Hannah A2 Advertising Blog

Useful Feedback

2009-05-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

I chose to post some of the recent feedback given for each of the adverts, which was gained from a 'facebook' group we created. This style of evaluation had proved more effective than a questionaire as with our target audience being 15- 25, the majority of this age group own a facebook account, and are therefore more likely to post their thoughts and opinions on our product.

'Ok then, where do I begin. The adverts are fab..The best thing about the adverts is the product. It has bold colours so it's easy to remember what it looks like and the advertising slogan is very strong - quite similar to the 'Phones For You' slogan with the three actions, and everyone knows what that advert is.
Secondly, the continuity is very strong with the two familiar characters in each advert where you're following a story. Also very successful in the BT adverts, so a successful technique.
Also Ben's 'Geek' character is memorable, and very funny so it would stick in people's minds.The music is all catchy, up-beat and memorable. It would command attention if people were not completely concentrating on the TV.
The 'Protection' line is very funny... so that would stick in people's minds.'

'The music is a really good choice in all the vids. The story made it really clear what the advert was for and what it was all about, if that makes sense. You're adverts are so good though, they're clever ideas for the stories too.'

'they are funny and reli engage the audience. I reli want to try ur mints now lol! i thought the way u kept the product central in the shots was very effcetive as it made the audience very aware as to what was being advertised.The music fitted in perfectly as it created a steaddy pace and wasn't to fast. I rekon ur audience recognition in this one is spot on as your portraying that dreaded question from the parents 'do u use protection?' making you directly relate to the targeted audience....maybe a llittle bit of synthetic personalisation with that.'

'Advert was cool! The location was brilliant, lightning was perfectly set.'

'The advert is well good - all the shots and the way they are assorted are really good and it keeps you interested. Plus it's really clear what you're advertising. It's so funny too.'

'there's a good shot of the product so i know exactly what's going on.'

Music for the series of three adverts

2009-05-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

Advert One - The Rumble Strips - Girls and Boys in Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNOfDSaUL-A

Advert Two - The Ting Tings - Be The One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FMAeYjOF3k

Advert Three - Scouting For Girls - Heartbeat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ_A09O8n1A

However, myself and Cilia have edited each of the songs in order to suit the adverts narrative. We had specifically chosen each of these songs for a reason, which was because they are upbeat, medium paced, and suited the light- hearted nature of our adverts.

Past analysis of Mint Adverts

2009-05-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

Here are several adverts I had previously analysed which can be compared to mine and cilia's finished product. However, I was unable to embed each video from Youtube to here, which means instead I have provided the direct links to each advert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hWXUYior8o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAIUSUzoLOE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6b6vMGmjY0

All three of the 'tic tac' adverts include the same female actor, meaning that an audience will recognize and identify with the advert on a personal level. In addition to this, there is a mixture of diegetic sound, such as the woman speaking, as well as non diegetic sound, such as the added sound effects. The diegetic sound helps to add an aspect of realism, in the way that no music playing in the background. Moreover, the narrative has been kept simple, providing the target audience with a clear narrative to identify with. In addition to this, the pace of each advert is quick, and a variety od mid- shots and close- ups are used which help engage the consumers into the action. The effect of these use of shots keeps the mints in the main focus and how effective they are, which makes it clear what the actual product being advertised is. Furthermore, the same jingle is used throughout to show a strong sense of continuity, reinforcing brand awarness as every advertising product contains 'its not just a mint its a tic tac'. The effect of this short and catchy jingle is that people will remember it. Similarly, audiences are shown the packaging of the mint throughout the entirety of the advert, which makes the product more memorable to a consumer.

Final Advert Two

2009-05-01T04:27:00.000-07:00

Final Advert One

2009-04-30T06:49:00.000-07:00

Below is the the final piece for ad one.

Final Treatment

2009-04-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Below is the final/second treatment of mine and Cilia's coursework. We made changes to the way we worded things and completely changed two paragraphs to match our new storyboards.

Treatment 2

Exploring our coursework

The idea Cilia and I have created is an advertisement for mints, aimed at our chosen target audience of people aged between 15 to 25. The mint is targeted at both genders which is portrayed in our advert through the use of a couple and by having both girl and boy taking the mint in at least on of the adverts. We have targeted this audience by having themes that they can relate to, and linking the mint to people who are young and outgoing. We knew beforehand that mints were always being advertised on TV, yet none of them focused on the time in which it took a mint to work, therefore we created our own unique selling point, which was that our product works the fastest when you need it most.

Our first advert will be set in a living room in which the couple are first introduced. We want to have a couple throughout all three adverts so that when people see the couple in our advertisement campaign they will immediately associate them with our mints. We have tried to make the advert funny through the dialogue and actions of the characters. The advert begins with a long shot of the couple on the sofa, and the boy smells something nice and says: ‘Something smells nice around here.’ The girl, and the audience, will believe that he is talking to the girl therefore we have used a close up of the girl flicking her hair and feeling flirtatious. Next, we decided to include humour by making out as if the boy is going to hug the girl but instead picks up the cat and says ‘wow, you smell so good.’ For this advert, we have decided not to make out that the girl has bad breath, this will come to the audience’s imagination once she has taking the mint. After this, the girl will be in a bad mood due to the lack of attention that she received, however the mood changes immediately with the catchphrase ‘Shake, Click, Fresh, Ahh’, being narrated over the shots of her movements as she takes out the mints, shakes the packet, clicks the lid open, tastes the freshness, and then is satisfied with the end result of the product.

The second advert is aimed at the younger boundary of our target audience; it revolves around a young couple in which there is an awkward moment between the pair when the girl rejects his kiss, once she smells his bad breath. We considered using time reversal to show a before and after sequence however this could potentially be too complicated to present, and it would be very repetitious to repeat the sequence. Therefore we have decided to show this in a different way by showing how the boy is rejected when he hasn’t used the mints, and then after taking the mint he can get close to her again. We wanted to include this because it is something that our target audience can relate to and it will also continue to add humour. We are going to use a variety of shots to introduce the characters and make the audience feel involved in the action so that they feel the mint will affect their lives too. All of the shots will be either mid- close shots, to extreme- close ups, which will create the effect of a real advert. We have chosen to include more close- ups when presenting the mint, as well as in the other two adverts, so that the audience are focused on the product.

The third advert revolves around the couple meeting the parents. We have chosen to use this idea because almost everybody will face this type of experience in their lives at one point, therefore using this but adding a humorous twist will appeal more to our target audience. There will be more dialogue in this advert than the previous two, but because of this we have decided to make the dialogue funnier. At the start of the advert the couple arrive at the parents house and the boy is feeling really nervous and says things such as: ‘I hope your parents like me’ which will avoid the audience from being confused by making them understand what is happening at a very early stage of the advert. Awkward moments is key in this advert because it helps add to the humour, therefore we included awkward moments when everybody bumps into each other as they go to hug and when the mother says: ‘Do you guys use protection these days’ which causes an awkward moment for the couple as they don’t yet know that she is referring to the mints. We again have our ‘jingle’ in this advert of ‘shake, click, fresh, ahh’ but this time the actress who plays the mother will be saying it.

Overall, all our adverts will have aspects of simplicity and humour because we feel that this will make the advert more memorable and will interest out target audience into buying the product. We also want to have parallel sound in all the adverts, which will be the dialogue of the characters, however we also want to introduce contrapuntal sound which will be part of a song that will be played in the background which will make it feel more light hearted. In addition the couple will be the same throughout so that they are immediately recognised. To end all the adverts, as well as form another link between them, we want to include an end screen which will have the mint on the side followed by a voiceover saying the words: ‘all you’ve got to do is shake, click, fresh, ahh’ (where the words will come up as they are being said by the voiceover) and ending it with out line of appeal of ‘get fresh breath fast when you need it’

Advert 3

2009-03-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

For the final advert, there is a significant amount more dialogue between the characters, which has caused worries between myself and Cilia. The reason for this is because when uploading thoe footage onto the mac's, the sounds for each clip merge into one another. If this is the case once uploading the final advert, we would have to search each sound to match each clip. Although this isnt a big problem, we are reaching the final week of our deadline and will need as much time possible to edit. In addition to this, advert three is the only advert which includes a great amount of dialogue throughout, and the narrative of the advert depends on the dialogue for its intended effect of humour. Therefore the two of us hope the dialogue will work the way we want it.

Progress so far

2009-03-06T06:25:00.000-08:00

Since the first stages of the my coursework set in September, I have made significant progress. The criteria for this piece of coursework is to create 'a series of three adverts', and so far myself and Cilia have fully completed both advert one and two. In addition to this, I feel we have met the guideline to a good standard. One way I feel progress can be seen is the improvements we have made on our second completed advert (ad 1), compared to the first advert (ad 2). This is because we were able to learn through our mistakes and gain a better understanding of using the equipment (adobe premier, camera), from experience. Furthermore, I feel if I had of chosen to create a music video, rather than a series of three adverts, my improvements wouldn’t have been noticed as much as it is one set piece.

With two out of the three adverts being completed, I feel the biggest aspect which has enabled us to keep on top of our work is strict time keeping and communication bearing our project on a regular basis. This is because without the determination to complete the filming within our shooting schedule, I wouldn’t have felt comfortable having little amount of time in the editing room, to turn our footage into adverts. Moreover, myself and Cilia found after completing the first advert, it only took one/two shoots on the next for the footage to be completed. This meant that we could spend the rest of our time editing the music and footage to a higher standard. However, on several occasions there were no cameras or tripods available for us to use. The solution to this was to spend our intended filming time, on the Mac’s editing.

One other way I feel I have progressed is my skills on 'Adobe Premier' and the video camera's. This is because within the first stages of production, I relied on the camera when filming. However now I am able to manipulate the camera in order to tell a story, and engage with the audience. Similarly, myself and Cilia are using a much wider spread of camera angles, as well as experimenting shot lengths and framing. Ultimately, through communication with Mr. Michie and ourselves, we identified with what shots should be included in our adverts in order to meet the codes and conventions. In addition to this, part of the coursework criteria was to show a comparison between each of the adverts, and I feel the two of us have done this successfully. The reason for this is because we have included the same 'memorable character' throughout- (the geek!) as well as focusing our adverts around the same couple, and putting them in different situations where our product would be needed.

Furthermore, in order to stay within our deadline and finish the final advert. Myself and Cilia plan on completing the filming within the next few days so that we have an appropriate amount of time in the editing rooms, without having to rush. Moreover, I feel it is necessary to put everything I have learnt this year, as well as Mr Michie and Mr Ford's criticism into the next advert so that our progress is consistent and we produce a high standard series of adverts.

The Advertising Process

2008-12-22T05:31:00.000-08:00

From looking into what advertising is, my next step is to discover the marketing basics of being successful in the competitive envirorment of advertising.

-Review the fundamentals of targeting a buyer segment and marketing strategically to that particular niche. One example I have looked at is 'Guerrilla marketing'.
-Determine who my existing customers are, and define the target market I want to reach.
-Know what I am truly selling, once you determine the intangible benefits of my product or service, I will have a clearer sense of who else offers that intangible and what advertising approach and image I need in order to compete successfully.

Taking into account target market, sales message, images, and competitive environment, determine your underlying objectives in running an advertising campaign - objectives such as expanding the wholesale side of your business or developing a more affluent clientele.

Equally important, establish a realistic advertising budget. By rule of thumb, it should amount to three to five percent of your annual revenues, although you'll need to consider adjusting up or down depending on the extent and spending levels of your competition. This budget should cover any community sponsorships you may provide, as well as your advertising in newspapers, magazines, Yellow Pages, internet, on radio and television, by direct mail, and any other promotional avenues you choose.

Here are six guidelines I found related to developing an ad program:

Do your homework - start compiling your own ad file. Collect ads you like as well as competitors' ads to give you ideas. Read books on advertising.

-"Sell the sizzle, not the steak." The old rule about selling products based on the benefits and excitement they provide has proved true time and time again, so focus on your U.S.P. and on those intangibles that motivate human behavior and generate sales.
-Stick to your own image and personality; stay with the basics of who you are. Make sure that the personality and image projected in your advertising ring true.
-Work as a team. The best advertising results from a synergy of your expertise in your business and your ad specialists' expertise in advertising.
-Carefully explain your product, market, and goals, and let the ad people go from there to develop their ideas. Advertising is a give-and-take process, and both sides need to communicate and work together without dictating until the outcome feels right.
-Give each advertising medium you choose a fair test. Advertising rarely brings sales overnight. Run your ad at least five times - or at least two months in weekly publications - to test the market properly. Often, consumers need to get used to seeing your ad before they'll act on it. Results take time.
-Don't overlook current customers. Nobody sells you better than a satisfied customer, so in your efforts to gain sales from new prospects, remember that you can build sales equally well through customer referrals and repeat purchases of existing clientele.
-Maintain a mailing list and, at your earliest opportunity, start producing sale notices, newsletters, catalogs, or other goodwill and sales-generating materials for current customers. Some of these items lend themselves to a direct mail campaign targeted at new prospects as well.

Below are some of the advertising pitfalls which need to be avoided:

Perhaps the greatest obstacle to good advertising is excess. Ads can end up so crammed with ideas and features that they appear dense and uninviting. If over-designed, they can be more artistic than motivational, obscuring the sales message. If over-written, they can become too subtle or cute. Certainly, some of the best ads ever created are clever and visually arresting, but good ads must also sell. Similarly, selling points may over-promise. Use "largest," "best," and other superlatives only if you can back them up. Avoid any claim that could be construed as deceptive.

In addition, make sure the overall tone of your ad is upbeat and appealing. Emphasize the solutions you provide, not the problems you address. Get outside opinions on your new advertising concepts to be certain they carry the personality and message you intend.

Client Led Advertising

Client Led Advertising Selection is employed when a client requires niche skills, multiple hires, or a senior member of staff. We often recommend an advertising or marketing campaign and are able to advice on target media and manage the campaign from the production of the advertising to response screening.
A client is a paying customer regardless of the initial contact of either party. It can work either way, but the theory would lean more toward the advertising agency contacting them first. Advertising agencies have to advertise to get a client, therefore initial contact will more than likely be initiated by the advertising agency through ads or cold calling.
Even if the client bought a magazine and saw the ad for a good advertising agency and then called them, the client still would have been communicated with first.

Summary of my work so far...

2008-12-15T03:39:00.000-08:00

Below is a summary of where me and Cilia are at so far, the improvements we have to make, and what we plan to do for January...

To me it feels that myself and Cilia have created an effective first advert which is ready to be presented. However, there a certain aspects of our piece which need to be altered in order to suit the final draft. In terms of footage we have completed all of the filming, but there is one shot where the shadow of our tripod is apparent. This is the shot in which the geek walks over to the bench to sit down with the girl. The solution to this problem is to use a shot we already have from the re shoots. This means that we were only a hot away from meeting our deadline! As well as the shot we need to replace for the 'shadow one', the soundtrack and voice over needs to be improved on our advert before we hand in the final draft. This is because once the voice over starts, the music volume level drops a considerable amount which doesn't sound effective. This means that we will have to higher the voice over volume and make a smoother transition between the soundtrack and voice over.

Our plan for January is to start filming advert one and three. In order to do this we are going to manage our time so that as we come to finish the first advert, there are rough cuts which we can start editing for advert three. The process of filming the last two adverts will be easier for us because they are both shot in the same location. This means that in january we can make a good start on the rough cuts of the first advert, and finish the second advert completely. Moreover, I am planning on finalizing the soundtrack before we come to the end of editing. This is so that we have no trouble in meeting the deadline, as this was our draw back in the first advert. Furthermore, the voice over will not be a problem within the next two adverts as we will be using the same voice throughout the series of our three adverts.

Re- shoots for first advert

2008-12-10T08:30:00.000-08:00

This week we have re- shot another two shots for advert 2. (couple on the bench) We need to shoot the very end shot of the advert where the couple embrace in a kiss/hug after the geek has taken the mint. This portrays the effects of the mint and shows a confident, happy boy/couple. The other re-shoot is when the boy is entering the shot. We have already done a re-shoot for this, however the shot was not effective because their heads were cut off meaning that the shot didn't really have any real purpose, we are therefore going to re-shoot this as a long shot.
In addition to this, we are planning on starting advert 1 next week (couple and the cat.)
We aim to get a couple of shots from the beginning of the advert, and perhaps make a start on advert 3 (couple meets the parents) in order to have some rough cuts of the two remaining adverts. We plan to do these shots this week, mainly on Tuesday 2nd December during our morning frees as these are the days when everybody is free and it won't clash with any other events happening that week. We are going to do the re-shoots first as this is a priority for us to complete this advert and get it out of the way. However, it will not take long to do the final 2 shots for this advert, so we will have enough time to start on the other two.

first deadline

2008-11-25T10:17:00.000-08:00

With only a matter of days untill the first deadline, me and Cilia are well on our way to completing our first advert. The filming is basically finished, with only a couple of re- shoots to be done (mid shot of boy sitting next to girl on the bench, and boy looking happy once he gets to kiss the girl-holding onto the packet of mints).
Once re- shooting is caput, a couple of tweaks within the editing once the final pieces of footage is uploaded will enable us to then put the soundtrack over the top of the advert. Then, we will be able to present the final draft of our advert to you fine young people :)

Tester for Jingle

2008-11-24T04:59:00.000-08:00

Here is the first sequence hat we did for our jingle of 'shake, click, fresh, ahh'. We did this just to see what it could possible look like and here it is:

Normally, in the final shot we would use a fan to create a 'wind' effect rather than the hands. Our aim was to find out roughly how long this part of the advert was going to be so that we know the remaining time left for other footage. We thought this was a good idea to test because we are using this in all three of our adverts as our 'jingle.' When we were filming this, we tried out different ways of 'shaking and clicking' the packet to see which was more effective. We found that the above (video) ways of holding the mint were the best because if there was logo or text then you can see it, meaning that audience knows what we are advertising. However, when filming the jingle within the actual advert we experimented with different angles in order to meet the codes and conventions of an advert by having a variety of close ups, which differs to the one above which are shots all from the same angle. It is important to consider that because we are making the advert, we will not be in any of our adverts and that in one of the three adverts, a boy will be doing the jingle, so we have to consider ways of showing the effects of the mint other than through the hair.

PROGRESS :)

2008-11-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

Just an update on myself and Cilia's filming and editing for advert two.

Shoot's 2 and 3:

Since mine and Cilia's uneffective yet useful shoot 1, we have been out a couple more times and found ourselves in a much better position to film. From learning that in our original footage there was way too little POV shots, we made it our biggest aim to shoot them in the next few dates of our shooting schedule, which we have done.

I feel shoot's 2 and 3 were effective and we have gained a great amount of useful shots. However, while filming there were a number of limitations, and once uploading the footage onto the mac's these problems became apparent. For example, the weather! during shoot 2 it was extremely sunny which made it hard to film seeing as the sun was in the actors eyes which made them squint, and during shoot 3 the weather was very dull. The contrast in weather conditions became more apparent while uploading the footage as some shots were really bright and others were dark. This was really annoying because as the advert is starting to come together, the difference in light is noticeable which is limiting our shots. We tried to overcome this problem by using an umbrella, yet the end result was even worse as we could see the shadows in the footage! The weather was also really windy (aswell as being overly sunny!) which meant the non- diegetic sound we wanted in the shots were ruined, and made the camera/ tripod become unsteady. In addition to this, these problems made our aim for creating verisimilitude alot more difficult. This is the reason for us having extra long shots as we thought it would be better for us to cut them, rather than having an unsteady short clip which is completely useless.
In order to overcome these problems, we feel by having the soundtrack (song) over the advert, the sound will be more discrete. Also, in the future if I feel that the weather conditions will cause a vast difference in the advert, we will film parts of another advert. From these problems I have learnt that there is always another way you can spend your time rather than wasteing it, like going into the macroom to edit or getting a headstart in filming our other two adverts! However, even though we had faced a couple of problems I feel confident that ad 2 is where it needs to be filming wise, even though a number of re- shoots are necessary. Me and Cilia have spent the past few weeks in the macroom and first location (common) of our advert and this will be the case for ongoing weeks.

filming

2008-11-05T09:54:00.000-08:00

Myself and Cilia mangaged to get out and start filming advert 2 yesterday in our free periods and today at lunch up untill the end of the day. We also filmed some test shots in order to create a sequence of our jungle 'shake, click, fresh, ahh!', I will post this sequence soon. However, once we uploaded yesterdays footage (not the sequence) onto the mac it came to our attention that the footage we had shot wasnt as helpful as we thought. This is because there wasnt enough POV, CU and ECU shots, which fit into the advertising code and conventions.
Our solution to this problem was to re-shoot the advert making sure to include more close-ups and POV's, which is what we did today. I feel the footage is already alot more effective as audiences will see the characters point of view, rather than watching them from a distance.
However, once we got into the macroom to upload the footage, the tapes chose to be difficult and not come out of the camera!! and then once we managed to figure that out and plug the camera into the mac, the footage wouldnt upload! Sooo, we havent yet uploaded the footage as we will need some help from mr michie/ford... but I feel we have moved on further in the production process. Hopefully we'll have more lucky next time :)

Shooting Schedule

2008-11-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

The days which we are most free are Tuesdays and Fridays therefore the majority of our filming and re-shooting will be on those two day because it gives us lots of time to film which is an advantage for us. The editing will mainly take place on the other days where we have frees where we can focus more on the editing. We have done a shooting schedule, which we will update every week, because it is important for us to plan our time in order for us to make the most of our filming time. It also gives us a guideline as to what needs to be done, however it is important to consider that some of it may change in the event of unplanned re-shooting etc. This is our shooting schedule so far:

Shooting Schedule

Date: Tuesday 4th November
Time: Period 2
People present: Cilia, Me
Place: Mac suite/drama studio'sTask: Due to our actors not being available at this time of the day, me and Cilia have decided make 'test shots' of our jingle of 'fresh, click, fresh, ahh.' This will help us to become familiar with the sequence, timings & voiceover and will help us to decide what works, and what doesn't which is important for us because this sequence is in all three of our ad's.
Props: Decorated mint packet

Date: Tuesday 4th November
Time: Period 3, break & period 4
People present: Cilia, Lucy, Ben & me
Place: Chalfont Common, by park bench
Task: Filming advert 2, couple on a bench, and aim to film shots 1-8 which consists mainly of ECU & CU. We will need a camera, tri-pod, the two actors, a bench, the scripts and costumes (see costume post)

Date: Wednesday 5th November
Time: Period 2 and 3
People present: Cilia and me
Place: Mac Suite
Task: Uploading footage done so far and putting some shots together into a sequence

Temporary date (need to check that the actors are still free)
Date: Friday 7th November
Time: Period 3
People present: Cilia, Ben, Me
Place: Chalfont Common
Task: Filming shots with the male actor in it

Characters, Locations, Props...

2008-10-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures of our actors who will be the actors in all three adverts (which will create the link) I still have more pictures of other candidates who we decided against using in our ad. Also, I have put up pictures of possible locations of the advert and will be mentioning the props which will be used!

Male character (boyfriend) in all three adverts, Ben is a drama student therefore will be more helpful to use.

Female character (girlfriend) in all three adverts, Lucy has experience in drama at GCSE. Therefore she will be helpful to use!

Set Locations...

The Drama Studio comes in really handy when creating our adverts as it is all black. This means that we can use props/mise en scene in an effective way with nothing around us to steal the focus. In addition to this, myself and Cilia are drama students and use this area on a regular basis. We will be able to use our free's and shooting schedule effectively in order to film as much as possible!

Door to Drama studio...

Possible living area (has the appropriate mis en secene to do so)

Props used in series of three adverts:

-Mint Packet

-Cat (could be listed as character!)

-Clothing

Developed storyboard for 'Ad Three'

2008-10-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

Below are the developed storyboards for advert three, we decided to changed our original idea for this ad completely as it was un effective and seemed boring. Instead, we are showing continuity throughout the series of three adverts, by having the final ad showing the couple meeting the girls mother. We thought as nearly everybody experiences this situation at some point in their life, it would be easy to relate to and be realistic. It will be appropriate for our target audience and also add humour which we intended to do throughout each of the adverts. I also feel that this is an effective idea to use for the final advert!

Original Idea- which has been rejected!

Page 2 of original idea- which has been rejected!

Final storyboard for advert 3

page one

page two

page three

Senario: Girl thinks that boy is talking about her when he smells something 'gorgeous' but she is mistaken because he ends up picking up the cat! = Aspect of humour
We decided to have the girl with bad breath for this advert because our mint is for all sexes, therefore it is important that both the boy and girl makes use of the mint in at least one of the three adverts. We may need to tweak the dialogue in this advert because we cannot have a silent moment in the advert therefore either we add more dialogue to fill up the gaps, or we find music which will replace the dialogue when nothing is being said. This disadvantage that we could encounter when filming this, is that the cat may not do the things that we want it to do!! We could also possibly include more shots into this storyboard if we find that it is not long enough. The advantage that we have is that we can film at my house, and because I live near the school then thats a bonus

Developed storyboard for 'Ad One'

2008-10-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

Below is the storyboard for Advert one, we have only made minor changes to this advert and there is more sense of humour being created through the characters which we wanted to focus on throughout the series of three adverts.

Draft 1

Draft 2

First draft of storyboards for 'Ad Two'

2008-10-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here is the first drafts of mine and cilia's storyboard for 'advert two', we decided to change alot of details within this first storyboard so I have decided to post it on here to show the progress in which we have made from the first to final drafts! There are 3 developed 'advert one' storyboards on this blog as we found ways to improve from the original idea :)

Draft 1

Draft 2

Draft 3

Below is the final draft!

Evidence of Mint Brainstorms/Idea's

2008-10-15T04:25:00.000-07:00

Below are the developed idea's of mine and Cilia's 'Mint Ad', we accepted and rejected a number of these idea's and later on i will be posting the first storyboard, the improved, and the the final storyboard which we are working from up to date!

Here are the possible jingles for the add which are brainstormed...

And here are the possible storylines to our advert which some
have been used and some havent!

Original Treatment

2008-10-15T02:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a copy of the first Treatment me and Cilia wrote. However, since then we have a changed a number of factors within two of our storyboards so we have created an updated version. Below is the original Treatment, not the final!

Treatment 1
Exploring our coursework

The idea cilia and I have created is an advertisement for mints, aimed at our chosen target audience of people aged between 15 to 25. We have targeted this audience by having themes that they can relate to. We knew beforehand that mints were always being advertised on TV, yet none of them focused on the time in which it took a mint to work. Therefore we created our own unique selling point, which was that our product works the fastest when you need it most.

Our first advert will include only one character, so that the focus isn’t taken from the product itself. The setting of the first advert will take place in a bathroom, which is where everyone starts there day, therefore we made the link between starting your day, and starting our advert sequence in this place. The first storyboard includes a female character waking up to a radio, which will start with the sound of a voice- over saying ‘Do you have bad breath?’ the girl nods to herself in the mirror while looking miserably. She scans over previous products in her bathroom which haven’t worked then picks up the ‘miracle mint’, the mood changes immediately with the catchphrase ‘Shake, Click, Fresh, Ahh’, being narrated over the shots of her movements shaking the packet, clicking the lid open, tasting the freshness, and then being satisfied with the end result of the product. All of the shots will be either mid- close shots, to extreme- close ups, which will create the effect of a real advert. The advert will finish with a shot of a fogged up bathroom mirror where the words ‘miracle mint’ appear to have been written. This idea is simple and straight- forward to film, yet we included a variety of shots that will make up for the simplicity. The narrative throughout this advert will not be used in all of them; however, we will make the link between all three adverts by using the catchphrase ‘Shake, Click, Fresh, Ahh’, with the shots to match.

The second advert is aimed at the younger boundary of our target audience; it revolves around a young couple in which there is an awkward moment between the pair when the girl rejects his kiss, once she smells his bad breath. We are going to use a variety of shots to introduce the characters and make the audience feel involved in the action so that they feel the mint will affect their lives too. We have chosen to include more close- ups when presenting the mint so that the audience are focused on the product. There are some aspects of humour throughout the advert, which will enable the audience to remember it more alongside the ‘jingle’ which is present throughout all three adverts, which is ‘Shake, Click, Fresh, Ahh.’ For this advert we were considering having a background song to keep it simple and light- hearted. The song we were thinking of using is ‘Scouting for Girls- Heartbeat’ which will form a parallel sound with the action in the advert.

The third advert revolves around a group of friends and is simpler than the previous two adverts. This is because the advert focus’ on the jingle ‘Shake Click, Fresh, Ahh’. We will be using several characters to represent the mint as being an ‘all- rounder’ and we will do this by using mainly close up and extreme close- ups of different people consuming the mint. This advert will be quite repetitive which will make it more memorable, as well as having a slight beat to it.

We want these adverts to be simple and humorous for an audience to watch so that it is easy to intake the information and they are left with a memorable advert which has persuaded them to buy the product.

Article on creating a successful advert

2008-10-15T02:49:00.000-07:00

A successful television commercials must begin with an attention getting opening. One of the greatest challenges of effective TV advertising in today's environment is the lack of attention TV ads get from consumers. first, many TV watchers get up and leave the room when commercials come on. Second, with technology like Tivo, consumers can easily skip over commercials to get to recorded programming. Then, even while people are in the room, a small percentage actually focus on a commercial to receive the message.

If people do watch and pay attention, what will make television messages impacting? An attention getting opening is what draws people into the commercial. Without something instantly impacting, the audience will be gone.

Television commercials must maximize their strengths. The opportunity to not only use visual stimulation, but to tell a story, present a product demonstration, do comparisons and combine these with sound and dialog are unique to TV. The creative opportunities are virtually limitless with the multi-sensory appeals.

TV commercials must be specific and clear with their messages. People should not only laugh or cry, but they should also be able to identify the brand and see a message that makes sense and is impacting. It must communicate the benefits of a product that match the needs of the targeted audience.

Ultimately, with the high relative cost of television advertising, planning and delivery must be excellent to give it competitive efficiency with other media.

Advertising Glossary

2008-10-15T02:25:00.000-07:00

appeal to emotion- an advertising technique when advertisers appeal to those emotional needs experienced by all humans

association- an advertising technique whereby products are associated with the people, values, and lifestyles depicted in the ads

audience- recipient of the intended communication

brand extension- extending the brand name to other products

brand equity- money earned by brand name

camera angle- the angle, high, straight, or low that a shot is taken

camera shot- the distance between the camera and the subject

camera movement- the movement of the camera position from left to right, forward or backward, up or down, stationary left or right, and zoom in or out.

caption- a phrase, sentence, or short paragraph describing the contents of an illustration such as photos or charts. Photo captions are usually placed directly above, below, or to the side of the pictures they describe.

claim- the verbal or print part of an ad that makes some claim of superiority for the product

codes and conventions- the familiar and predictable forms and techniques used by the media to communicate certain ideas or to convey a desired impression. Technical codes include camera angles, sound, and lighting. Symbolic codes include the language, dress, and actions of characters.

constructed- built, formed, or devised by fitting parts or elements together systematically

copy- text including advertiser's name, sales message, trademark or slogan

deconstruct- to take apart, analyze, or break down a media text into its component parts in order to understand how and why it was created

demographics- common characteristics used for population segmentation including age, gender, post code, and income

fad- a custom, style, etc., that many people are interested in for a short time; passing craze

fear tactic- an advertising technique whereby products are sold based on our fears

genre- kind or type

gender identity- the sex group (masculine or feminine) to which an individual biologically belongs

gender role- the set of behaviors that society considers appropriate for each sex

gender stereotype- an oversimplified or distorted generalization about the characteristics of men and women

headline- the short lines of emphasised text that introduce detail information in the body test that follows

ideology- the doctrines, opinions, or way of thinking of an individual, class, etc.; specifically, the body of ideas on which a particular political, economic, or social system is based; a set of beliefs about the world

jingle- verse or song that repeats sounds or has a catchy rhythm

jolt- a new jolt occurs each time a camera shot changes

line extension- new products in the same product category using the same brand name

media text- any form of reproduced communication, from a book, film, or CD, to an ad, a toy, or a T-shirt

mass media- the methods of communication used to reach large numbers of people at the same time - TV, newspapers, radio, magazines, films, books, the internet

marketing- the process of promoting and selling a product or service based on decisions about what the product image should be and who is most likely to buy it

parity product- products in which all or most of the brands available are identical

PSA- public service announcements

psychographics- an analysis of people's attitudes, beliefs, desires, and needs.

popular culture- mainstream culture - the arts, artifacts, entertainments, fads, beliefs and values shared by large segments of the society

positioning- based upon what the product does and who it is for

Public Service Announcement- PSAs are part of the licensing agreement of every commercial televsion and radio station and produce no advertising revenue. PSAs sell ideas, such as donating to charity.

representation- the way groups are presented in the media and popular culture, often through stereotypical images that affect our views of gender, race, class, age, and ability

slogan- short, memorable advertising phrase. When a product or company uses a slogan consistently, the slogan can become an important element of identification in the public's perception of the product.

sex role- a person's sex role is defined partly by genetic makeup but mainly by the society and culture in which the individual lives

signature- contact information

stereotypes- an unvarying form or pattern; specifically, a fixed or conventional notion or conception, as of a person, group, idea, etc., held by a number of people, and allowing for no individuality, critical judgment, etc.; over-simplified images or representations of people or groups of people based on race, gender, occupation, or age, which can be used to justify our popular attitudes and beliefs

storyboard- a series of sketches of the frames of an event, with the corresponding audio information, and shot list.

subheads- mini-headlines that appear lower in the print ad making the copy easier to readm making the ad more appealing, and helping direct the reader's attention

tag line- a phrase that follows the brand name and it is often at the end of a commercial or the bottom of an ad.

target audience- specific groups of people that media producers or advertisers want to reach

text- anything that is read. listened to, or viewed

trend- to have a general tendency: said of events, conditions, opinions,etc.

values- the social principles, goals or standards held or accepted by an individual, class, society, etc.

visual- photo or graphic

Initial Ideas

2008-10-15T01:43:00.000-07:00

Below are the initial idea's that me and Cilia had come up with in the first stages of production, next to these ideas are some of the 'USP's' which would be included:

-Mint's
USP: Takes away the causes of bad breath, its refreshing and it is the fastest working mint yet.
-Scented/ Pocket Tissues
USP: Variety of scents, Soft, Anti- Bacterial.
-Deodrant
USP: Suitable for everyone, no 'white marks' and an 'exotic' smell.
-Nail Varnish
USP: Long lasting, variety of colours, affordable, chip resistant.
-Mobile Phone
USP: Large pixel camera, internet connectivity, small, variety of colours and textures
-Bath/Shower Product
USP: Nice fragrance, free sponge, leaves skin feeling silky smooth, suitable for all skin types
-Healthy Eating
USP: Easy way to get your 'five a day'.
-Laptop
USP: Small screen, large memory, you are able to customize it to your own interests.
-Make-Up Remover
USP: Takes off even waterproof makeup, kiwi extract and in the form of a wipe.
-Perfume
USP: Romantic theme for 'him and her' in a portable packaging style

After we had discussed and brainstorm these idea's, we decided to narrow further to the idea of: Mints and Pocket Size Tissues

Mints Influences: Tic Tac, Mentos

-People in restaurant eating foods like garlic etc, mint cures the smell
-People with bad breath, try everyting, but only mint gives the best and freshest effect
-Mint being shared around a group of friends.
-Mint not being shared 'too good to be shared'
-Confidence booster, one someone has the mind they are confident
-Couple, woman cant get away from boyfriend after he's had mint
-Hard day at work, mint makes them feel refreshed
- Misunderstanding of guy smelling cat, when girl thinks he is complimenting her.

Pocket Tissues Influences: Kleenex, Olbus tissues

-Girl with cold, shoves normal tissues losely in her bag, they blow away, someone hands her pocket tissues.
-Someone upset, uses the pocket tissues given by friend
-Child sneezing, parent hands over pocket tissues

After looking at each of these idea's, we have come to the conclusion of advertising 'Mints'. We feel there are more possibilities and we can explore several idea's with this product. We feel it is the strongest and most positive idea we had. From here, I will be analysing a selection of adverts which have a similar style to what we want to create ourselves.

First stage of coursework

2008-10-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Before Cilia and I started our series of three Adverts, we firstly had to create an advertisement for 'Heinz Baked Beanz'. I thought that i'd put this up just as a base to our coursework and to show where we have come from. Below are a selection of initial ideas and the final piece!

psychographics marketing

2008-08-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

Some points on psychographics which give me a deeper insight into choosing a target audience and product.

"What is Psychographics Marketing?
Most marketing involves certain demographics, which refers to factors such as the age, location, marital status, ethnicity and religion of the person in question. Psychographics goes beyond this to ask questions of the lifestyles, behavior and attitude of the person in question to build up a more detailed picture of who they are. These tend to be directly related to consumerism, and the type of products that people prefer to buy based on their lifestyle choices.

Why is psychographics marketing important?

Surveys that ask these types of questions are vital to market researchers, who often use them to gain information on people who have bought their products in the past, or are tempted to do so in the future. Psychographics marketing can work alongside demographic marketing to allow advertisers to promote their products effectively, in order to sell their products in the long term. As many advertisers concentrate predominantly on demographics, using psychographics marketing as well can leave advertisers one-step ahead of their competition.

In the past, advertisers could easily buy advertising space that targeted the people that they wanted to buy their products. For example, they could buy advertising space which targeted men aged 18-35 who lived in the city. This was done using demographics. With the introduction of psychographics marketing, advertisers can now target specific men within that demographic, such as men who like to work out, or eat healthily. This helps them reach out to the men who may ultimately buy their products, whilst bypassing the ones who probably would not. They can do this by buying advertising space in a health and fitness magazine, for example. Men who do not have an interest in this topic are unlikely to read these types of magazines, so it is a cost-effective way of targeting the specific people that may buy your products."

The do's and dont's of Advertising

2008-08-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

While researching adverts that contain similar products that I have brainstormed, I looked at advertising as a whole and what people expect from a piece of Advertising. Below is a list of 'Do's and Dont's' related to Media Advertising and although they are simple, they helped me gain a clear understanding of what i need to produce in my own work.

Do

-Do keep your message fresh for the variety of media outlets. Do not use the exact same copy for each type of advertisement you employ. You do want to keep the same message, but use different words for different media to get that message across. This way you will not be repetitive.
-Do show your benefits, not your features. People want to know what your product can do for them. This is what draws them in. They will learn about all your great features after you have gathered enough interest for them to buy your product.
-Do learn from other advertising campaigns, including your competitions'. When you see an ad that really grabs your attention, take note and think about why - what about it made you look, stop, and take the time to read or listen? Ask others in your company or family to do the same. You can also ask what your co-workers' favourite commercials are - they are bound to remember at least one. Write these down and see if you find a common factor that makes these commercials so memorable. Try to incorporate this factor in your advertising materials.

Don’t

-Do not over- complicate your message. Keep it simple and short. Do not add too many details. Yes, your products have all these great benefits, but pick the top two or three and focus on those. If you add too much information, people will get confused or will tune your message out. Also, keep the layout simple by using easy-to-read fonts and limit the number of photos.

Good Video =D

2008-07-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favourite adverts which I think is cleverly done. I would love to be able to create something like this for A2, but im thinking its slightly impossible... lol