CHARITY ADVERTISING

PURPOSE  to make the audience feel guilty, to agree with an ideology, to donate

HOW THEY WORK  make audience feel guilty, therefore, want to donate

MODE OF ADDRESS  aimed at unemployed , or working class as they generally give more to charity - shown during the day when they are home

CONVENTIONS  soft voice, emotional shots, sad soundtrack, direct address

AUDIENCE POSITION  more fortunate position so they feel like they have to donate

NSPCC - 'Open your eyes' (2000)

• high angle shot, children looking up to audience, look vunerable so audience feels guilt
• repetition of £2 graphics, pushes audience into donating
• black and white editing, weakness and misery
• direct address of child looking directly at camera, begging audience
• closed body language, meloncholy
• constructed representation that children are being abused, crying, ripped clothes, 'actors used to protect identities', nothing is real
• positioned so audience has the power to help, child will stop crying if you donate
• positioned as the abuser which makes you feel bad if you don't help
• slow paced editing, feel uncomfortable looking into child's eyes
• depressing, ambient soundtrack sets tone of the advert

WaterAid - 'Claudia sings sunshine on a rainy day' (2016)

• shows positive outcomes instead of guilt-tripping audience, broken away from charity ad conventions (audience becomes desentsitised to meloncholy ads)
• alone without water, water brings community together
• binary opposition between rainy day in England and dry ground in Africa, shows difference in lives
• statistics "650 million", gives audience information so they realise how big the problem is
• sunshine appearing through water, symbolic code that water is hope
• long shot of Claudia walking through dry land, shows conditions that she has to live in (establishing shot)
• atmospheric sounds, grasshoppers and feet on dry ground, helps audience understand how she lives (feels as if they're there)
• slow motion editing of other children having fun, brings joy to the advert and shows impact of donation
• how to donate only shown at end, "£3", by the end of the advert audience should be interested
• extreme close up of Claudia, positions audience so that they feel like they know her, want to help
• slow motion editing of water, shows importance of it in their lives, symbolic code of hope and happiness
• song lyrics "sunshine on a rainy day" connotates how water is their 'sunshine' 
• women represented as strong, remaining positive in bad situation 

GENRE AND INTERTEXTUALITY

GENRE  a type of media product governed by implicit rules that are shared by the makers of the product and the audience for it

MUSIC
pop
r&b
jazz
rock
blues
k-pop
punk 
heavy metal
grunge
alternative
emo
classical
musical 
indie-rock
swing
folk

SUBGENRE  a genre within a genre (e.g. horror / zombies / paranormal/ vampire/ gore)
GENERIC HYBRIDITY  combination of 2 or more genres (e.g. romantic comedies, indie-rock) 
GENERIC PARADIGMS  aka genre conventions, aspects of a media text that demonstrate to the audience what genre a media product is
ICONOGRAPHY  the familiar signs of a genre (similar to generic paradigms)

Trailer for 'Utopia' (2013)

• horror elements include creepy soundtrack that builds tension
• large, creepy house thats blocked up
• someone locked up in a dark room (hermeneutic code)
• psychological horror
• murder mystery elements include peering through notebooks of drawings (blood and bodies)
• people hiding behind masks
• no dialogue 
• contrapuntal music, opposite to whats being shown on screen
• dark humour is an element of black humour

INTERTEXTUALITY  when a media product makes reference to another media product

• intertextuality involves the audience on another level
• often seen in comedies as a joke (makes fun of something serious)
• broadens the demographic of the target audience
• comedy makes it easier to deal with social issues

STEVE NEALE

THEORIES AROUND GENRE

• advantages of genre include being able to categorise your likes and dislikes, to find specific media products you are looking for, and it allows producers to make products more efficiently
• a disadvantage of genre is that they give people certain expectations of what a media product should include, but they may not
• both producers and audiences benefit from generic classification

Neale believes the genre is simply instances of 'repetition and difference'. He suggested that texts need to conform to some generic paradigms to be identified as a certain genre, but must also subvert these conventions in order to not appear identical.

CHARITY ADVERTISING VS HIGH END CLOTHING ADVERTISING

CA

Repertoire of elements - make the audience feel as if it's their fault because sufferers are looking into their eyes, statistics so audience can see how big the problem is, clear information of how to donate

Mode of address - address audience as it they are guilty "you can help", begs audience for help "please"

Ideology - donating small amount of money will make a huge difference

Representation (including stereotypes) - sufferers are shown to be vunerable (high angle shots), black and white to make them seem weak, often young to make them seem helpless

HECA

Repertoire of elements - simplistic layout (looks classier), brand name, no mention of price, attractive looking model, often don't mention the exact product they are selling

Mode of address - don't say much to the audience, no convincing language, photos speak for themselves, infer the audience is middle class or above 

Ideology - buying the products of these brands will make you look or feel as attractive/fashionable as they do  

Representation (including stereotypes) -attractive, young, fashionable, organised, stern

NARRATIVE (AND REPRESENTATION)

NARRATIVE  how a story is told and portrayed 

NARRATOR  the person who tells the story (narrative device)

TZVETAN TODOROV

NARRATIVE EQUILIBRIUM state of balance

establishment of equilibrium >> disequilibrium >> partial restoration of equilibrium

                                                               the liminal period

balance >> unbalance >> balanced but different 

start >> middle >> end 

Narrative is moving from one state of equilibrium to another

LIMINALITY  a period of transition

SINGLE STRAND NARRATIVE  follows one narrative 

MULTI STRAND NARRATIVE  follows many isolated narratives 

LINEAR NARRATIVE  chronological narrative

NON-LINEAR NARRATIVE  non-chronological narrative

Other building blocks of narrative,

• genre conventions
• character archetype 
• mise en scene
• Barthe's semiotic codes
• Struass' binary oppositions

TIDE'S GOT WHAT WOMEN WANT!

The first thing I notice when I see this advert is that it is aimed directly towards women during the 1950's; its symbolic meaning is that washing should be a job for women, as no men are mentioned in the ad. The hearts above the image imply that the woman is in love with the product, and relies on it as much as she would a man. Additionally, the red colours make the ad look feminine, therefore, attracting women to read it. The advert is covered in text, which is rare in the modern day. 

• American Product/advert launched by Procter and Gamble in 1946
• Procter and Gamble became brand leader, and still is today
• DMB&B advertising agency managed Procter and Gamble's accounts, they campaigned that the Tide advert referred to P&G because consumers had high levels of confidence in them
• Both the print and radio advertising campaigns used the "housewife" character

One of the SYMBOLIC CODES in this advert is that women should be the only people doing the washing; I inferred this because only women are mentioned in the advert and there is a closeup of the "housewife". The main colour scheme is red, which connotates sexuality and love, symbolising that the women is in love with the product, or it could symbolise the way men saw women in the 1950's.

The symbolic code of the white in the background, suggests innocence, purity and cleanliness. She is wearing makeup, which shows that doing the washing with Tide is fun and deserves to put makeup on for it. However, it could also imply that women feel insecure and as if they have to put on makeup for men.

Additionally, the use of PROAIRETIC CODE suggests the "housewife" is about to do her washing with Tide because she is hugging the product. Also, the advert could suggest that she is in love with the product and about to run off with it, shown with the hearts above her head.

The Z-LINE shows a narrative, and makes the audience see the key points of the advert, skimming over the smaller details on the right. The narrative shows the housewife doing the washing, followed by her falling in love with the product, then hanging the clothes on the line. 

The target audience is aimed at using MODES OF ADDRESS and LEXIS, for example, the language is very direct ("whiter-yes, whiter"). "You women" could be seen as sexist and patronising because the brand wants authority and power over the audience, however, it could also feel normal and like a sense of community. The use of "world's cleanest" and "world's whitest", shows the brand's superiority over everyone else, making women look stupid if they didn't choose their product. "Tide's a sudsing whizz" is an informal phrase, showing that the product is aimed towards working class. Some words, such as "miracle!",  are hyperboles, emphasising how good the washing powder is. You could argue that the product is targeted to white people, as "whitest" is implied as the best and purest form. 

ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING TERMINOLOGY

CODES AND CONVENTIONS
IMAGES/PHOTOGRAPHS
FONT SIZE/ TYPE OF FONT
LANGUAGE
LAYOUT AND DESIGN  where things are placed, colour scheme, etc
COMPOSITION  where everything is
MISE EN SCENE  everything in the shot
ELEMENTS OF NARRATIVE  the way a story is told
GRAPHICS  logos, etc

This advert is selling a bag, which you can see in the layout and design because it is featured in both images, with the bag as the main subject in the right image (close-up shot). There is a small 'Coach' logo in the right-hand bottom corner, which is a well-known handbag brand, therefore, the audience knows straight away what is being sold. 


ROLAND BARTHES
SEMIOTICS(signs, signifiers and signifieds)

• anything that can have meaning (signs)
• the thing that creates meaning (signifiers)
• the meaning that is created (signifieds)

CODES  something that creates meaning for the audience

• HERMENEUTIC CODE  aka enigma code, anything within a text that creates mystery or suspense (asks a question)
• PROAIRETIC CODE  aka action code, anything within a text that suggests something will happen
• SYMBOLIC CODE  something that creates a deeper meaning

Layout and design - image of the product repeated(ubiquity) so audience knows what they are looking for if they want to buy it.

Cluttered layout which appeals to working class audience, as oppose to classy, minimal, upper- class adverts.

Font - brand name is white, capitalised and large so it stands out; brand is well established so people can see that the mascara will be good.

Language - uses statistics and is trustworthy, shows quality.

Symbolic code - close up of model shows what the product does and symbolises desire to be attractive.

New York backdrop symbolises busy lifestyle and expensive look, shows makeup is important but the product is quick to apply and looks good.

Background is dull in comparison to her skin, symbolises brightness and optimism.

Leather/ black jacket, in the city, got her nails done suggests she has independence and is bold. 

Hermeneutic code - why is she putting on makeup? 

Proairetic code - mascara wand floating over eye suggests she is about to apply the product.

KEY TERMS

Z-LINE  audience's eyes following a z-shape over an advert
RULE OF THIRDS  when the subject is placed along the crossing points of the image split into thirds
HEADINGS/SUBHEADINGS  larger font, usually at the top of the page
SERIF FONT  formal font (with feet)
SANS-SERIF FONT  informal font (without feet)
LEXIS  choice of language
MODE OF ADDRESS  how the advert addresses its audience

CLAUDE LEVI STRAUSS
STRUCTURALISM (binary opposition)

Our concept of the world is based upon binary oppositions

• No day without night
• No male without female
• No good without bad

IDEOLOGY

The function of an advert is to make the audience feel like they product will make their lives better

IDEOLOGY  the beliefs and values of a media text
PRODUCER  the maker of a media product (e.g. artist, director)
DOMINANT IDEOLOGY  the set of ideas or culture that is most common or widely accepted in a society. The dominant ideology can change over time

Dominant ideology of Britain: eat roast dinner, drink tea, go on holidays, fish and chips, queue, passionate about football, support the monarch

The ideology in the Tide advert is that women want to clean, and only women should clean. 

Ideological signification of the focal image in this advert

• Need to wear makeup to look beautiful 
• Need this eyeliner to look like this woman
• "Keep your eyes in line", you're disobedient and disorganised if you don't wear this eyeliner

Stuart Hall

Theories of Representation

PRESENT  to show 

REPRESENT  to show again (the ways in which a media product constructs the world and aspects in it, including social groups, individuals, issues and events)

Lindt Lindor - 'Do you dream in chocolate?' (2011)

• Voiceover sounds like a stereotypical, well spoken Englishwomen - suggests middle class and luxury
• Calming and relaxing voiceover - tastes luxurious, bliss 
• Close up of melting chocolate - smooth and pure
• Close up on woman's face, in bed, and soft lighting - sexualised, if you buy it it will fulfil your needs
• Shots faded into each other (transition) - smooth and innocent 

Superbowl Commerical Break (2015)

• Disabled women portrayed as strong and unstoppable to advertise a car - shows that car is also unstoppable, ideology of 'American Dream' (if you work hard you can get anything you want)
• Empowering music in background to advertise a truck - America is powerful and so is the truck, if you buy it people will see you as the 'King of the road'
• Dominant ideology in advert about America's history - only American audience will understand 
• Woman turns up to school to pick up a child, can't drive and crashes car - dark representation against stereotype of mothers

STEREOTYPE  a commonly held belief about a certain group of people

Richard Dyre

The Role of Stereotypes

• An ordering process
• A short cut (for producers)
• A reference point (for audiences)
• An expression of dominant societal values

DAVID GAUNTLET
THEORIES OF IDENTITY

He believes that despite many negative perceptions of media, audiences are capable of constructing our own identities through what they see on television. Additionally, he writes that there are now many more representations of gender than the traditional 'gender binary'.

How we define ourselves;

• what we wear
• our hobbies
• taste in music
• where we're from
• language/accent
• ethnicity
• sexuality
• education

This print ad selling a men's aftershave gives men the assumption that they should be "macho". The model in the ad looks very stern, which also suggests that the expected characteristic for men is to be serious and strong.

The focus of these ads are to sell makeup and cleaning products to women; you know this because the layout of the ads have women directly in the center. The makeup advert uses the term "the science of media", which implies that makeup is the only part of science they can understand, which conforms to the old views that only men are intelligent enough to learn about science. Additionally, the 'Surf' ad implies that its a woman's job to do the cleaning because there is no mention of men and the model has her hair up, to suggest she is spending her whole day cleaning.