Script

 

Documentary Mental Health Advert: 

The first advert is a mental health advert for the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. This is stated clearly at the final frame of the advert. The advert is about how there are two sides to every story in life an that 1 in 10 people suffer from mental health. Because it states the fact, the form is a documentary style advert. However it also has elements of the realist narrative advert in it as it is portraying real life situations that people go through. The advertising style is dramatic because it is very realistic and aims to show the brutal reality (cut to slit wrist scene)  of what the daily lives of people can be like. In terms of characteristics, the adverts aim is to raise awareness for mental health as well as being a promotion for the NHS as seen at the end for two seconds. Five seconds into the advert you can see the  UK age rating 12A. 

 

This rating 12A means that nobody under the age of 12 may watch the product unless they are accompanied by an adult according to the BBFC. This helps determine the audience for this advert which is school aged teenagers, both male and female, educators, parents and mental health professionals that reside in the UK. 

 

The transitions in the advert (cut to them) reinforce the ‘two sides to every story’ idea as they show someone tying a shoe at school, then a flash of light before it cuts to them in the same position on the toilet throwing up. This happens to every person (football, wrist cutter, punching walls). This was filmed deliberately to not only tell you that there are two sides to every story but to show it visually so the idea sticks in your mind. That makes this advert all the more powerful as it is sublimely putting the message into your head. 

 

*Did not use this in final product* 

According to an interview with Graeme Smith, the video was made because (cut to him explaining why it was made). Both the interview and the advert were published on Youtube on November 13th 2007. The average male suicide rates in the UK were 17.4 in 2006 and 16.8 in 2007 and 17.7 in 2008 per 100,000 population and the average female suicide rates were 5.3 in 2006, 5.0 in 2007 and 5.4 in 2008.(https://www.thecalmzone.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/suicides2009_tcm77-202259-2.pdf) 

This means that after the advert was created, there was a rise in suicide in both males and females. It has only been viewed on Youtube 33,628 times but has aired on tv in the UK in 2007. 

 

In terms of uses and gratifications, surveillance, which is learning about the world is used in this advert as it is a documentary advert. Diversion is not used at all as the advert aims to shock rather than entertain. Personal relationships is also not relevant neither is personal identity because the main point of the advert its to educate and raise awareness, not build relationships with people. In terms of the impact of the advert, it provides shock value and makes the audience think about the people around them. It also engages the audience despite strong and uncomfortable imagery.  

 

Animated British Gas Advert:

The second advert is an advert for the company British Gas in the UK. The camera never moves from it’s position expect at the end when it zooms out slightly to show the British Gas logo. This advert is promoting the British Gas company and is telling the viewer that they can be relied on at any time, including Christmas. The form of the advert is animation as no real humans are seen and it is completely artificial. The advert style is surreal because it is applying a real life company to an artificial/fantastical world in space. In terms of characteristic  the advert aims to promote British Gas in a lighthearted, fun way The audience for this advert is adults who are living together who use British Gas even though the animation style could appeal to young children. This advert has no age rating so is presumably suitable for everyone to view. In my opinion, I do believe that this is an effective advert because it is getting its point across in an entertaining manner, which is that British Gas is dependable at any time of the year. Unlike some adverts, the visual footage shown on screen relates to the product it is trying to sell. The music choice of Blur- The Universal fits in nicely as people will associate that song and band with this advert. In terms of uses and gratifications, the advert offers diversion as the memorable song and the animation style will keep the audience engaged and entertained. Surveillance is irrelevant because although the product offered is real, the world it is presented in is very artificial. Personal relationships is sort of relevant because of the use of the Blur song.  

 

Talking Head Advert: 

The third advert is an advert for Realtor which is a real estate website. The advert is promoting Realtor but is mainly promoting the app and website. The form of the advert is talking head as apart from the title card at the start and end, the advert only shows the girls head and close ups of the phone. The advert is aimed at people who need to buy a home so most likely young people aged 20-30 or older people aged 40-50. Celebrity endorsement is used with Elizabeth Banks who is an actress. This means that people will associate the advert with her and more people will watch it because she stars in it. This is known as star appeal, using a celebrity to see your product.  

 

In terms of uses and gratifications, diversion is apparent in this advert because it is lighthearted. The advertising style is humour because there is a lighthearted scene at the start and it continues to be lighthearted. Personal relationships is useful as the star appeal will likely draw in audiences who like her. Although the form is talking head, there are elements of humour within the advert, especially at the start. At the start and end of the advert, the realtor logo appears. This is to remind the audience at the start and end of the video who the company is.  

 

Series Advert:

The forth advert is advertising actions figures from a well known British TV show called Doctor Who. The form of the advert is series as there are multiple adverts for each season of the show. The target audience for this advert is young children who watch the show. Despite it being a family show, the toys are aimed exclusively at kids. What the advert does well is the narrator sounds confident and excited by the product which can make the viewer feel more inclined to be excited as well. The advertising style  is nostalgia and humour because the advert is reminding people of the show (who watched it at the time of airing) and the advert is lighthearted in its approach. The website shown at the end of each advert is a UK based website to buy toys from. That confirms that the advert is for a UK audience. In terms of uses and gratifications, diversion is offered for people who are familiar with the show as they will be entertained by the idea of their favourite characters in toy form. Personal relationships is relevant as Doctor Who has a wide fanbase both young and old. Personal identity is not really relevant as the audience don’t learn anything about themselves and surveillance is also irrelevant as the advert is not teaching you  about the world. 

 

 

Anti Realist Advert:

The fifth advert is advertising the Amazon app and how if you think about something during a yoga class, you are able to buy it on Amazon. The form is anti realist because although the app is real, the idea of poking a large needle into a mans buttock before he turns into a cooked chicken is unrealistic. The story is about a girl doing yoga who sees a fat man and thinks of chicken but the advert is a promotion for Amazon as a brand and the app for mobile phones. In terms of characteristics, the advert is aimed at people who shop on Amazon but who do not have the app. The style is surreal as it combines real life (yoga) with fantasy (man turns into chicken by giant hand). It also has some humorous moments with the fat man. In terms of uses  and gratifications, diversion is relevant as the advert is quite entertaining and offers a slight narrative between the girl thinking of chicken and the man thinking of the girl. Personal relationships and identity are not relevant here, neither is surveillance because it is surreal so you are not really learning anything about the world (this applies to documentary though). The impact of this advert is that there was some controversy around the fact that if the gender roles were reversed, it would be offensive to stick a needle into a women buttocks. 

 

The final three adverts have disclaimers attached to them for various reasons (cut to it). The reason for this is to make sure that the customer doesn’t buy the product and expect it to work the way it did in the advert such as the simulated screens on phones or the shorten sequences on the Amazon app. It is also there because if a customer does complain, the company can point out the disclaimer they had put in to avoid a negative reputation for false advertising.