Lauren Church Film And TV: Television Advert Analysis

Television Advert Analysis

This advert was produced to advertise the new upgraded Lynx body-sprays to its consumers. This is a live-action stand alone advert that uses nostalgia to take the audience on a journey through time. It uses dramatic events and disasters such as the Pompeii eruption in 79 AD and the Titanic in 1912.

Through the entire advert we see the same two characters attempting to connect with each other, however these disasters get in the way causing the two to be alone through time. This advert is shot professionally, the same way as a film. I feel that makes this advert much more realistic and believable because they have put all of the effort and effects to make the footage clean, convincing and effective. They often use shots that highlight certain areas or people. For example in this screenshot the girl is highlighted by the clever lighting and camera angle against the rest of the people that frame her making her the focal point. It allows us to quickly spot her in a crowd and also helps the audience to understand the story line of the short advert by being able to quickly spot her. They use this same technique multiple times through out the advert. In this particular shot they use a slight over the shoulder angle so you can just see the main characters darkened face as he tries to get the the girl. I feel that this advert reflects its brand identity by using explosions and disasters within the story line because it portrays masculinity. The dark colours of the can reflect the darkness of the disasters that are keeping him from his girl. The whole act of having girls fall for you gives me the impression that the brand identity is based at a male audience.

The lyrics of the music that are used reflect the story line of the advert but it builds up as the events and time periods speed up. This advert does not use celebrity endorsement to sell its product, instead they use an actor that resembles an every day person. Despite visiting different time periods I feel that this advert uses self-perception to appeal to their audience who may be experiencing similar problems to the man in the advert. By doing this, the audience will realise that they can relate and will buy the product because it offers a solution to their problem. without physically comparing this product to others the advert creates the impression that only this product will offer this benefit, therefore it has an advantage over all of the similar products.

This advert follows AIDA model that is used by a wide number of advertisers and marketers. AIDA stands for Attention, interest, Desire and Action. The attention, or awareness, in this advert is placed at the end when the product name and images are shown - the audience are then made aware of the product and what it is. By learning about the benefits that are quietly implied through the story line, the target audience will gain interest in the brand. I feel that by being able to personally reflect the theme of the advert, the consumer will desire the product to benefit their life. And finally, after seeing what could potentially happen through the advert and gaining that desire the consumer would feel like they need to take action and purchase the product as a solution.

The primary target market that the advert responds to are males, specifically a younger, teenage audience. I do believe that the secondary audiences are older males that may like the spray too and young females that could be buying gifts for their friends and partners. This age range would typically be beginning to look for girls and this advert implies through a hidden message that by using the product nothing will get in the way and you would finally get the girl you're chasing. This unique selling point enforces the male target audience. Although men of all ages use this product the advert specifically picks out this age range because younger audience is more likely to believe that they will become irresistible by using this product. Also, most men of this age range have some kind of income whether from parents or from a part time job. Lynx is quite expensive for a deodorant or body spray so the target audience or the family of the target audience would probably be around a social grade of a D to a C2 and would be classed as main streamers when analysising the demographics of the advert. I say this because the lowest levels of income would only be able to afford the essentials or the cheaper anti-antiperspirants and the highest grades or the 'succeeders' (in terms of psychographics) would buy expensive, branded aftershaves. Although this product is more expensive than other brands you could say that the USP that they are aiming for is popularity with young men. Also, the theme of the advert also promises that you will get the girl just by using the spray unlike any other sprays that he was using before when the world was against him. This makes Lynx stand out against its competitors.

BARB record data on what people are watching and when as well as who is watching it. This makes it much easier for companies to decide when and where they will broadcast their adverts so their specific target audience will see them to make the most of their money. I would expect this advert top be aired from around 3pm to 11pm when the target audience would be able to view the material. A younger audience would be easier to target after they have finished school around this time on the weekends. Also I feel that it would overrun the 9pm watershed because the ideal target market would still be awake unlike a child audience and would understand any of the content that would begin at 9pm. The ASA and CAP are responsible for regulating the content of Television adverts in the UK. They monitor what is aired, ensuring that nothing offensive, inappropriate, misleading or harmful in any way can be seen by the public. They conduct research to ensure that the BCAP code is up to date and to test the public opinion in order to identify what procedures need to be taken to protect their audiences. The ASA check adverts before they are released but also respond to any complaints that the public make. They have the power to take down any adverts and demand them to be changed or removed so they do not break the rules. One advert that passed the initial check was this 2017 McDonalds advert which was later removed by the ASA because of the grief and upset that the nature of the advert caused. The boy in the advert was visibly upset that he had very little in common with his deceased father. The advert received 256 complaints and the adverts were pulled.