Research Techniques & Methods

Codes & Conventions of An Advert

Codes and Conventions of an Advert

Before looking at the two different adverts I have decided to look at closely and analyse what codes and conventions they use and what the purpose are for them. I will underneath explain the different types of codes that can make an advert different and memorable. These main codes and conventions are; music, lighting, intextuality, nostalgia, using animals, famous people (aspiration/ celebrity endorsement), catchy (through the use of slogan), shocking/surprising and humour/funny.

Music- Within adverts they can tend to use different music backgrounds and these help with the theme of the advert whether it is happy or sad it helps create that suspense, the music can also help add to the effect of making the advert memorable. 
Lighting- The lighting helps with the atmosphere of the advert if the advert is sad having a dark atmosphere can really set the tone and make the audience more engaged as they would feel sorry for the young people or animals.
Intextuality- Intextuality is meant by when one text references another text this can be seen in many different adverts as they use this convention to make it more exciting and engaging this is seen in the Kinda Beurno chocolate advert as it sets references to a famous film 'Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory'.
Nostalgia- This type of convention is when the advert makes a older target audience remember their past and almost look back on the good. This is effective as it allows the viewer to have some link to the advert.
Endorsement- Celebrity Endorsement is widely used for fragrances as many viewers look up to celebrities and want to almost be like them so using celebrities makes the advert seem aspirational and also memorable. 
Catchy- Many adverts come across as very catchy through their slogans for example the meerkat advert is not widely remembered but the slogan is very memorable therefore a lot of people remember the advert and this is effective because a lot of people are talking about the advert.
Shocking- When an advert using an aspect that uses a shocking or surpassing element can leave the target audience thinking which makes the advert being memorable for example the advert about drugs always shows different drugs can do to you and these are effective because they are surprising to what they can do to your body.
Humor- This is a very catch convention that can be used in adverts that are aimed at younger people as it makes them laugh and they typically would want to watch it again making it memorable to them.

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Kellogg's Frosties advert

The Kellogg's Frosties advert uses different codes and conventions. The first one that plays a huge part which is the use of Iconography. In the Kellogs Advert it uses this convention through the diving being adventerious, the diving board is extremely high which connotes to the advert seeming to be more amusing to watch. Mostly for children they would see this as adventurios as they probably would like to dive from that hieght. The use of the location helps with intriging young children into wanting to dive as high at that. This helps with the advertising of the product as it makes it seem by eating the Kellogs helps you to dive that high.

The image towards the right shows the use of the location. This makes a strong overall message almost if you 'eat the cereal you can do anything' relating to the hieght of the diving board which is not normal. It comes across as very aspirational.

Also another point from this advert is that technically the use of the tiger has no relation to the actual product but by using a character brings in young people to watch it because it becomes more humerous than just watching a normal person dive of a diving board.

The use of the sound in this documentary works well with the overall advert as they all relate to the work up to the dive. It also makes it seem very humourous towards the young generation and also very intriging. I'd say the sound also plays a big part of making the advert memorable because its very catch espically when the tiger says the sologon at the end 'Their Great' which is a repeated slogon in all the different adverts for Kellogs so that could come across as annoying but people still remember it.

The advert also uses different camera angles and this all tighs in with the sound effects to make the advetr humerous and memorable, so it does not neccessarily have anything to do with the cereal until the end. The different angles make the advert more interesting to watch than to watch it all from one angle, it also emphasises the different points. Doing a close up shot of the cereal also  makes it very simple and catch because thats all you seem to look at. Underneath shows the different use of angles in the advert. The use of different camera angle shots also relates to the cuts between shots there are not effects between shots it is all continutity that just showcases the story board.

There is also a good use of computer graphics its short but snappy which also catches the viewers eye making the advert more engaging to watch. For young children the use of the computer graphics will really stand out for them as they will think its 'cool'. The use of the graphics stick out and for a child they will look at that and think that want to be like that (strong and supercharged) so in this case its aspirational to young children. This can also come under humour as you wouldn't necessarily see a tiger acting like a human. So by giving a tiger a humans features can make it funny. The special affects through the animations is also very seen as the whole advert is all based on animations and none of it is real. Also the use of the voice over gives you simple information and persuades you to buy the product. It is also an easier way to promote the advert all over the world as you can do different language voice overs for the different countries and this will not affect the pricing of making the advert. The voice overs mode of address is very simple worded and happy toned, this relates to young people more and almost makes it seem to parents if there children ate frosties that would be happy. The accent sounds very American but is clear to understand. The words are simple not complex. The whole of this advert is also done all by graphics which makes it seem cartoon like, like watch a programme. It also is very light which makes the whole advert seem uplifting rather than down and sad.

This whole advert has an impact on the target audience of young people as it makes them want to buy the product as they will feel like that they will be able to do 'invincible' things like the tiger in this advert as thats what the product almost does. It shows you if you eat this product you can do anything. The other aspect that also ties the tagert audience to buy the product is the simple slogan at the end 'It tastes great', this automatically makes the viewers to want to taste it and see if it really is nice.

Lucozade Sport Advert

This lucazade advert that I have looked at uses different codes and conventions from the previous advert I have looked at and this is mainly as the adverts have two different target audiences which is why the style of the advert may be different. The lucazade advert that I have chosen if from the 2012 addition and this company continue to do the same kind of adverts that focus towards a more active audience. 

Firstly the camera angles and shots are varied throughout this advert. The lucazade advert uses a variety of different camera shots from the first interesting shot being a birdseye shot which sets the tone of the adverts and shows the location. This show is very affective to the viewer as it it very different to any other ordinary shots. There are also many different shots throughout the advert for example: a close up shot of Louis Smith's hands; low angle shots; mid shots, these shots all help with the establishing of each movement in the shot. 

(different screen shots i.e birdseye, close up, mid shot)

At the beginning of the advert you see a shot of Louis drinking the drink they are trying to sell being the 'Lucazade' and as the camera draws into a mid-shot of him drinking it as it pans up to reflect on the movement. This is very effective because the action in the shot is very simple but it allows the audience to remember the product which also related to the whole advert relating specifically to the product. Theres is also another close up shot of the product towards the end and it has the same impact but this time it does not show the athlete 'Louis Smith'. 

As the advert is only 41seconds the pace of the editing is extremely fast and tying is with the camera angles it feels very intense which relates to the advert and what the product is trying to showcase which is the drink makes you "Faster, stronger, for longer". This slogan helps make the advert seem very effective because the speed of the advert is very fast, the shot types showcase being strong through the shots of Louis Smith's muscles. The pace of the cuts make the advert very engaging and memorable for the last shot to be of the lucazade which is a much longer shot than all the other shots. The middle sequence is very effective because it feels like its leading up to something scary i.e how you'd see a scary movie but instead to goes simply to the product. The editing is also continuity as it has a flowing order and therefore does not use any types of wipes or cuts.  

Iconography 

The lucazde advert shows a simple location which seems to be in a warehouse/stadium which draws your attention fully to the prop which is a horse vault which relates to the use of endorsement being the Gold medalists in gymnastics 'Louis Smith'. Louis smith wears Gymnast attire which emphasises on who he is. This shows that by drinking lucazade sport you are almost a winner like Louis Smith. The use of Louis smith is also very engaging as it makes the views aspire to be like him i.e be an athlete. Louis Smith is also an icon to many young aspiring athletes therefore by using him in the advert shows that 'famous and worthy athletes' drink this drink and clearly it works. So the impact of this use of a famous athlete is very intriguing even if the viewers are not athletes, i.e young girls find Louis Smith attractive therefore would want to watch the advert regardless. The use of this convention helps sell the product more and make the advert more memorable as viewers remember these types of adverts other adverts that use normal people. 

Lighting

The lighting draws a big impact on this advert and is shows that this advert genially wouldn't be interesting to young children in primary, the lighting seems serious which the use of actual feeling of studio set up lighting. The flashing lights almost help emphasis with the energy of the drink and how much it is helping, it contrasts with what the energy drinks does to your body through the flashing of the lights. The setting of the location is very dark with simple white lights. This has an impact on the viewer as it seem relatively different to other adverts which makes it more interesting to watch.

Sound & Music

The sound and music are very strange in this advert as it is not a set soundtrack it is mainly sound affects that reflect on the different things happening. There are specific sound affects that emphasis on each aspect for example the noise of the wind when Louis Smith is on the Horse Vault is very affective as you not only see each thing the music gives that sort of suspense feel, almost like you watching a movie. At 0.18 the sound affects in the background start to arise seeming louder, faster which ties in with the slogan this has an impact on the viewer as it takes them on a journey. The background sound affects seem like an aeroplane is about to take of therefore the noise becomes louder and faster as the plane is generating this emphasises on the drink generating the energy in Louis's body. As you can hear the sound of an aeroplane taking off there is a voice over by Louis where he says 'takes you faster' this is effective because it almost makes the drink seem extraordinary different from other energy drinks.

Graphics
The main graphics we tend to see in this advert is the use of big bold text when seeing the slogan 'Faster. Stronger. For longer.'  These all emphasise on what the drink does to your body which makes the viewers want to buy it and test it. There is also an effect in the advert which is very effective because the hold speed of the advert is fast with fast past cuts, flashing lights, suspending sound effects and then you see the affect of the slow motion on Louis Smith when on the horse vault. This is effective as it does not take away from listening to the important information about the drink and what it does.

Comparison 

Looking at the two different adverts I have analysed through their different codes and conventions it is clear that have both been portrayed in different ways through the adverts are for completely different targets audiences which leads to the content of the adverts being different. Each advert are designed to persuade viewers to buy the product but both have certain interests audiences. The kellogs advert is mainly aimed at young people through the use of a cartoon charter whereas the lucazade  advert is mainly aimed at those who participate in sport and are genially older than 12years old(rough estimation). 

Both adverts had different contexts and are both memorable in their own ways, the kellogs one will be memorable through its humour and the lucazade advert would be memorable through the use of Louis Smith. Both adverts display a different feel to their overall advert which contrasted with the pace of the editing and the theme and tone i.e the lighting and location. The lucazade advert seemed more serious with the use of dark lighting and a simple location which drawer you simply into the horse vault. It also used a fast past of editing. The kellogs advert was very happy therefore the location was outside and very bright. This advert did not have has many cuts as the lucazde advert as it was not as serious or demanding.