6. What I have learnt about industry in relation to television, print or radio advertising and how I intend to use this knowledge and understanding to ensure my production is appropriate to the media industry context of the set brief I have chosen.

The ASA

When creating a print advert to go on show in the public domain (in this case a film magazine) one must bear in mind the fact that any advert must not cause any offence as this will not only damage any message you're trying to put across, but also risk the removal of your advert altogether. The body in charge of ensuring no offensive advert is allowed to be displayed is the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The ASA has an extensive list of rules and regulations regarding advertisements, with some of the key ones below:

Advertisements should not:
- Mislead viewers with false information
- Cause serious or widespread offence or harm
- Use shock tactics to promote their product
- Promote lotteries, gambling, betting, alcohol or smoking – disclaimers must be included in adult advertisements, for example “Please drink responsibly” at the end of alcohol adverts
- Be seen to favour particular political issues or parties

Advertisements should:
- Be appropriate for all ages before the UK's 9pm watershed
- Have clear and reliable evidence for claims made
- Show acceptance of diversity and promote equality
- Promote safety in all vehicle adverts eg. not using vocabulary such as 'fast' on a car advert and encourage the use of safety equipment on motorbikes
- Use royalty free or original music

Firstly, here is an example of a print advert that didn't meet the guidelines of the ASA and was removed after over five and a half thousand complaints.

The above advert was released by Paddy Power in 2014 and is based around the Pistorius/Steenkamp trial. It was removed due to the fact that it was making a mockery out of a serious murder trial with serious poor taste. It first of all encourages punters to bet on whether Pistorius would be found guilty and therefore trivialises the murder and turns it into something much less serious. It also puns on the fact that Pistorius cannot walk to not only insult him but also make a joke that he is/was guilty, something that is highly unprofessional for such a big company. 

On the other hand, an advert that is very blunt and down to the wire whilst still remaining on the good side of the ASA's codes can prove very effective in communicating a message. For example, the above advert for the Pancreatic Cancer Action charity did receive a fair few complaints from the public, but the complaints were not upheld by the ASA as they were deemed irrelevant. This advert connotes how serious pancreatic cancer is by controversially saying that testicular cancer is much better. This received complaints as it could be seen that it is taking away from the severity of testicular cancer, however the statement really hits home (its desired outcome) as it makes any reader aware of how serious pancreatic cancer is, as a patient is shown to be 'wishing' to have testicular cancer. This oxymoron is very effective in creating a large impact, whilst remaining within the ASA guidelines.

Total Film Magazine

Total Film Magazine is a monthly British film magazine published by Future Publishing. It focuses on all things film-related, such as director interviews, reviews and exclusive 'sneak-peeks'. They have a core audience of 75% males of ages 18-35. The magazines film-focus why I will be referencing popular movie titles in each of my 4 adverts. For example in the advert set in Brick Lane, the caption will be "The Devil Wears Prada, but I wear Wave". This will appeal to the audience of Total Film magazine as it is a pun on a famous film title, whilst also tying in to the messages conveyed in the advert itself and thus reinforcing my brand. This is important as it will make my adverts humorous to the TA- who are "regular film goers".

This is crucial information to bear in mind as I will mostly have to appeal to the overlap between my own 16-25 year-old TA and Total Film's male-skewed 18-35 year-old audience.

5. What I have learnt about the representation of events, issues, individuals and social groups in television, radio or print adverts and how I intend to demonstrate this knowledge and understanding in my production in order to communicate meaning successfully.

From my research it has become apparent that a successful deodorant advert will appeal to people in a plethora of ways, one such way is through positive representations of events, issues, individuals and social groups.

One way in which adverts can use representation to sell a product is by reinforcing existing beliefs and stereotypes in order to give their advert certain aspirational qualities. An example of this is the Axe advert below.

This advert reinforces certain gender stereotypes in order to appeal to its target audience by being aspirational to them. The male model above is quite muscular and refined and also owns a blue, retro fifties-style car. These features are all things that the male half of the target audience would all want to be/have. Therefore, this connotes to the target audience that if they buy the male Axe deodorant they too can be all these things. Furthermore, the female model in this ad is made to appear attractive, especially to the male in the advert. this is done by giving her flawless skin, a very tight skirt and strapless top. This is effective as the females in the target audience would wish to appear attractive and desirable to members of the opposite gender. This implies that if they buy Axe deodorant, they will be exactly that.


However, it is also possible to appeal to the target audience by challenging representations and stereotypes. This is important as stereotypes are very sweeping and many feel that they are wrong and so challenging them appeals to that mindset.

This advert features two different homosexual couples, one gay couple in the bottom left and one lesbian couple in the bottom right. This will appeal to the youthful and open minded 16-25 year old target audience, especially if they themselves are gay or lesbian, as this advert represents their sexuality in a positive way and thus relates to them in a good way. Furthermore, the fact that youth is presented in a much more diverse way in general as opposed to only being objects to stand there and be attractive makes the CK2 brand seem much more down to earth and relatable, due to the less surreal representation of their age group.

I hope to use representation in my own campaign in order to make the TA feel included  by featuring models doing things that the target audience relate to and thus relate to the brand. I will do this by having 4 different adverts where the models are all doing things that the TA not only want to do/are doing, but are also not completely unrealistic- therefore capturing them.

4. What I have learnt about the content and appeal of television, radio and print adverts and how I intend to demonstrate this knowledge and understanding in my production in order to communicate successfully with the target audience.

When creating a print deodorant advert, I have learnt that it is highly effective to include imagery or text which gratifies various needs/wants of the target audience. This ensures that the advert(s) are relevant to their ideology/views and therefore is going to be effective.

For example, the above Axe advert is from a campaign where a male sprays the deodorant on and causes angels to fall from heaven. The reason Axe chose to use this specific male model is as he is quite similar to the target audience. He is similar enough to be relatable, whilst still featuring some aspirational elements. For example he has a tattoo on his upper right arm- something the TA may find aspirational and 'trendy'. this therefore implies that if the TA use this deodorant, they too will be aspirational. It is this aspirational element that I hope to encapsulate within my own print ads. I intend to do this by featuring a wide range of models, all doing different things and doing them well. This means that chances are, at least one of my adverts will feature a model who is aspirational to my 16-25 year-old TA- meaning they are more likely to connect with the advert.

This Vodafone advert, which isn't actually about deodorant but is still relevant, is an effective example of Intertextuality. Intertextuality is when one media text utilizes something from another in order to further or deepen its own meaning. for example, the advert above plays on the infamous grammar of the Star Wars character, Yoda. This engages the target audience as it is something that they are familiar with and they find amusing, thus associating Vodafone with the same positive characteristics. I hope to effectively include intertextuality in my own campaign to not only associate my own brand, Wave, with another text's positive connotations but to also tie in with the magazine that my adverts will appear in- Total Film. This is why I will be referencing popular film titles in each of my 4 adverts. For example in the advert set in Brick Lane, the caption will be "The devil wears Prada, but I wear Wave". This will appeal to the audience of Total Film magazine as it is a pun on a famous film title, whilst also tying in to the messages conveyed in the advert itself and thus reinforcing my brand.

3. What I have learnt about the codes and conventions of television adverts and how I intend to demonstrate this knowledge and understanding in my production in order to communicate successfully

In order to produce an effective and appealing campaign it is essential to refer to previous adverts as a starting point. This is to ensure that the adverts we produce will be engaging, as pre-existing ads have been.

Below are a few examples of classic conventions within personal hygiene adverts that would be useful to contain within my own.

Pictured above is an advert for Old Spice body wash/moisturiser. It features a packshot in the bottom right corner of the product. It is important to feature an image of the product as this is not only crucial in telling the target audience what the product looks like, but it also can be a useful tool in creating a strong and unmistakable brand identity. I hope to emulate this in my own campaign as it is a great way to create synergy between adverts, especially when the content of the advert will vary so much aesthetically, like my own.

The above advert for a dove canned deodorant effectively uses bold text in order to ground the image, in this instance, in the form of a caption. This is effective as it not only catches the eye, but also uses imperative verbs in order to engage with the target audience by almost having a conversation with them. I hope to emulate this capturing aspect in my own campaign, although via the slogan as opposed to the caption.

This Sure advert uses the convention of having a focal image featuring a person using direct address. This is an effective convention as the use of direct address engages not only the desired target audience but also any passer-by/reader etc. by appearing to connect with them personally. I am attempting to use this direct in most if not all of my 4 adverts as, for the reasons above, I believe it will be very effective in attracting the gaze of and readers flipping through Total Film Magazine.

2. Existing adverts/campaigns I have researched and how these have influenced my ideas

In order to create an appropriate and conventional advert campaign I had to do some research in order to hone and contextualise my ideas.



Firstly, it was necessary for me to create a mood board to help me visualise my initial ideas.

However, the original plans I had for my campaign were both impractical and also not the best fit for the brief. The mood board was still useful though as it contains a few ads that are still relevant to my current idea and have influenced the style of my campaign.


The first advert that has influenced my ideas is the duochrome Sure advert.

• I like the effective use of model as a focal image to connote both emotion but also the brand values, which in this case are encouraging women to be strong and counter values in society, such as stigma about sweaty armpits.
• The use of bold, standout font is something I hope to emulate with my own advert. The colour of the text also ties synergistically with the pack shot.
• I also hope to incorporate an effective pack shot in the bottom right corner of my ad to inform the TA of what that specific version of the deodorant looks like.

The second advert that influenced my ideas is the Axe one.

I like the use of a distinctive background to help provide the advert with some context, enabling the focal image to make more sense. I hope to use similar ideas with my adverts, for example the 'cool' one will be shot in Iceland, playing on the word 'cool' but also threading into the focal image.

1. How I Intend To Fulfil The Requirements Of The Brief I Have Chosen

I intend to  to create a campaign of four full-page magazine adverts to promote a new unisex deodorant from UK deodorants called 'Wave'. Each advert will have a different main image, with a different model and different location. The campaign will be targeted at the 16-25 unisex demographic. I will aim to create a youthful, active and unisex brand identity. I will also conform to the guidelines of the ASA- as well as avoiding copyright issues by not using any found images.

Below are very rough flatplans of my ideas for the campaign, using images found online to convey a general sense of the finished product. They are very varying in tone and composition to tie in with the varying range of my Wave deodorant (and their related packshot), and therefore by being different, are conveying a strong brand identity.

My USP will be the fact that my deodorant will feature a plethora of different versions of the deodorant, with each one appealing to a different sub-group of the 16-25 target audience. For example one of my ads will be shot in Iceland with a sky/light blue theme and will play on the word 'cool'. This will appeal to the sub-group of the TA who consider themselves 'cool'. The other 3 will also play on similar themes.

I will successfully use intertextuality by including a film related pun as the caption for each of the 4 adverts, thus tying into the film-theme of Total Film magazine. The working captions of the 4 rough flatplans above working downwards are:
Cool Runnings (sweat-free)
The Devil Wears Prada... But I Wear Wave
The Day After Tomorrow, I'll Get Out
Bend It Like B... Someone Who Smells Quite Nice
These provide an element of humor in each ad which will appeal to the TA.

My slogan will be Be ____. Be Wave. The blank space will be replaced with a different word for each of the 4 ads to tie in to my USP of something for everyone/individuality. For example for the ad mentioned above the slogan would be "Be Cool. Be Wave" This synergy between the slogan and background will be effective in creating a youthful, active and unisex brand identity.  All of my other 3 adverts will follow the same formula.

Homeland Continuity Task

1. What was your role in the task and what did you actually do?
When we were planning the task I was the scriptwriter. I had to be cautious of time constraints for the scene as well as making the script consistent with that of Homeland. Furthermore, I also contributed to organising the various shots and helping to block a crude version of the scene. During the shoot, I was the 1st AD, meaning I had to use the clapperboard to ensure effective organisation, as well as providing another viewpoint to the Director whilst rolling. I then produced my own edit post-shoot. 

2. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, filming and editing?
Our task was centered around a brief in which it was essential to ensure fluid continuity above all else. we also decided to focus on the process of entering a room as well as a shot- reverse shot conversation style. Once we had decided on this we were able to plan shot types and script accordingly- in the style of Homeland. We outlined the basic premise of our scene and then I set to work at writing it whilst the camera team wrote down a shot-list. The shot-list was essential as it allowed ease at the time of shooting it, especially with time constraints being very strict. When editing, I had to consider that some of the footage would have mistakes and that I had to find the most efficient way to overcome them 

3. How successful was your sequence? Did you manage to demonstrate match-on-action, shot-reverse-shot and the 180 degree rule? Did you achieve continuity overall?
As a group we filmed a wide range of shots, both stationary and moving in order to vary our pace and provide an entertaining sequence. We also enforced the 180 degree rule to ensure a flowing and logical sequence. We also incorporated lots of action and movements to enable a flowing and exciting edit. In post, this meant that it was relatively easy to create matches on action, however it also posed some problems such as the door opening shots, in which I had to splice audio from 3 different takes to create a realistic sound.

4. What have you learnt from completing this task?
From this task I have learnt that it is essential to pay lots of attention to small details in shots, for example our folder, which can cause a great amount of trouble later on in post with continuity, which is what I encountered.