What is an Advert?
An advert is a short video showing off a product in one of many ways, adverts are used to show a products potential and get the word out about it. To make a convincing advert you must include things such as the actual product, a slogan or even a celebrity who is well known by your target audience or the people just outside of your target audience.
Sainsburys (newer)
The target audience for Sainsburys is basically everyone, typically Sainsburys is seen as a place for older people, however the advert could appeal to anyone, grandparents because it might remind them of their grandkids and make them smile, parents for the same reason, it may make teenagers reminisce on their childhoods and kids may be jealous and want to be a part of it. To capture the eyes and hearts of the nation they used young kids, which appeals to our nurturing side. With this they then make it better appealing to family values. It also is a Christmas advert which means that people will associate it with Christmas which is also a family time. They also use orange at the beginning of the advert with the words “the big night” and orange is well known to be associated with Sainsburys, so they used their color to attract their customers and so people associate the cuteness and joy with Sainsburys.
The slogan also has many different meanings, it says “we give all we’ve got to the ones we love” this means that we give the love we have and can give to our family again linking to family values. The other meaning is that Sainsburys is giving all they’ve got to us during Christmas. On addition they have used their slogan at the end of the advert so again people know its them and they connect the dots. The fact that they’ve used a multi meaning slogan also means that it leaves people talking about and it, it spreads the message further.
In this advert they don’t break the fourth wall but it almost feels like you are there with them, the atmosphere seeps into the audience and automatically puts you in a good mood. The beginning, where the girl is shy, quiet and scared, the background is darker, it shows her mood is lower, the dark is associated with sadness and gloom, it almost worries the audience and because she is young. The directors then bring Binary Opposite into the equation, the dark curtains drop, revealing a much brighter scene, the girl automatically gains confidence and the whole audience gets happier, the change of lighting changes the mood of everyone and the whole advert, it brings peace, hopefulness and promise, as the advert gets on it becomes cuter and more worth while, it builds the enjoyment and excitement and leaves you buzzing.
This is a mainstream market, because a lot of people know Sainsburys, the fact that its mainstream means that more people will see it so they have to try and then the audience will all see it and spread it further. Sainsburys is also used by a lot of people rather than being expensive and specifically aimed for the higher classed people.
Clear score (newer)
Clear scores target audience are people who want to sort out their finances and be able to keep a good eye on it as well as change their credit score, on the other hand this advert again could appeal to anyone, it is full of humor and of course the cat adds to the enjoyment. Parents might enjoy it because it gives you the information you need as well as an added sense of humor, kids might find it funny and enjoy the presence of the talking cat. Some of the advert techniques that were used are nurturing due to the cat being used, the cat tries to take the chicken and then the house to which he gets the response “fleroy” it also uses logos, the logo of the business is the circle that fills up when you sign onto the website which is used in the advert. They also use statistics talking about how many people have already signed which is their way of trying to show a lot of people use it therefore it must be good.
Again with this advert they never break the fourth wall but it feels like you are involved, the fact that they use comedy to connect with the audience gives it a wholesome kind of feel, it makes you smile. They use the cuteness of the cat to have the ability to make it rude, if it was a human saying those lines you would look at it very differently. They also use the actual clear score logo, in the advert to show off what it is, so there is a bit of familiarity when you log onto the website. I think the use of the cat also means that people remember the advert, they remember the comedy and the use of the cat.
The genre of this advert is comedy, comedy is supposed to put a smile on peoples face, make them laugh and enjoy themselves, it also has an all round good feel, its clearly not real because cats don’t talk but the way they do it makes it work, it feels real and because it is in a house setting it seems familiar, it feels safe. The use of the house adds a layer of safety, another place of joy, houses are something we all have so it gives you another way of connecting with the advert.
Clearscore is yet again another mainstream market, more because of the humor and the cat, Clearscore wasn’t hugely known before this advert, however it’s still mainstream because the product is aimed at everyone, it is something that can help everyone with loans and isn’t paid for so even people struggling with money can use it.
Soft Mints (older)
Soft Mints target audience is everyone, it’s a sweet that everyone can enjoy, the advert however is aimed at the younger viewers as its quite quirky and funny, it can appeal to adults as it gives them things to think about, in the advert there is a white type character that fits in with the white background, white is the only color in the advert until the soft mints are introduced which puts the thought in teens and adults’ heads that they’re more important. One of the few techniques that they used in this advert is product placement, they have the product in the advert so now if you see them on the shelf you might think of the advert, another one used was create an interesting character, they created a character for the advert that after seeing the advert people may associate with the mints.
The use of only white also shows how old this advert is which can mean that the advert is also targeted at the older generation because it reminds them of the time when they only used to have black and white tv’s, obviously this isn’t what tv’s looked like then but the lack of colour represents it, there is also the use of personification because none of the objects in the advert (apart from the man) should be moving, it adds a level of mystery and comedy to the whole advert. Another thing that might mean its older people is the song used in the background, “Mr Soft” by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
Soft Mints is also mainstream, its a well known product, its aimed at everyone so its mainstream.
Similarities and Differences
Sainsburys and Clear Score
One of the similarities between the Sainsburys advert and the Clear Score Advert is the use of nurturing with animals and young kids, this appeals to our hearts and draws us into the advert therefor making us remember it. Another similarity is the fact that they both use slogans and logos to make sure you know who the advert is for it also means the more you hear or see both the more it sticks in your head. One of the disadvantages of the two adverts is the target audiences, for the Sainsburys one it is a family feel good advert appealing to everyone whereas the clear score advert is aimed at more young adults and adults trying to fix their credit score, it has a small bit of humor to make the topic less scary for the younger adults.
Sainsburys and Soft Mints
The Sainsburys advert and the Soft Mints advert have more differences than similarities due to the fact that the Soft Mints advert is older however they both have an element of humor and silliness to them, again spreading the joy throughout the family. This is another similarity between the two as the target audiences are very similar appealing to pretty much everyone for different reasons. However, reflecting on the differences, the Sainsburys advert is full of light and color whereas the Soft Mints advert is all white apart from the dull blue of the mints, the two contrast in color but both works very well for what is needed for that advert. In the Sainsburys advert is all kids just having a laugh and enjoying themselves but in a normal way because the scene seems to be at a nativity which is very normal and realistic whereas the Soft Mints advert is very unrealistic because it’s all white and a character who isn’t quite human.
Soft Mints and Clear Score
One of the similarities between the two is the unrealistic characters, in the Clear Score advert it’s the talking cat which as well all know isn’t real, and in the second it’s the completely white character, neither of which are real, however both bring a sense of joy. The difference between the two is the target audience, Clear Score is the advert for people who ready to mature and let go of the silly side of things whereas the Soft Mints is the place where everyone’s gripping onto their childhood losing themselves in fantasy. Another difference is the fact that the Clear Score Advert is in full color and the Soft Mints advert only color is the actual product itself which shows the age difference that one is a lot older than the other, but it also shows that the people who made the advert thought that the most important thing was the product whereas the people who made the Clear Score Advert thought that everything was just as important as the next so everything is in full color and they used other ways to show the importance of the product/company.
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