4. What I have learnt about the content and appeal 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

One of the ways of understanding the appeal of advertising is through the 'Audience Uses and Gratifications Theory' model conceived by Katz and Blumler. This concept suggests that the audience plays an active role in choosing and using the media; they seek out media which best fulfils their needs. This is based on five different aspects:

Social Interaction - The audience desires the ability to communicate their opinions and for the media form to inspire conversation. Reality TV enhances this experience through voting and phone-ins, and some media form use hashtags on Twitter or Facebook to link viewers

Escapism - The audience can imagine themselves in the situation created by the media. An example of this is first person perspective role-playing games such as Skyrim. Other examples include media set in fantasy, action based or sci-fi settings, allowing the audience to escape from the real world.

Entertainment - The audience desires to feel emotion from their media such as joy, sadness, anticipation or profound thinking.

Information and Education - The audience desires to learn from the media; they are most often informed through news programs or documentaries, however any media source can provide educational or informative elements.

Personal Identity - The audience are able to recognise a particular situation or person which reflects similar values to themselves. They may be able to identify with role models (eg. celebrities) or identify with certain characters, inspiring them to develop their personal identity. The audience may mimic attitudes or opinions they have seen on the media. This raises several concerns that more impressionable people may learn unsuitable behaviours from media, such as violence or unrealistic expectations/assumptions.

Conventional E4 Adverts

E4 broadcasts good quality drama, comedy and reality shows, appealing to educated 16-34 year olds. This demographic is mindful, niche, sociable and heavily uses the internet. There is a majority of 59% of females as viewers. Their most popular shows are The Big Bang Theory and New Girl. In order to successfully engage my target audience I will need to apply conventions which typically appeal to a youthful demographic, such as using popular/recognisable music. I will also need to incorporate elements of comedy and intertextual references which relate to this demographic.

This advert for 'comparethemarket.com' was featured on E4. It satisfies four of the Audience Gratification theory criteria; escapism, entertainment, personal identity and information. The advert provides escapism through the fast-paced action and music, engaging the audience and allowing them to be immersed in the advert. It provides entertainment through comedy and intense action. It provides personal identity through the intertextual references to the Kingsman film, easily recognised by the younger generation who are the target market of both the film and E4. The audience also recognise the meerkat characters from previous adverts of the company which create a brand identity. Finally, the advert informs the audience by providing information about their services as well as the date of release for the Kingsman film. Due to the action-based nature of the ad, it would generally appeal to more men, which goes against E4's target market. This could be an attempt to try and balance out the viewer statistics.

This advert for 'Cathedral City Mature Cheddar' was featured on E4. It satisfies three of the Audience Gratification criteria; entertainment, escapism and personal identity. The advert provides entertainment through music and the humorous story-line of children running home because they want to eat the product. Comedy is crucial to the demographic E4 are entertaining, and so this advert is very conventional for the channel. Escapism can be felt by the audience due to the serene and beautiful country scenery, particularly by those who live in cities. There is personal identity through the recognisable English landscape as well as the tagline 'The Nation's Favourite', which unites England and provides the audience with a sense of belonging. The advert strongly appeals to women due to the themes of family. It also features a mother-figure several times throughout which women can relate to. This caters for the large female-viewer percentage of E4.

Conventional Deodorant Advert

This advert is for Sure's counterpart Rexona. It expresses conventional qualities of a personal hygiene advert such as featuring the use of the product, comparison with another product and featuring a packshot at the end. This advert is oriented towards women, but also features a man and could be seen as attractive to men by showing a sexy woman, and would therefore be ideal for E4, as it appeals to their demographic. The advert style is high glamour, but features elements of romance and humour to entertain