex advert as this is the specification defined in my brief.