Transcript lecture 1 - powerpoint

Advertising, News & Public
Relations
MDAC002
TELEVISION ADVERTISING
“80 per cent of [consumers] can not
remember the typical commercial one
day after they have seen it.
Americans receive upto 700
messages a day.”
Dyer, G 1996
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“In a marketplace where there are twenty
brands of soap powder, all performing
essentially the same function… each
brand must take on a unique identity in the
minds of the consumer.” Bolland, 1987
Strap-Lines
“Bread with Nowt Taken Out”
“It takes two “You
handsGot
to hold
It!” a Whopper!”
“Bet you can’t eat three!”
Cars…
Cigarettes…
“You’re never alone with a Strand”
HEURISTICS
Simple cues or rule for solving a problem.
 They help us infer attributes.
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Heuristic assumptions:
 The higher the price, the better the quality
 Brand names are better than store names
SOME CONDITIONS NECESSITATE THE
USE OF HEURISTICS…
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When we don’t have time to think carefully about
an issue
When we are overloaded with information that it
becomes impossible to process it fully
When we believe the issues at stake are not
very high
When we have little other knowledge or
information upon which to base a decision
When a given heuristic comes quickly to mind
when confronted with a problem
Advertisers spend vast sums of money to link their
brand name to a specific proposition – such as ‘Michelob
is classy’ or ‘Bud is for the everyday working Joe’”
Pratkanis, A et al (1990)
THE REAL
“Of course ‘real’ is a construct. The makers of
commercials do not want what will seem to be
real on film. Artificial rain is better than ‘God’s
Rain’ because it shows up better on film or
tape”
Advertising, The Uneasy Persuasion
“In real life human activity is highly ritualised.
People act out and live in social ideals,
presenting to the world stereotyped pictures of
themselves. In advertising this is even more
true… it is ‘hyper-ritualisation’.”
Advertising, The Uneasy Persuasion
ACTIVITY
•Draw up a storyboard of a thirty second
Television commercial ADVERTISING
YOURSELF
“Advertising…is an irrational system which
appeals to our emotions and to anti-social
feelings which have nothing to do with the
goods on offer.” (Dyer, G. 1982)
“We have a cultural pattern in which the
objects are not enough but must be
validated in fantasy by association with
social and personal meanings”. (Raymond
Williams, 1980, p.185)
MONTAGE
Juxtapose this!
10 Advertising Tips
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Picture should tell the story
Look for the VISUAL SYMBOL
Grab attention – first five seconds
Be simple-minded! A good commercial is
uncomplicated.
Name of product. Make it easy to remember
People are interested in people
Show pay off – you product does what you say it will
do
Reflect brand personality – fun, functional, ecomomic.
What personality does Esso, Tesc,Asda, Marks and
Spenser, Adidas, Hope University have?
Less is more
Build campaign
Involvement is the key!
Provide information that they want.
 Present problems to which you have a
solution
 Present situations they can Identify with.
 Provoke appropriate entertainment.
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“…political candidates must frequently
offer themselves as differing brands of the
same product”. Nimmo and Felsberg in
McNair, B. An Introduction to Political
Communication.
4 Simple Dramatic forms/elements:
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Demonstrations/“seeing is believing” (Gillette
:the best a man can get)
Testimonial “This is the Truth” – Jordan , Nike
Slice of Life – Oxo
Animation – Jaffa Cakes
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“THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE”
Marshal McLuhan.
CONSIDERATIONS
Heuristics
 Music
 Speed of edits
 Use of montage
 Time/channels of broadcast
 Slice of Life/Testimonial
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ACTIVITY
•Draw up a storyboard of a thirty second
Television advertisement for the Whitworth Art
Gallery in Manchester
•Detail the station/time of broadcast, music,
voice over, actuality, editing, overdubbing,
catch line, use of language
Make a 30 second montage
entitled “Imminent Danger” using:
Stills
 Music bed
 Windows Movie Maker
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“…political candidates must frequently
offer themselves as differing brands of the
same product”. Nimmo and Felsberg in
McNair, B. An Introduction to Political
Communication.
Dramatic forms/elements:
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Demonstrations/“seeing is believing” (Gillette
:the best a man can get)
Testimonial “This is the Truth” – Jordan , Nike
Slice of Life – Oxo
Animation – Jaffa Cakes
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“THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE”
Marshal McLuhan.
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Propaganda Techniques
Propaganda is a one-sided "news" story. Governments have used propaganda to
help sell wars; advertisers and others use the same techniques. It’s often easier to
see the techniques at work on older posters and advertising, since they seem more
obvious.
Name Calling: giving an idea or person a bad label, and therefore rejecting and
condemning it without examining the evidence. Communist, Jew, and Liberal; dirty;
hippie; political ads; what else?
Glittering Generality: associating something with a "virtue word" and creating
acceptance and approval without examination of the evidence. Freedom; Make the
world safe for democracy; and "Things [what things] go better with Coke"?
Transfer: carries the respect and authority of something respected to something else
to make the latter accepted. Also works with something that is disrespected to the
latter rejected. This transfer technique is often used with images of ideally beautiful
people; with cool looking smokers; and with icons like the Flag. Watch posturing
politicians and see them standing in front of symbols of authority.
Testimonial: get the good word from a respected authority and transfer it to your
product. Also works by getting a testimonial from a hated person to make someone
look bad. Examples: whenever you have a famous person pitching a product.
Examples: Ed McMahon for the magazine subscription sweepstakes; athletes
promoting shoes; the President in grip-and-grin photos with up-and-coming regional
candidates; 9 out of 10 dentists recommend this type of toothpaste.
Plain Folks: a speaker or product is good because they are "of the people," the plain
folks. Example: the Prime Minister in a hard hat.
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Card Stacking: involves the selection and use of facts or falsehoods in order to give
just one side of an issue. Examples: most political ads about opposing candidates;
any ads putting down competitors; most ads which use facts to point out the high
points on their products without pointing out the downside.
Band Wagon: "Everyone is doing it" (or at least all of "us") to convince members of a
group that their peers accept the program, and that we should all jump on the band
wagon rather than being loft out. Examples: soft drink ads with a bunch of handsome
young people having fun on the beach; political ads featuring groups waving flags.
Ads use pictures and words, but these may not directly relate to the product or how
the product is used.
For example, in Marlboro ads, cowboys ride horses in a beautiful wild Western scene.
What does this have to do with cigarettes? Nothing, really (even if traditional cowboys
took tobacco, they either rolled their own or chewed). Does this mean if you smoke
you’ll be like a tough, romantic, wild cowboy?
The advertiser is trying to ASSOCIATE the image and message of the ad with their
product. There are several techniques for doing this, including using words, pictures,
and the Propaganda Techniques called Testimonials. Soap and skin care products
often use the Association technique to show ideally beautiful young women bathing.
Does this mean if you use that soap you’ll look that good?
What about ads that show a lot of people having fun? Soft drink ads often show
beautiful young people partying on a beach. Does this mean that if you drink their soft
drink you’ll be part of a happy in-group? This is Bandwagon-esque.