TV Advertisement - Capital FM

Capital FM - Television Advertisment

  

Structure -

This advertisement for Capital FM features a wide range of famous singers that they play on the radio station. They each speak and talk about the radio station, making the radio station sound like it’s the place to listen to their music. They make it sound exciting and as though it is the place to listen to music. The beginning of this advertisement features Cheryl Cole saying 'Music'. The viewer has no idea what the advert is about at this stage, apart from the fact it is about music. This is a good way to draw the viewer in as anyone who likes music will take notice. Rihanna then asks the viewer is they are 'ready' and Usher says 'Capital FM'. This is the first time we hear what the advert is about.  They use celebrity endorsements to promote their radio station to get people talking about the advertisement.

It is a standalone television advertisement as there are no similar adverts and it does not follow on from another. They used current celebrities that all released new music throughout the year; therefore they do not need another one for the whole year.  It is non-linear as it does not follow any particular order and the shots are random. For example we see lots of different cuts featuring different celebrities. It is edited in this way to keep the viewers interest. 

It is filmed in a TV studio with an equaliser in the background. This is because they are advertising music and they singers aren't doing much other that talking. The background is busy and the equalisers move to make the advertisement more interesting as without this it would be quite a boring advertisement. The background is also colourful and words pop up in the background to re iterate the key words, such as 'Hit' and 'Rocks'. There is a song playing in the background, again to stop the advertisement from being boring. It is upbeat and modern, which appeals to their target audience. It has a fast pace which works well with all of the cuts to the different singers.

Who is the target market and how are they targeted by the advertisement?

If a listener’s favourite artist is featured in this advertisement they are more likely to listen to Capital FM. They make it sound like if you don't listen you will be missing out.  As they have featured lots of famous singers viewers will be interested straight away as they will be intrigued what it is for. This is a persuasive technique as lots of famous singers are saying that they can connect with their fans via this music station and that it is a cool thing. For example, Rihanna says that Capital FM 'rocks'. By showing that she likes it it encourages the viewer to listen to this station as it is favoured by the stars. Capital FM will gain more listeners by featuring the stars that they play as viewers will tune in in the hope of listening to these singers.

This advertisement is aimed at young people and people who drive to work as it features current artists who sing chart music that young people will listen to and who may aspire to be like. They aim this advertisement at is aged fourteen to forty. The soundtrack is an upbeat modern song that young people would listen to. The fact that Capital FM has featured chart music singers means that viewers will want to listen to their music and the singers that they have chosen are all 'cool'. This makes the viewer want to be like the star and to be 'cool' too by listening to Capital FM.

Techniques -

This television advertisement uses the style of talking heads to promote their radio station to engage with the audience and to tell the viewer exactly what the station is about. Capital FM uses celebrity endorsements to sell their radio station to the viewer.

The camera techniques used in this advertisement includes low angled shots. We see this from the way the singers talk down to the camera. This helps them to engage with the audience as they are at the same level as somebody watching the television from a sofa. Using big stars such as Usher and Rihanna shows the listener how popular the station is and it portrays the singers in a casual light, making them likable and relatable. The camera does not zoom in on the singers, they walk towards it, making them bigger and emphasising their body parts. The camera shakes when Jessie J says the word 'Hit' to emphasise the fact that they play the biggest hits. They have done this to make an impact and to make it appear as though the fact that they play popular songs is something amazing. High key lighting is used as we do not see shadows on the singer’s faces. They are fully illuminated, although as it is filmed in a studio artificial light would be used as there wouldn't be natural light. The lightening is low key as it is soft and the background is dark.

This advertisement used cuts to keep the viewers interest. This means that the viewer can see lots of celebrities at the same time and means that they all have something to say. As the shots change on such a regular basis the viewer will want to keep watching to see what will happen next and to see which famous singer will be featured next.

Characteristics of the product or service -

Capital FM's television advertisement features their logo and the colours red, white and blue on the equaliser in the background. These colours are the colours of the Union Jack flag. This is used to show that Capital FM is British and that it is tailored to your and wherever you live. They use celebrities to show the viewer that even celebrities want to be featured on capital as its as good. This encourages the viewer to listen. Capital FM's unique selling point is that they play the latest hits and the biggest songs. They show this on their television advertisement by repeating the word 'Hits' and using celebrities to encourage viewers to tune in to listen to their songs. They make it sound as though they love this radio station and as though Capital is the only radio station that plays their music. The benefit of this is that they play the most popular current songs that viewers will want to hear, unlike other radio station that play a mix of old and current songs. 

Capital FM's competitors are other radio stations. They use celebrity endorsements to make their advertisement popular, making more people want to listen to their radio stations. The Gem 106 advertisement featuring a hamster dancing to the music from the radio is funny as a hamster could not do this. They use this surreal technique to be humorous to the viewer, much like the E-Lites advertisement that uses a baby dancing to Gangnam Style. This radio station plays a mix of older and current songs and is aimed at an older age range than Capaital FM. Therefore Capital is aimed at teenagers and people in their early twenties who want to listen to the latest hits and most current songs and people aged between twenty five forty who want to listen to upbeat current music on their drive to and from work.