Space City Productions is a London based advertising production
company that creates television advertisements for a broad range of clients. They
have been producing television advertisements for over twenty years. They pride
themselves on working cost effectively, keeping costs low whilst producing top
class advertisements. They have their own recording studio to record audio and
two HD edit suites. Space City also help to cast parts for advertisements. They
also produce radio advertisements.
They have worked with brands such as Ryvita, Typhoo, Moon
Pig, Sudocrem, The AA, Rolo, Primula, Optical Express, Liverpool Victoria (LV),
Groupon, ProtectYourBubble.com and Prudential.
Space City specialise in advertisements that get audience
responses, including hard hitting direct response advertisements and brand
promoting brand response advertisements. These are specially designed to encourage
the viewer to actively respond to the advert.
They prefer to make short, snappy and clever advertisements to
promote a brand, running for thirty seconds and less.
Guerillascope claims to be the UK's fastest growing
television advertising agency. They have a team of television plannersand buyers that
formulate targeted, direct response television advertising campaigns primed for
boosting conversion rates helping companies get a good return on investment. Their
reputation has been built on the cost-efficiency and flexibility of their
television advertising strategies, which are developed from researching television
advertising reports, sector analysis data, overnight television viewing figures
and comprehensive evaluation of television spot times.
Guerillascope facilitates small to medium-sized businesses
with cost-effective launch pads into the television advertising market. Their strategy
is to amplify brand awareness. They follow the UK’s top 20 television channels to
make sure they advertisements air on the right channel. This is based on
official BARB television viewing figures, audience demographics and programming
best suited to effectively connect with the target market.
The stations that they work with vary across the country.
ITV, Channel 4 and 5 all cater for local business interests with regional TV
advertising platforms to varying degrees. ITV is broken down specifically into
13 macro regions, including London, Central, Granada and Meridian. Channel 4
provides a broader, less concentrated framework of 6 regions – Scotland, The
North, Midlands, South, Northern Ireland and London, whilst Channel 5 is broken
down into even fewer TV advertising regions; namely Scotland, The North, Part
Network (covering the South and Wales) and London. Regional television
advertising allows businesses to target specific areas relevant to a service or
product, whilst also providing a test pad prior to national roll out. They have worked with companies including HP computing, ProtectYourBubble.com, ZEON Health Care, Rubies Marquerade, ITV, Sky and Twinlakes.
Below is the questionnaire that I created after reviewing the four television advertisements in this blog. I showed fifteen members of the public the television advertisements and then asked the following questions about the advertisements and the factors that they think are important when creating a good television advertisement. Question One: Which television advertisement did you enjoy the most? (Circle or tick one) + McDonalds Breakfast Wrap + Capital FM + E-Lites Electronic Cigarettes + Cadbury Crème Egg Question Two: In your opinion which genre makes the most memorable advertisement? (Circle or tick as many as required) + Romance + Humour / Comedy + Action + Music + Fashion + Beauty Products / Cosmetics + Sport Question Three: Do you like when an advertisement is narrated? (Circle or tick one) + Yes + No Question Four: Do you think that a tag line / catch phrase is an important factor in advertising? (Circle or tick one) + Yes + No Question Five: Do you think that featuring a celebrity in an adverting campaign makes it more effective? (Circle or tick one) + Yes + No Question Six: How long do you think that a television advertisement should be? (Circle or tick one) + 10 - 20 seconds + 20 - 30 seconds + 30 - 40 seconds + 40 - 50 seconds + 50 + seconds Questionnaire Results: After I had collected my surveys I put all of the answers into a table below. I then created a variety of charts using these answers to show the results of this survey, conducted on fifteen people.
Question One -
Overall the people that I surveyed enjoyed the Capital FM advertisement the most. This was interesting as this was the only television advertisement I included that features celebrities, of which 87% said that they thought that this made a television advertisement more effective (see question five). The next popular advertisement was for E-Lites, which featured a baby dancing to Gangnam Style. Again this ties in with another question, (question two) where most people surveyed said that they thought that using humor or comedy in an advertisement made it more memorable. The people surveyed enjoyed the McDondalds advertisement and the Cadbury Creme Egg advertisement as much as each other.
Question Two -
Humour and comedy seemed to be a popular choice when making a memorable television advertisement, along with music. Fashion and beauty items were a popular choice along with featuring romance and relationships. Sport was the least popular option.
Question Three -
The results of this question are almost even. One more person preferred a television advertisement not to feature a narrator. This shows that most people do not mind whether or not an advertisement featured a narrative throughout.
Question Four -
Most people surveyed thought that having a catch phrase or tag line was an important factor. Most preferred when an advertisement featured a slogan and said that it helped them to remember the advertisement. This survey has shown me that a tag line or catch phrase helps to make an advertisement memorable.
Question Five -
This questionnaire showed that most people surveyed thought that using a celebrity to endorse a product made the viewer more likely to purchase a product. Of the people surveyed, Thirteen out of the Fifteen agreed that celebrities helped to sell products.
Question Six -
Overall the people that I surveyed thought that shorted advertisements were more effective that longer advertisements. A third of the people preferred a television advertisement to be between twenty to thirty seconds long. The next popular answer was between ten to twenty seconds, with some saying that a 'short and sweet' advertisement is very effective. Only one person enjoyed advertisements that were longer than fifty seconds long, saying that they enjoyed when an advertisement told a story.
The Standard Occupational Classification is a governmental system used to categorize the economic and social classes of occupants depending on job type. In the UK this is used by Media producers to define their target audiences. This allows them to market products directly to each specific social class depending on their media consumption. Below is a chart that I created to show the Standard Occupational Classification in the UK.
Demographics are statistics used to define of a population. Demographics are used to identify subsets within a population which characterize that population at a specific point in time. These demographics are used widely in marketing to define target audiences. Demographics are used to find out things about a population or a group of people, such as their gender, age, ethnicity, language, religion, disabilities, home ownership, income, employment status and location. Along with the Standard Occupational Class, Demographics can be used to create demographic profiles, defining the target audience by the things they like, the amount of money they have to spend, their income and their media consumption. This is used to define a group or marketing sector that a product will be aimed at, otherwise a product could be marketed to the wrong age range, gender or social class, meaning they would not make as many sales. For example, sanitary products would not be marketed at men as they would have no use for them, nor would a teenager have any interest in going on a SAGA fifty plus holiday. Demographics are important when producing an advertisement to target a certain audience as these help to define the people most likely to purchase a product. This allows marketers to target their advertisement at the right audience. For example an expensive product, such as a car or watch, could be targeted to the older generation with more money to spend as they are more likely to have a higher paying job or at the younger generation who have well paid jobs or those who are very wealthy.
Research showed that the majority of television viewing in the UK emanates from the C2DE
demographic. When measured against all day parts, the split between ABC1 and
C2DE is marginal, however, when focusing on specific day parts such as daytime
the difference grows, reverting back to a more even standing when centered on
the breakfast and peak time television day parts.
Typically, women consume more television content
than men, though again this is dependent on the television channel and its
content. When focusing on age, it becomes apparent that daytime viewing
exhibits a high prevalence of older adult viewers; namely the 55+ demographic,
whilst housewives and students also hold a notable presence. Evenings typically
see the arrival of a strong 16-34 viewership.
Linear TV viewing in the UK has broken numerous records in
recent years. In 2010 it penetrated through the 4 hours a day mark for the
first time. The average TV viewer watched 4 hours, 2 minutes of linear TV a day
in 2011. Of all the linear TV we watched in 2011, 90.6% was watched live.
The Standard Occupational Classification can be used to define the target audiences for the four television advertisements that I reviewed.
McDonalds Breakfast Wrap:
This advertisement is aimed at a broad target market. The advertisement features a wide range of different actors of different ages and ethnicities in a range of situations. This shows that anyone can eat this product anywhere. It features a young man who eats the product in a van, showing someone who would fall into the classes C2 and D as they clearly do manual work, such a being a builder or painter and decorater. A man in a smart suit is also shown sitting on a bench in the middle of a city reading paperwork, showing that business professionals can eat the product, such as people who wlould fall into the classes A, B and C. An older lady walking her dog is seen eating the product, showing pensioners who fall into the class E. A middle aged woman eats the product in a box of socks, showing that she probably works manually making socks, who woulds fall into the classes C2 and D. This product has a very broad target market and is designed to appeal to all.
Capital FM:
This television advertisement is aimed at younger people in the socail groups C1, C2, D and E. We know that this advertisement is aimed at young people aged fourteen to middle ages people aged forty from the content. The musicians featured are young and current, menaing older people may not know who they are. Typically their target audience would fall into the social class E as they would typically be in education, either at school, college or university. These may have a part time semi or unskilled job, meaning that they would fall into the class D. Those young people no longer in education and working full time would fall into the categories C1, C2 and D and those no longer in education and unemployed, such as those on benefits, would fall into the class E.
E-Lites Electronic Cigarettes:
This television advertisement is aimed at people in the social class groups B, C1 and C2. This advertisement is aimed at middle aged to older people, which is shown through the main character, a middle aged man. He is also either a dad or grandad to the baby in this advertisement and as most middle aged people would be in the same position this advertisement is targeted to them, to make them relise what they miss when they leave the room to smoke. The reason this advertisement is aimed at the classes B, C1 and C2 is because by the time people are middle aged they either have a skilled, intermediate or supervisory job, meaning they have a little more money to spend than younger people or lower social classes. Social classes D and below would be less likely to purchase this product ass the advertisement is not aimed at them as it does not feature younger people (apart from a baby) nor does it feature content that they could relate to. Although older smokers, such as those who have a pension, would fall into the category E, meaning this advertisment is also aimed at them as they may have grandchildren. They too would miss out on important parts of their development by leaving the room to smoke. Nowadays there are many older people that have to get unskilled jobs, such as in retail, meaning that they would fall into the class D. This advertisement has a very broad target market.
Cadbury Creme Egg:
This television advertisement is aimed at young to middle aged people, although mainly a younger audience, such as aged fifteen and over. The shape of the egg is different and exciting, meaning the product would be fun for children, although this advertisement is not aimed children. A child may not fully understand this advertisement, although they may find the actors facial expressions amusing. As this product is cheap, colourful and the advertiemsnt is humorous rather than serious it is aimed at the social classes C2, D and E. People that fall into the other class categories may still purchase the product they may not be attracted by the advertisement due to the light hearted, humourous style.
The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) regulates all media advertising in the United Kingdom. It is run independently (it is not funded by the government) and monitors advertising in all media areas, including television, the internet, direct marketing and sales promoting. The ASA enforces the advertising codes written by the Committees of Advertising Practice. They ensure that advertisements are legal, truthful and do not contain misleading, harmful or offensive content.
The ASA act on complaints made by the public (anyone can make a complaint) and take action where necessary. If they judge an advertisement to be in breach of the UK Advertising Codes, it must be withdrawn or amended and the advertiser must not use the same approach again.As well as working on complaints after an advertisement is published / aired, they also carry out regulatory activities to make sure advertisers stay within the set rules. In 2011, the ASA considered 31,458 complaints covering around 22,397 cases. Their work led to 4,591 ads being changed or withdrawn. Below is a chart showing the complains for 2012 in each media area. It shows how many cases were brought to the ASA's attention and how many advertisements were altered or withdrawn.
The vast majority of television advertisements shown in the UK are pre-cleared before they are broadcast. Under their licences broadcasters must take reasonable steps to ensure that the advertisements that they broadcast are compliant with the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising.
If the ASA judges an advertisement to be in breach of the UK Advertising Codes, the advertisement must be withdrawn or amended. The vast majority of advertisers comply with the ASA’s rulings and act quickly to amend or withdraw an advertisement is it breaks their codes. If advertisers or broadcasters do not comply with the ASA's rules not only do they face public backlash from bad publicity they could also be fined. They could also be referred to Ofcom, who in severe cases could revoke their licence.
Previous cases:
Maybelline: In 2011, a makeup advertisement for Maybelline cosmetics, featuring supermodel Christy Turlington, was banned after complaints. The complaints stated that the advertisement did not represent the results that the product could actually achieve. ASA confirmed that the advertisement was misleading, without the aid of before and after shots. It ruled that the advertisement breached the advertising standards code for exaggeration and for being misleading, and banned the advisement from future broadcasting.
Apple:
Media giant Apple has been involved in two major rulings by the ASA. In 2004 Apple claimed to be selling "the world's fastest personal computer". Their Power Mac G5 system was judged to be unsubstantiated and this slogan was dropped.
In 2008, an advertisement for the iPhonewas banned because of false claims that it could access "all of the Internet". The iPhone could not support of major plug-ins such as Flash, therefore access to some programmers were restricted.
How could this affect the advertisements that I reviewed? The four television advertisements that I have featured on this blog were created by advertisers. These advertisers have to be licensed in order to produce advertisements for television. They have to follow the codes in the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising. If any of these companies breached these codes they would be accountable to the ASA and would need to make changes to their advertisement or withdraw the advertisement. The advertisement for E-Lites electronic cigarettes is shown on UK television although advertisements featuring normal cigarettes are banned. Cigarette advertising was banned on UK televison in 1965 and cinema advertising followed in 1986. The ASA say that "the new wave of e-cigarette products is set to prove a controversial test of its rules."
"As tobacco and smoking are areas [we] are keen to ensure that advertising upholds high standards of responsibility, we also have rules restricting products similar to tobacco products, references to smoking or tobacco products and the promotion of smoking in general," an ASA spokesman said. "As it stands, it is our view that the advertising of e-cigarettes on TV is likely to be severely restricted, so the kinds of claims and images that could be used to promote them is incredibly limited." Trevor Field, the marketing director at E-Lites, said that it is the first to run a TV ad "relating to smoking" in the UK since 1965 and admits that the goal is not to help smokers stop.Promoting tobacco products in TV commercials is banned by the ASA's advertising code, but it does not prohibit the depiction of cigarettes.
"Obviously it is important for us to comply with all advertising regulations," said Vince McSweeney, executive creative director at McCann Birmingham.
This advertisement for McDonalds features many different people eating a McDonalds Breakfast Wrap. The reason for this is to show that anyone can eat one anywhere. A wide range of different people are featured to show that literally anyone who does any job can eat them. This is a good way to market the product as it means that it appeals to everyone.
The advertisement begins at a McDonald’s restaurant in the morning, showing the viewer where they can purchase the product. We see that it is morning from the sunrise behind the restaurant. This is done to show the viewer that this product is for breakfast time. The next scenes show many different people eating the wrap. They use rhyming words to make the advert interesting, for example 'In a van, with a man', 'Under a brolly, with a Collie' and 'Watching the telly, with a wellie'. This is funny for the viewer as some of the scenarios are made up, such as the wellie scenario. This also keeps the viewers attention and draws them in as they want to carry on watching the advertisement to see what will happen next. The last line of the poem, 'Or just at a table, by yourself', breaks the rhyming pattern to be humorous and to show that it can be eaten anywhere. The previous examples are the least likely to happen as most people would eat the product in a restaurant, so they save this for last.
It follows a non-linear pattern as none of the scenes follow on from one another and they do not tell a story. However, the advertisement does start and end at McDonalds, meaning the there is some order to it and to emphasise where the product can be purchased. The soundtrack is cheery and upbeat, which keeps the viewer in suspense as it builds up, making the viewer interested in what is going to happen next. The music builds up until it gets to the point where we see the man eating the wrap alone in McDonalds. This breaks the music as well as the rhyme. There is a voice over throughout the advertisement, reading the poem and then explain what is in the new breakfast wrap at the end of the advert. He uses the word 'delicious' to entice the viewer and to make them want to try the new wrap. The very end of the advertisement features McDonalds well know theme tune along with their logo to emphasise where the product is from. Most of the scenarios feature people at work, encouraging the viewer to purchase this wrap on their way to work.
It is a standalone television advertisement as there are no similar adverts and it does not follow on from another. However it follows the same style and conventions as most McDonald’s television advertisements, showing the viewer what it advertises. The same male voice is used as a voice over on all McDonald’s adverts which links them all together.
Techniques -
The camera techniques include a long shot at the beginning of the advertisement, highlighting the fact that this is where the product can be purchased. Panning is used in all shots, apart from the final shot where the man is eating a wrap on his own in the restaurant. This is done to keep the viewers interest and to set the scene on all of the scenarios. Down panning is used when we see a man sat on a bench and his shoes are emphasised by the camera as they are spoken about in the poem. When we see a lady sat in a box full of socks the camera zooms out from above. The camera is on a tripod and stationary when we see the man sat eating his wrap alone at the end. This is because the music stops and the poem no longer rhymes, showing that this is the most typical scenario. This is humorous as all of the other scenarios are less likely to happen and they have clearly been included to be silly and funny to the viewer. The end of the advert shows the product in an upwards panning shot, clearly showing all of the ingredients. It is filmed to make the viewer want to eat the product, which is why the McDonald’s logo flashes up at the end to reiterate where it can be purchased.
Lighting in this advertisement is mostly natural., apart from inside, when it is high key. At the very start the lighting on the McDonalds restaurant is naturally lit as the camera is filming a building outside. Most of the scenarios feature natural light as they are filmed outdoors. The scene where the lady is watching television with a wellington boot there are visible shadows on her face, meaning high key lighting is used. Artificial light is used on the scenarios shot inside as we can see shadows on the actors faces. This is so that viewers can see what is happening in the scenes properly and so that the things mentioned in the poem are clearly visible to the viewer.
The editing techniques used on this advertisement include cuts to link all of these scenes together. Panning and zooming is used to make these cuts subtler. The end of this advertisement features a close up of the product shot to make it look irresistible to the viewer, making them want the product. An 'M', the McDonalds logo, then covers the screen and we can still see the product through it. This gap then turns yellow, into the McDonalds logo. This will have been added afterwards by the editors to gradually fade out the product to make it into the logo. The final scene reminds the reader yet again where to purchase the product. Repetition is key here as the subconsciously feature McDonalds several times. This is by featuring the restaurant and the inside, which is relatable to most people and they will automatically realise that it is McDonalds without saying the word. This is used because they make the viewer want to try the product by describing it and showing the viewer a close up of the product looking as tasty as possible and they emphasise where it is from, so the next time the viewer is near a McDonalds restaurant they will want to go in and purchase the product.
Who is the target market and how are they targeted by the advertisement?
A wide range of different people are featured to show that literally anyone who does any job can eat them. This is a good way to market the product as it means that it appeals to everyone.
This advertisement
is aimed at a wide range of people, which is the point the advert emphasises.
They try to appeal to most people, meaning more people will purchase the
product. They do not appeal to children as none are featured in the advert,
meaning that this advert is aimed at aged thirteen and older.
Characteristics of the product or service -
McDonald's uses their iconic yellow 'M' logo to show the viewer what the advertisement is for, as well as featuring one of their restaurants at the beginning of the logo. This is used to show that the viewer can purchase the product at their local McDonald's as all of their restaurants ahve a very similar style and layout. This television advertisement also features the same voice over that is used for all of McDonald's advertisements both on the television and radio, which will be relatable to the viewer. The unique selling point of the breakfast wrap is that it can be eaten anywhere and by anyone, which is the point they portray throughout the advertisement. They reiterate that anyone can eat one no matter where you are or what you are doing as it can be eaten on the go, which is the main benefit on the product.
The main competitors for the McDonald's breakfast wrap would be other similar breakfast products that can be eaten on the go. Belvita breakfast biscuits are marketed to emphasise the fact that they can be eaten on the go and they state the health benefits of the product, unlike the McDonald's advertisement. McDonald's market the breakfast wrap to show that it is hot, can be eaten anywhere and is a more substantial breakfast than the biscuits.
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.
.jpg)
.jpg)
