TV advert analysis

This particular TV advert is an advert for Magnum, focusing on it's new product and sustainable new usage. The message appears to be 'Magnum helps you with pleasure and luxury' therefore promoting the new Magnum
.

The primary target audience for this is likely to have a demographic target of middle class women. It could be suggested that it's target is B or higher. In the case of pyschographics, I would suggest the primary target would be aspirers and succeeders (as said on the teaching blog)^1, what with the high amount of luxury and seemingly high class nature of the magnum. In the secondary audience, I would expect the demographics to be young adults, age 16 - 25, seeing as it follows a party and very wild following and all the actors seem to be quite young. The secondary pyschographics could be main streamers, as the advert does seem to link to a film 'The Great Gatsby' which is very popular.


This is an example of the wild party atmosphere, does look a lot like ‘The Great Gatsby’ (Baz Luhrmann, 2013)


 This is an image from the film. The colour scheme, layout and atmosphere of fun and exuberance are what serves to highlight the preferred image of Magnum. This is how we know what the demographics are, and the primary pyschographics. The secondary pyschographics come from the fact that the film made a profit of $58.6 million suggesting that it was very popular. Another reason for the secondary pyschographic is that there was celebrity endorsement by Bella Hadid. She is a famous model, and serves to highlight the brands image by being this pretty, young, high class girl who self indulges. She doesn’t look gaudy or out of place in this whimsical factory.

This advert was most likely released in April 2018, and then there was a sort of 'VIP party' on 10th of May,^2. I would have expected it to be shown in a fairly prime area such as after a show such as Downtown Abbey. Something that is likely to be seen by people who like high class items. I would also expect the advert to be between two major shows, as it doesn't immediately grab attention but rather works in a build up sort of form. This means that the audience must have to sit through and watch it, so the most likely time they would do this would be in the middle of two shows that are relatively similar, and so they have to sit through the adverts in order to watch that show. The audience would be given something similar to watch whilst waiting for the show that they want to watch, and because it is similar, it bridges the gap and keeps them engaged in active viewing. Since it would be between two major shows, it also add to this sense of elation and build up that the audience is supposed to receive. The emotions are meant to build with the music. The other reason it most likely would have been shown at the prime area would be that is the most expensive area and therefore, highlights the money the brand has and therefore how luxurious it is.


Another place this might have been seen is Channel 4 after ‘The Great Celebrity bake off’ as it can be seen in the BARB ratings above that that is where a lot of people would have been watching TV. Downtown Abbey got 120 million viewers in total and has the image of being a very middle class show. Therefore the advert is likely to been seen around these two points.

The advert takes the form of live action, and links to the demographic primary audience, as it's live action removes the childish attributes which it would have had otherwise. The advert is completely stand alone, again mimicking it's high class audience, and suggesting how the viewer will be unique and elevated if they eat these Magnums. It also follows the idea of a mini drama, and this adds to the idea that the viewer can be like a character in a movie if they eat these Magnums. This also is highlighted by the links to the film, 'The Great Gatsby'

The advert has a humorous element to it , for example when the actress is mimicking the penguins waddle. This gives it a feeling of delight, or elation which is of course what the Magnum is supposed to give you. The uplifting Jazz music, similar to that of the time period in which it can be gathered it is set, also adds to the humor. A serious element can be gathered from the start, when the woman is getting out of the car and stepping up with the stick. This is then removed when she enters the seemingly whimsical 'Willy-Wonka-esque' factory. The music's build up also creates a sense of drama, especially before she enters the factory. The advert also has many inter textual references, with the most obvious being 'The Great Gatsby' with the shot of the house, the logo at the end, the music, and the time period. Another reference could be either of the films based on 'Charlie and the chocolate factory' with the factory and it's steampunk contraptions used to make chocolate Magnuns. The Advert may also have celebrity endorsement by model, Bella Hadid, playing the female character. The advert makes you want to emulate this lifestyle, looking at this luxury, hence the pyschographical audience of aspirers.

The Advert follows AIDA:

• How does it grab attention? - the mystery of what the stick is. However the advert is most likely made to go in the middle, of two major programs and so shocking attention, is most likely not it's aim.
• How does it arouse interest? - the strange location for a Magnum factory, the portrayal of how they are made. This makes the audience want to buy as it seems exotic and refined. The idea of the sustainabily grown Cacao makes the brand sound as if it cares about the planet and those who buy it. It also fits with their goals of helping the working class. 

• How does it stimulate desire? - the luxury feel of the advert, the elated joy of the model.
  
  Seen here in her gait and the penguins. 
  This makes the brand seem indulgent and elegant, but also fun and whimsical.
• How does it promote action? - the use of the imperative verb 'Take' and the overall commanding feel of the motto. It promotes a lifestyle that the audience wants as it seems better and more carefree. This will make them want a magnum as soon as possible. 

This advert has lifestyle appeal in that it shows a high class luxury style, so that people who want that lifestyle with associate Magnums with it. The renowned prestige of the brand and that classic shaped stick, also assist with this. There is supposedly a benefit, that Magnums help with a pleasure-filled  lifestyle and that they are the height of luxury. However Magnum doesn't really compare itself to other brands, it can be suggested that it is more prestigious than others because of the way it is suggested they are made.

OFCOM AND THE ASA.
OFCOM regulates UK television, so naturally they would have a section looking specifically at adverts. The names for this is the ASA, the advertising standards authority. These are some of their categories:

1. 01 Compliance
   Rules relating to social responsibility; legality and fair competition. It also spells out that the ASA applies the Code in the spirit, as well as the letter.
2. 02 Recognition of marketing communications
   Rules about making sure material is clearly identifiable as marketing communications / advertisements / advertorials.
3. 03 Misleading advertising
   A key and extensive section of the Code, containing rules such as substantiation (evidence to prove claims); pricing; the use of the word ‘free’; availability of products, comparisons, testimonials and more.
4. 04 Harm and offence
   Rules to ensure that ads do not cause harm or serious or widespread offence. Includes rules relating to shock tactics, unsafe practices and photosensitive epilepsy.
5. 05 Children
   Rules that must be followed if directing ads at children or featuring them. Includes rules about unsafe practices and unfair pressure; pester power and sales promotions for children.
6. 06 Privacy
   Rules about depicting members of the public; referring to people with a public profile; implying endorsement and the Royal Family.
7. 07 Political advertisements
   Clarification of when the Code applies to political advertisements
8. 08 Promotional marketing
   An important section about promotions (e.g. competitions, prize draws, instant wins, front page flashes, charity promotions etc) and incentive schemes. The rules cover the administration of the promotion, as well as the publicity.
9. 09 Distance selling
   Rules governing marketing communications that allow readers to place orders without face-to-face contact with the seller. Covers cancellation; fulfilment of orders and refunds.
10. 10 Use of data for marketing
    Rules governing the use of data for marketing. Rules cover marketing to consumers and businesses, and deal with consent, legitimate interests and transparency.
11. 11 Environmental claims
    Rules about making ‘green’ claims for products or services. Rules cover evidence, the clarity of claims and ‘life cycle’ of products.
12. 12 Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products
    A high level of scrutiny is applied to marketing communications for such products or treatments. These rules cover evidence levels (very high levels needed for medicinal claims); suitable qualifications for those claiming to treat; medicines rules; herbal and homeopathic product rules; cosmetics and hair growth / loss.
13. 13 Weight control and slimming
    Rules for ads for weight control, slimming foodstuffs and aids, including exercise; diets, clinics and medicines. Rules cover the targeting of ads as well as the content.
14. 14 Financial products
    Rules for financial marketing communications that are not regulated by the FCA or Trading Standards.
15. 15 Food, food supplements and associated health or nutrition claims
    Rules relating to health and nutrition claims in foodstuffs; claims for vitamins and minerals; infant and follow on formula and food and soft drinks marketing to children.
16. 16 Gambling
    Social responsibility rules for gambling and spread betting. The rules cover content and targeting are designed to protect under 18s and the vulnerable.
17. 17 Lotteries
    Social responsibility rules that apply to lotteries (including The National Lottery; Gambling Commission licensed lotteries and locally registered lotteries).
18. 18 Alcohol
    Social responsibility rules for alcoholic drinks. The rules cover content and targeting are designed to protect under 18s and the wider population.
19. 19 Motoring
    Social responsibility rules for motor vehicles, covering safety, speed and irresponsible or anti-social driving behaviours.
20. 20 Employment, homework schemes and business opportunities
    Rules that require clarity of the nature of employment and business opportunities, including display of earnings and any commitments required from consumers. Section covers employment agencies, homework schemes, business opportunities, vocational training and instruction courses.
21. 21 Tobacco, rolling papers and filters
    Rules to prevent promotion of smoking via ads for non-tobacco products.
22. 22 Electronic cigarettes
    Rules that apply to the marketing communications for electronic cigarettes and related products.

https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/advertising-codes/non-broadcast-code.html

Magnum did stick to all the rules in their advert, otherwise the advert would have been banned. Lots of adverts however have been removed by the ASA such as an advert by XBOX that involved a woman giving birth in a graphical and possibly offensive way. Lots of other adverts have come under their scrutiny, such as a KFC dancing chicken advert and a dove breast feeding one. The general reason the adverts are allowed to continue, if they are not pulled back by the brand, is that they are humorous.
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/the-funniest-tv-ads-that-were-axed-38939
https://www.asa.org.uk/news/top-10-most-complained-about-ads-from-2017.html

In this particular advert Magnum also has a focus on sustainability and lack of plastic. Despite previous Magnum adverts all having the Magnums being shown in their packaging, this one does not. This is because the brand that owns Magnum, Unilever, has a big focus on Global Warming and how they can be more environment friendly. Also messages about Global Warming, were then starting to become apparent, like an example of a trend, people were starting to buy more sustainable things. Having the beans grown sustainably also helps the farmers that grow the beans. Magnum have said that, ‘The beans help to raise the farmers income, more women have the freedom to live the way they want and more children have access to education.’ This is all part of Unilever’s goals, such as reducing the gender and class gaps in society.

MISE-EN-SCENE ANALYSIS

Dark lights - mystery, power of editing, high budget. 

Spotlit - focus, dramatic

Car - era, luxury 

Building - luxury, mystery.

Lights - mystery, luxury 

Stamp - VIP club idea, posh, professional 

Man - Costume (Luxury, High Class), Mystery, Doorman 

Woman - Celebrity endorsement (Bella Hadid) Costume (Elegance, Rich, 1920s) Face (Classy Excitement).

Lights -  Luxury, Open, Happy
Workers - Cartoonish, Doll like, Professional
Fountain - Prestige, Luxury
Engravings (Wall, Fountain) - Roman/Greek, Ancient Beauty, Classy
Hadid - 1920s Dress, Luxury, Joy, Happiness, Clichèd.

Lights - Mysterious, Luxurious, Arctic Feel.
Penguins -  Whimsicality, Fun, Random, Animated so they would do what the director needed them to do but made to look live action so they wouldn’t look childish.
Hadid -  Fun, Goofy, Classy, Humorous.
Ice - Magnum use fancy techniques to freeze their ice

Lights - luxury, mystery, accentuating the colours
Colours - luxury, rich
Bar feel - fun, luxurious
Hadid - Luxury, feel of entering a secret club, secretive.
Man - Professional, Whimsical, Mystery.

Chocolate - tempting, silky, luxurious, shiny, Sea impression.
Almonds - large, engraved, cartoonish
Lighting - used to make the chocolate look more luxurious.

Lighting - focused on middle, mystery, happy.
M - Logo, Iconography, Reference, Sun, Luxury
Motto - Imperative, Urgent, Oxymoronic, Short, Snappy, makes audience want to move now as it is commanding.

Confetti - Luxury, Jubilation.
People - Popular, Luxury.
Camera - birds eye, made to look large, make audience feel like an outsider so they eat the Magnums

Overall, the camera angles are made to add to the high class feel of the advert and they are nothing too outlandish. The colour scheme references the time period, which makes the audience feel the brand fits with the period, and therefore has the self indulgence and whimsical attributes of that period. The iconography serves to reference ‘The Great Gatsby’ (Baz Luhrmann - 2013) with that golden line pattern which is present in boths scenes. The Magnum logo at the end looks like a golden sun, which has the connotations of being happy and luxurious. This suggests that Magnum is like the sun, it will make your day bright and joyful, while being this golden icon. Bella Hadid is used to show the sort of people that would enjoy the advert, that young and pretty, carefree woman. Since she is also a model, she is seen as elegant and refined, the sort of brand that Magnum is. Lighting overall is used to, again connote the high class atmosphere, as well show off the mystery and darkness of Magnum. This therefore links it back to the original campaign of the seven deadly sins, that pleasure can be found in the darkness, that indulgence is a good thing.  

MUSIC
The music is jazz, showing that it references the time period the advert is based upon. This creates a happy and uplifting style, reaching it's peak in the final 10 seconds when the people are having the party. This conveys the idea that Magnum is timeless and that it makes people want to party.

NARRATION
The narration serves to tell the watcher what the ice cream is made of. One of the things mentioned is sustainable cocoa, which fits with the Unilever idea, that they want to improve world issues. People are also more likely to buy things that will help the environment, if just for some sense of power. The other ingredients, such as the Madagascan vanilla, help to make the product seem more luxury.

OVERALL ANALYSIS CONCLUSION
This advert is specifically tailored to be luxurious, and then to add a sense of whimsicality into that luxury. This follows their motto, that the fun nature of the whimsical elements must be taken seriously by the luxury. The 1920s, especially in America, were known as great times of a combination of luxury and fun. This is further backed up by the bar, as alcohol consumption was at a peak in the 1920s, as it was all the range for the rich and their exuberant parties.

References:
1, http://btecmediaen1.blogspot.com/search/label/C.%20Assignment%202%3A%20Television%20Advertising

2, https://www.magnumicecream.com/uk/campaigns/cannes-film-festival-2018.html

Preproduction paperwork

Brief TV advert analysis

From the avert it is possible to as that the primary audience, regarding demographics, is possibly men aged 30-50. This is because the actors, AKA Robert de Niro, have been in films that are mostly to have been watched by a male audience. The advert is also fairly action based, further suggesting a Male target. Income wise, it may have been directed at the middle class, or even the upper class since the characters in the advert all seem to be powerful. Pyschographically, this advert may have been directed at mainstreamers, since Warburtons is a well-known brand, or even succeeders, since Warburtons is a successful brand. One psychographic might be the idea that it is intended for people who already like bagels, as the advert suggests it is the best bagel by comparison, rather than talking about what the bagel is or more simple factors. For the secondary audience: A suggestion for the demographics could be women, as Robert de Niro is likely to be known to some women, and it seems to be directed towards the British and American audiences, as many other ethnicities don’t eat the amount of bread that they do. It could also be suggested that it is aimed at C1 and C2, or the white collar and blue-collar workers, as the price is low, and the advert shows several supermarkets where those people are likely to work in. Pyschographically, this product might be aimed at the explorers, who have never tried a bagel before.

Unilever Research

COMING SOON

Evaluation of Depict! task

The Task

For the beginning of my BTEC media course, we had to create a depict. This is a short film, lasting 90 seconds, to be entered in a competition; https://www.depict.org/ We were not required to enter it into the completion but instead create something that could potentially be entered. There were not many requirements, save the fact that it had to be seconds and that you couldn't use any copyrighted characters.

The Idea

From watching the previous Depict! videos, I began to accumulate ideas. I wanted to do something dramatic, similar to that of a trailer. Ideally my video would be sad, but still have that cliffhanger fell to it. There would be loud music, and it would make you feel excited to watch it. I think because of this, I wanted to do a video that was about death, with a lot of symbolism and hidden meaning. One of my favourite ideas was one where somebody says "(The dictionary definition for death)" and then says something that is both ambiguous and metaphorical. During this the lights would eb dark, and there would be piano music in the background that would build up and then suddenly stop when the person speaks and then walks away as the soft music starts up again. It would be very dramatic, but that'd be the style of it. I had many other ideas after this, but none were as compelling.

Despite this, however, my group wanted to do a comedy and after listening to a talk by a director, I eventually agreed. The original idea was to do a group of blind superheros, and then have this one guy who has one eye and can see as a superhero. I however, thought this was a little offensive and so steered the group away from this. We ended up sticking with the bad superhero idea, going from a guy who's in a coma dreaming he's a superhero to all the possibilities and controvertial pitfalls of a 'straight jacket'. Eventually we ended up settling with the idea that a guy sees a superhero on TV and then says that he 'could do that' only to fail during the montage, ending with him jumping off a cliff and ending up in hospital, where the original superhero is seen checking his pulse.

Planning documentation and processes.

With our paperwork, there was a lot to be done For example the storyboards, shot list, location recees, location releases, talent releases, prop and costume list, risk assessment and then the production schedule. I did pull my weight, but ended being a bit of a dictator when it came to it. I bossed my group around a lot, and ended up shouting quite a bit. This was because I would get frustrated easily when people didn't understand things as quickly as I did. However this was unfair, and I have made an attempt to change it.

Finished work Vs Planning

Our planning does reflect our finished video, and it did help with the filming. Due to the production schedule, we did finish filming on time, though it was very difficult to stick to the exact times. Surprisingly the shot list was the most useful and we ended up using it alot, for all the paperwork and for the editing. Overall I think our planning contributed to make for an organised film, even if the time executing the planning wasn't as organised.

Favourite moments.

0:33

This is one of my favourite bits, as it is quite funny. Whenever we watch the video or even get others to watch it, I always end up laughing at this scene. Though it is probably one of the most cliché bits of the entire piece, I think it just gives the 'film' a bit of raw comedy.

1:26 

Due to Daltons acting and just the overall feel of this scene, I can honestly say that this is one of my favourite bits.  I think it came out exactly the way I imagined it, a mockery of the 'fake identity' that is an element of many superhero movies.

Worst Moments. 

0:04

This scene came out quite wrong. I think it was because it had to be rushed or maybe even the fcat the location doesn't seem good enough. Either way the scene seems sloppy and if it had made any sense chronologically, I would have liked to put it somewhere else.

0'48 

In terms of humour and usage of lighting and camera angles, this scene isn't that bad. However, at the very end, there is a continuity error. The tripod is visible in the scene. I know this can sometimes happen in real movies, but this really annoys me, and so for me is the worst scene.

 Most enjoyed factor.

The thing I enjoyed the most about the depict! project, was the plot design. I adored coming up with all the ideas and writing them down in a big sprawling mind map that was a mess, but it was an acceptable mess. There was a lot of possibility for this project, and while I don't think it was wasted, there were lots of other Ideas that I would have liked to try.