Advertising Question

Explain how representations in adverts are constructed to promote the product. Choose two of the adverts you have studied.

In the Old Spice advert, the product is promoted in an unusual way. This is achieved through the positioning of random items with each other, such as Isiah Mustafa on a white stallion, holding a bottle of Old Spice shampoo on a handful of diamonds. The advert also takes place on a beach. They only part of the advert that relates to the product is the speech and the actual product that is featured. This creates a unique feel about the product and allows it to stand out from regular grooming product adverts. Most video advertisements show the product being used and the benefits gained from using the product. Old Spice stray extremely far from the norm by very seldom mentioning the product, only that it will turn you into a ‘proper’ man. This abstract representation of the product promotes it positively and effectively as it remains in the minds of the audience that have seen it; this is made clear by the common idea of Old Spice having strange and unusual adverts.

The setting of the advert represents the product as perfect and ideal. The idyllic location seems almost like paradise, the pale colour scheme of the beach makes the product seem natural while the connotation of paradise makes it appear as though the product is capable of creating a sense of luxury. The location of the advert is reminiscent of the original Old Spice adverts that took place in the sea. The intertextuality between the adverts of different time periods makes the product appeal to different age demographics. A younger demographic would be attracted by the beach in the up to date advert, whereas the beach featured in this advert may attract old customers from the time of the original adverts that like the use of an old iconic advert. The representation of Old Spice as luxurious and idyllic promotes the product extremely effectively because it gives customers an incentive to purchase the product as they may be under the impression that the extreme, luxurious props in the advert will be given to them. 

In the advert, men are represented as unmanly unless they use Old Spice. This is done through the use of Isiah Mustafa in the advert. Mustafa is stereotypically good-looking due to his muscular physique. The mise en scene is him with a casually draped sweater over his shoulders and bright white trousers. This makes the brand feel luxurious as the costume looks posh. Mustafa has an intense expression on his face and has a hand on his hip in a devil-may-care fashion, he also speaks with a deep voice. All of these elements of the mise en scene may be regarded as manly and so aid the representation of Old Spice being a manly brand. This promotes the product effectively to both men and heterosexual women. It makes men want to purchase it to smell like a man and heterosexual women in a relationship to buy the product for their partner. 

The colour scheme in this Old Spice advert has quite a few colours, they are mainly pale pastel colours, representing the product as natural. The advert takes place in a beach location and so the colours expected in this location are present. Because the setting and the colours are pleasant and not harsh it promotes the product as pleasant. The location has connotations of paradise as it is an isolated beach, this represents the product as allowing for paradise to be achieved through the use of the product. This promotes it very effectively. 

In the Shelter advert there is a lack of representation regarding diversity of ethnic background. This lack of representation promotes the brand as being able to be used by anyone because they are not stereotyping the face of homelessness. They are making the people featured in the advert look blank and therefore able to represent anyone the audience wants it to, usually themselves. The people in the advert do not look stereotypically homeless as most people picture them as being dirty and scruffy. This representation of homeless people as counter typical promotes the service as accessible and not out of reach to everyone and so the service is not exclusive for homeless stereotypes.

The people in the adverts are represented as vulnerable, this is constructed through the use of the extreme close up images of the subjects in the adverts. This is used to represent people going through homelessness as facing and extremely tough time but also represents the charity as a strong presence that will protect them and try to help them as best as they possibly can. This promotes the service as effective and supportive in order to help people feel safe in this time of vulnerability. It promotes the charity very effectively. 

Shelter uses the basic colour scheme of white, black and red in order to represent homelessness as a very serious and very real threat to a lot of people. These colours are very standard for a colour scheme and the lack of complexity may represent the process of Shelter helping with homelessness as having a lack of complexity as well and so is very easy and so should be done by anyone that is either facing or going through homelessness. This representation promotes the charity as serious and simple which makes it seem less scary and easier that it may be thought at first.