The Form the Advert Takes
The form an advert takes can depend on the thing that is being advertised and what best suits it's style. For example a health product such as toothpaste or vitamins will almost never be Anti-Realist, as they need to show potential customers the facts about their products (usually through the medium of statistics and small animations). This means that they will generally fall under the Documentary and Talking Heads side of advertising with the advert possibly having a blend of both.
Series
Series adverts entail similar premises with the same outcome, along with a twist- a comedic one in the examples below. The long-running nature of the series may lead to people expecting them and even anticipating them. The Cleaner Close adverts may not follow a single story but the style is always the same- Daz always cleans the stains out of a product followed by an ambiguous comedic ending. The adverts are parodying real soap dramas such as coronation street and eastenders, such as having a still of the street name at the beginning of each episode accompanied by a soap-style tune and appearances by real soap stars (Shaun Williamson, Julie Goodyear). The comedy within the adverts will attract allow people to engage with them and enjoy them- humorously being educated by them without being bored. For the first one his 'diving underpants' stains are removed by daz and for the second her wedding dress receives the same treatment.
Realist Narrative
These two adverts are 'Realist Narrative' examples- they are meant to give a truthful, reliable representation of reality. They may be portrayed in the general style of day-to-day happenings, which people can subsequently relate to. They are generally adverts with stories- that can be believed easily and look normal. The first example below is of the Redknapps playing the games console 'Wii' together, enthusiastically and together and as a family. People will watch this and see a celebrity family- who are successful and popular- enjoying playing the Wii, which may encourage them to buy the product in question. The celebrity factor is not even a key component of this advert, as people may purchase it due to it's portrayal of family time- depicted as being fun and exciting.
The second advert is from the detergent company 'Persil'. The advert is aimed at parents- mothers in particular. In the advert, children are playing in mud, water and creating sculptures with dirty things such as plastic pipes and cardboard boxes. Another child is also shown mixing melted chocolate. Due to what they are doing, stains are everywhere on them- with prominent black stains on their white shirts and dresses. This is a realistic event in a mothers life, as their child will do things such as those depicted in the advert and so this product will interest them. Coloured stains on lighter clothing are commonly seen as a big problem, due to their nature of being irremovable. However, the persil can remove 'even the toughest stains', so this will be a USP for a potential buyer.
Animation Adverts
Animation is used for a wide range of different adverts, usually to add a wacky, fantasy or fun element to them. Below are examples of two different types of animation within adverts, the first is advertising tea with the use of stop motion and the second is advertising cereal using simple 2D animation. They can transport people into a world with grand CGI or entertain children with an easy concept cartoon.
The first is advertising PG Tips tea and features Wallace and Gromit. The two are much loved characters in Britain and the cross-media convergence of a popular television programme and an advert may encourage people to buy the product. The duo appeal to all ages and will entertain children and adults alike.
The second is advert below is a coco pops advert. The use of animation to depict a entertaining and funny cartoon will appeal to children and may end in them asking their parents to buy the product. The animated 'chocolate volcano' makes the cereal look extremely desirable, which is why animation will most likely have been used. The song being sung by the monkey is also catchy and could stay in the minds of the children, which in turn would make them think about the product.
Stand Alone Adverts
This form of advertising involves a singular, one-off advert that remains in the minds of people long after it no longer appears on air. More often than not, adverts of this nature become iconic and can stay in public mind for years to come. This is the intention of the advertiser, as in the long term it will lead to exposure to more people and continued knowledge of their product/brand. If their advert is parodied or enter popular culture, this means even more advertising for the company and is something which they would hope to achieve.
One recent example of a popular stand alone advert is 3's dancing pony. The catchy song and moon walking pony made this advert very popular and due to the widespread use of social media, would often be 'trending' on twitter. It is possible it is was made due to the success of the 'Cadburys Gorilla' advert which also featured an old, popular song and an animal doing something abnormal and funny.
Below is the famous 'Cadburys Gorilla' advert, which features a man in a gorilla suit playing the drums along to the beat of 'In the air tonight' by Phil Collins. The advert is unique and entertaining and was a huge hit, being voted among the best adverts of the year by various magazines. The strange concept of a gorilla playing the drums was parodied by Justin Lee Collins (after Alan Carr and Lily Allen parodied another popular stand alone Cadburys advert- 'the eyebrow children').
The original Cadburys gorilla advert...
...and the subsequent parody ( around 45 seconds in).
Anti-realist Narrative
Anti-realist narrative adverts seek to take people away from reality and introduce them into a world of fantasy and magic. They can be used to portray something using special effects, usually to emphasize the impact of the product. Skoda ran two adverts demonstrating the creation of their cars- one made out of cake and the other, 'meaner stuff'. It is likely that the adverts were aimed at the genders- the first cake advert at women and the meaner advert at men.
The cake advert is advertising the new 'Fabia' and shows the car being created out of sponge, jelly and icing and finishes with the tagline 'full of lovely stuff'. The song 'My Favourite Things' plays throughout. This is something that would appeal to more feminine people and is a car that is probably aimed at them. The next car advert is advertising the 'Fabia vRS'. The car is being created with the use of metal teeth, a laser eye, skidding on a piece of metal to create the hood and a group of snakes as an engine. The advert is strange and somewhat aggressive, with the nature of it most likely attracting men.
Documentary
A documentary style advert usually depicts real people and real situations, with their product being beneficial to a common problem. The adverts use seemingly real people, most often being interviewed, to give the viewer a connection to the advert and be able to relate to their problems. The ending of the advert almost always ends in someone testing the product and then praising its effect. The product may be many different thing, such as razors, cream, food, drinks and toothpaste as seen below. As the people within the video seem honest and normal, viewers can establish a sense of trust. A professional or celebrity may appear endorsing the product, with the person being featured usually having experience or specialist knowledge in that particular field. The documentary style is not isolated to just consumer goods but, charities as well, which usually have voice overs to convince the viewer to donate or get involved.
The first advert below is a colgate advert, with people being interviewed about their sensitive teeth and their 'colgate sensitive relief' challenge. The clips of people feature short praising comments about the product, such as "I am convinced that it works" and "I am amazed by the results". These sort of comments about the product from what seem like normal people with a common problem, can enhance the viewers thoughts on the product and convince them to buy it. The second advert features a commentator speaking on behalf of UNICEF, asking for donations due to starving people in Africa. The advert is very depressing and the speakers' dark tone is meant to make people feel sad and push them to donate.
Talking Heads Advert
Talking heads adverts are effectively documentary adverts, as they usually feature someone taking about the product and something beneficial about it. The person may be a professional or celebrity endorsing the product, or a satisfied customer praising the product as is the case below. As the style of the advert means someone is talking directly to the camera, the viewer may feel a sense of trust and that they are receiving genuine advice from people who have felt the benefits of the product.
The advert below is an Aldi advert, advertising their orange juice and a competitors. The person at the focal point of the video and the 'talking head' is an elderly lady, who says she 'she likes this orange juice' and also 'likes this orange juice'. The old, grandparent style of her and her joke at the end make her seem reliable and will attract people to the brand. The advert doesn't state that their product is better than a rivals, but shows that the price tag is much cheaper. This style of non-boasting about their products superiority shows that while they are conceding their product is the same as others, it has one benefit- it is cheaper.
The Style of The Advert
The style of the advert can take many different form and usually depends on what is being advertised. By adding certain elements to an advert, the message it is trying to pass across may appear bigger and clearer.
Parody
The purpose of a parodic advert is to entertain the viewer and exploit the conventions of well-known and popular adverts. The entertainment factor of the adverts increases the likelihood the viewer will remember the advert and enjoy it, which in turn they will remember the product being advertised. A worst-case scenario is if the advert is not very memorable and so a person remembers the product that is being parodied rather than the product being advertised. Below is an example of a parodic advert, in which a man is thoroughly spraying himself with deodorant and attracting hordes of beautiful women. After running up to him, he produces a set of bright red glasses, which makes them lose their interest and walk away. Despite spraying himself again they continue to walk away.
The text that appears on the screen says: The should've gone to specsavers effect'. This is parodying lynx adverts in which women are attracted to men who use lynx (the lynx effect). This is suggesting smelling nice is nothing compared to having ugly glasses. This may encourage people to buy a pair and the 'designer glasses, 2 for 1 from £99' text that appears on screen will further push them to it.
Dramatic
This technique of advertising will generally be used for more educational and informative adverts, as the usual dark tone can help in such cases. These could be charity appeals or safety warnings from the government or emergency services. Dramatic adverts will often use very emotional subjects to engage the viewer and help them to enter the situation. The subjects are sometimes real with true stories and facts that emotionally impact the viewing audience. The advert could be small and hard-hitting or on a grand scale but the main aim is to get the purpose across. It may also employ a shock value that stays with the viewer and makes them think about it rather than having it being discarded as 'just another charity advert'.
Below are two examples. The first features an eerie embodiment of a 'crisis'. The 'womans' voice is sinister and scary using phrases such as 'I am a crisis' and 'I don't care who you are'. She talks about situations that can affect everyone such as being in wheelchairs, becoming homeless, being traumatized after a crash and having a sweet stuck in your child's throat. The dark, gloomy and depressing nature of the video is hard hitting and the fact that the things featured can genuinely affect everyone makes the 'i dont care who you are' give the advert a serious sense of realism. This will encourage people to donate to the red cross, as it helps millions in situations as described in the video.
The other example below is a advert for UNICEF featuring Ewan McGregor. He describes the lack of simple equipment, hygiene and necessities that we take for granted and the talking head style of the advert makes it feel as if we are being directly spoken to. The advert features images of starving children with the obvious intention being to make us feel bad and not grateful for what we have. Ewan also states how UNICEF is the biggest provider of life-saving food in East Africa. However, they are in need of donations. The fact they are the biggest and directly asking for money makes a person feel that they can make a difference and will encourage them to donate.
Humorous
The style of a humorous advert aims to make people laugh, in either a normal way or in an unexpected and unusual way.When viewers enjoy an advert, they may share their knowledge of their experience with other people, which ultimately leads to more viewers and awareness of what is being advertised. If a video is very popular it may spread virally, with many people from around the world watching it. The below video featuring currently has 3.95 million views in less than 3 years, which is very high considering it is an advert.
The video features Vinnie Jones in his quintessential tough guy persona, instructing people on how to correctly administer hands only CPR. The video is quite humorous as Vinnie Jones demonstrates how to perform CPR, with the use of a 'volunteer that ain't breathing'. As the body is then thrown across the floor to b stopped by Vinnie's foot he then says in a dark, comedic voice 'here's one I made earlier'. He also makes some funny comments which are helped by the way he delivers them; usually deadpan and in a deliberate humorous fashion. People are told how to push down on the chest to the beat of 'staying alive', which has the two 'tough guys' with Vinnie dancing in a unique way. Though the video is serious, the way Vinnie portrays a typical 'hardman' and uses funny expressions, the advert is very memorable and was very popular. The catchy nature of the song and the easy,clear instructions are exactly what the British Heart Foundation will want as it will help save more lives.
Surreal
Surreal adverts can be very strange and take viewers away from reality. The advert may be unrelated until the end when the product/service is revealed, or its surreal nature may be based on what is being advertised. This is the style of the advert below, where everything a man touches turns to skittles. From the start when a woman requests to the man to show how he does it and the product is mentioned to him actually performing it, skittles are always prominent. The two spectators eat skittles while the man tells how he cannot do simple tasks and holds out a handful of skittles- the result of shaking hands with a man on the bus. The advert is strange and has both dramatic and humorous content to it, as the man is sad yet from the view of other people it is 'awesome'. The advert is surreal because it is obviously fantasy and doesn't happen, so it clearly falls under this category.The advert ends with the prominent skittles slogan: 'Touch the rainbow, taste the rainbow'.
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