Unit 30 task 1

In this essay I will exhibit my knowledge of the structures and techniques of television advertisement. In order to do this I shall list the different structures in the form of genre and narrative. There will also be mention of the techniques used, audience information & classification, sources of information, regulations and characteristics of produces/services. This will all contribute to the conclusion, which will look back on what has been said.

When looking at the structures of television advertisements it is very important to consider the narrative. The narrative best contributes as to how you want to affect your audience. There are many different forms of narratives so I will list and explain what a few of them are. Keep in mind we are only applying these narratives to TV adverts.

• Realist narrative- When an advert reflects on real life situations or portrays a situation that could happen in real life i.e. a life insurance ad showing the pro dominant provider of the family dying without anyone being left to provide for the family. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aGcH7lAXbg
• Anti-realist- This is the exact opposite of a realist narrative. Because of the lack of realism you can use almost anything such as cartoons, super heroes etc. of course this is less likely to relate to the feelings of the audience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf5WmcIRAM0
• Documentary- The idea of a documentation style narrative is to dictate some real facts in correspondence with images to mediate a message over to the audience as clearly as possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqxR5yOrzkg  
• Talking heads- This is when just the upper region of one of two people at a time are shown in the advert. Usually this/these person/people divulge all the information for the product either through a direct or indirect dialog.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfCglRbnNwk
• Series- This is when multiple ads that are linked to one another are advertised in a sequential order. The best example for this is probably the cash the meerkat adverts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iBDngMvS54

Aside from the narrative there is also the style the advert(s) will follow. There are different genres for these adverts and the one you choose will effect your narrative and the way your audience looks at the product. Your genre can be humorous, comedic, surreal dramatic parodic etc. however each genre is achieved via the filming and editing. In this case we will look into the editing, camera angles, iconography and other aspects of creating an advert. When creating an advert the transition pace can set the tone for the video, lighting can effect the mood (dark and light), music and sound effects can engross the emotions of the audience along with the help of iconography.

Primarily when looking at the technique in creating an advert we look at audience direction. Simply put we are attempting to direct the audiences thoughts into a particular area in order to create a need for the product. This can be achieved via overt messages and emotional responses or association. In order to make this point clear I will list some examples and how they work.

• Problem + Solution- when the scenario presents a problem to the protagonist(s) and the product/service solves the issue. This allows the audience to see the beneficial side of a product potential making them think that they either need or want what it can offer.
• Compassion- this is usually used in adverts for charities. It makes the audience feel obliged to do as the advert tells them out of the goodness of their hearts. 
• Fear or concern- this is often used by insurance companies. The advert leads you to believe if something bad does happen the problem will solve all the issues in no time at all. If you do not have this and something bad does happen you may be stuck in a bad situation.
• Social perception- this can lead the audience to believe that if they do not purchase the product or service they will be considered outcasts of society or will not advance in their social groups. Basically the product makes promises of moving from the bottom to the top i.e. moving from the 99% to the 1%. A good example would be the mobile phone industry. Products such as the Samsung Galaxy and Iphone can affect your social life.
• Celebrity exploitation- using a well known member of society to attract a wide target audience i.e. David Beckham in Calvin Klein adverts.

It is important to exploit the characteristics of your product or service. Of course by this I mean only the beneficial points. In addition to this you must also try and state why your product is so much better than other similar products. This is to help benefit you in the competitive market putting your product above the rest. Furthermore you can use a products USP (unique selling point) to promise the viewer something no other product can provide. The use of familiar brands such as apple or Sony can help persuade customers to just impulsively buy their products.

Of course there are rules and regulations that state adverts have to remain within certain boundaries. In order to decide on whether or not these ads can be deemed ethical there are agencies that have been invested in to keep things at a standard. Examples of these are

•  ASA (Advertising Standards Authority)- this is a self regulatory organisation in the realm of advertising. The cannot enforce legislation, however their codes and conventions confide similarly with them.
• Ofcom (offcie of communication)- this is a regulatory organisation that is approved by the government meaning they can enforce legislation on government.

Primarily when looking at yor target audience you must obtain some information on them. Due to the geodemographics you would normally assume that people within a specific group will have more in common than people in different groups. This applies to classifications such as age range, gendre, occupation etc. There are boards that do research into these matters and utalise audience research pannels, ratings, face to face interviews and focus groups to obtain information. An example of these organisations is BARB the Broadcasters Audience Research Board, which retains files on current and past audience research. Another example is RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research Limited), which compiles audience research for radio station. How we get these statistics is through a number of methods. You can;

• Check with advertisers 
• Information packs
• research agency websites 
• Self conducted research
• Demo and psychographics etc.

In addition to this there is also the use of rate cards. These a very important for advertisers, because t tells them how much an ad slot will cost along with the details. These cards only display the maximum price that someone may pay, however advertisers can spend far less than what is stated due to the amount of un-used space.

Looking back on what has been stated simply following the research will help with my own advert in many ways. It will allow me to identify my target audience, obtain information that will be manditory for the publishing of the ad, technique in production, planning etc. All these factors and more will contribute to my adverts creation.