Explain the structures and techniques used in TV advertising

Television advertisement is a common and integral part of the Television industry. It generates lots of money for TV channels as they get paid to advertise products for companies, and this money that they get paid is usually quite a lot. The way that advertisement on TV is designated is through the use of rate cards. A rate card is something that contains information on different prices for advertising slots on television. The most expensive time to advertise is during peak hours and cheaper options are during daytime television. Television adverts also use many varying structures and narratives to get their message across. Some unique, some jumping on the bandwagon and some can be downright annoying. However, no matter how annoying you think an advertisement is, if you come away from watching it with its jingle stuck in your head, then the advertisement was successful.

Bandwagon

Bandwagon is a very common and effective technique used in television advertisement. It is where the advert pays homage to or references something in popular culture to attract the viewer’s attention as the content of the advert will contain something that is very well known. One example of the bandwagon technique is the Volkswagen Darth Vader advert. This advert effectively uses the bandwagon technique because it references perhaps the most well known and loved film franchises in the world, Star Wars. Because of this people will see the Star Wars reference and it will make them feel happy, it will make them associate this advert with happiness. Also what the child dressed up as Darth Vader is doing will perhaps make the viewer nostalgic of their own child hood because I can guarantee almost all Star Wars fans have attempted to use the force at least once so it will make people reflect on some childhood memories they may have. Another way in which this advert was effective was the fact that it

became a viral video online, at the time that this advert was out people were sharing it all over twitter, Facebook and YouTube and because of this advert got even more exposure internationally. Another advertisement which effectively used the Bandwagon technique was the T - Mobile flash mob advert. This advert is an effective use of the bandwagon technique

because at the time (2009) Flash mobs were a new phenomenon because they were unlike anything anyone had ever seen, whilst nowadays flash mobs aren’t exactly common place they are not as big in popular culture as they were in 2009. This advert was released when flash mobs were at the height of their popularity so it was the cool thing to do, and because of this people liked the advert more.

Humour

Humour is a very effective and common technique used in television advertisement. The reason it is so effective is because it will make people associate the product on screen with a happy feeling, even if the product is something as bland as car insurance if the advert can get a laugh out of the

viewer then they will associate the product with a happy feeling. It can also allow a company to completely change the image and reputation of their product. A good example of this is the old spice advert. This advertisement was incredibly effective and completely changed the reputation old spice because it allowed the product to be presented in a very humourus light, before this advertisement old spice was more or less exclusively targeted at old people, but now through the use of a very clever advertising campaign the identity of the brand has completely changed. This advertisement made it a cool thing for young men and boys to wear old spice even though it was normally something that was reserved for older gentlemen. It also allowed the company behind the product to advertise through word of mouth because at the height of its popularity everyone was talking about this because it was such a funny advert, it also allowed the company to create subsequent adverts that were along the same lines as this one, they even managed to have the actor Terry Crews in a few of them which increased their popularity even further.

Talking Head and Fear

Talking heads are a form of advertisement where an interview appears to be taking place. As the audience we imagine that that company is interviewing 'real' people, as opposed to actors, this makes us believe that the answer or reaction of the person on screen must also be real, making the company and the company product seem more trustworthy. This technique is so effective because it will make the audience listen to what's being said a lot more as the advert feels a lot more personal, it feels like the viewer is being spoken to directly to the person that is talking on screen. One advertisement that uses this technique effectively is the Think! don't drink and drive advert from 2008. This advertisement is very effective as it draws the audience in very well because in the beginning of the advert it has a very casual tone but it immediately switches to a dark and serious tone. The use of talking head in this advert is crucial and effective because it makes the advert feel a lot more personal, also the way that that the man speaking switches into several different personas during the advert helps. The use of the fear technique is effective because this advertisement wasn't created to sell a product it was created to make people not drink and drive, the message of the advert is very clear as it tells the story of a man who loses his job and license as a result of drink driving. This is obviously a horrible thing to have happen to you so that will make the audience warier of the consequences of drink driving, the fact that the advert is so personal and intense will help to drive this point even further.

Linear and non linear narrative

A linear narrative is a very effective way to advertise because it allows the company to tell the audience a story from start to finish, for example in the home office abuse advert we are shown the story of how a man is emotionally abusing a woman about the way she looks, this adverts narrative is linear because It goes from beginning to end, its short and sweet and it clearly delivers the message that this woman is being abused in a subtle way. This advertisement allows the audience to get an idea of the relationship between these two people and as the advert goes on we begin to realise more and more that their relationship Is an abusive one. The fact that this advertisement chose to use story telling makes it more effective because this advertisement isn’t selling a product it is informing people about a very big issue in society and giving them an example of a common scenario associated with abuse in relationships. A non linear narrative is something that tells a story from multiple point of view, by showing the ending and re shuffling different parts of a situation from what they’d normally be. This advertisement technique is incredibly effective because it allows the advertisement to show the viewer the consequences right from the start of the advert, if the advert was to open with a car crash then the viewer’s attention will be instantly grabbed because something shocking will be on screen, and the viewer will also want to see how the car crash happened. A good example of an advert that uses the non linear narrative is the THINK! Always wear a seatbelt advert, this advert shows us a car wreck in the beginning, then rewinds time to show us how it could have been prevented by the people wearing seatbelts. The opening shot of the crash crash is very graphic and quite gruesome so it will immediately grab the viewer’s attention so they will be drawn into watching the advert, and because of this they will understand the message of the advert more.

Conclusion

Television advertisement is a medium that is constantly changing and growing, as time goes on companies will always be finding new ways to advertise products, bandwagons will always move on, new issues that we don’t even know about yet will need to be advertised and perhaps as technology advances advertisements will advance technologically as well, one thing is for certain however. The go compare will be on our screens forever.