6. What I have learnt about industry in relation to print 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 (Advertising Standards Authority) employs a set of rules and regulations to follow, to ensure that adverts are not offensive, and/or do not potray negative messages which may promote inappropriate behaviour. Adverts must also not falsely advertise the products they are selling, as this can be misleading to consumers. Should an advert be deemed to possess any of these traits, a complaint can be issued to the ASA, who then review the advert, and remove it if they deem it to possess any of these traits. These rules can be found at https://www.asa.org.uk.

-Advertisements must contain nothing that could cause physical, mental, moral or social harm to persons under the age of 18.

-Advertisements must not cause serious or widespread offence against generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards.

-Advertisements must not include material that is likely to condone or encourage behaviour that prejudices health or safety.

-Advertisements must not distress the audience without justifiable reason. Advertisements must not exploit the audience's fears or superstitions.

-Advertisements must not mislead consumers by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.

Nivea wrongly potrays anti-aging cream

This advert was banned by the ASA, as it falsely potrayed the cream as being able to make elder people look 15 years younger. The model, Cindy Joseph, already looked similar to her poster appearance before the campaign, and there is no noticeable difference. The ASA removed the ad after complaints that the cream did not work as it was promoted.

Overall, it is important to follow the rules and regualtions of the ASA, as they are there to guide advertisers and protect viewers from any harmful or misleading meesages, such as the one mentioned above.

Broadcasting channel: E4

I will be broadcasting my adverts on the channel E4, during primetime (7-9 pm). As a result, I will have to acknowledge the wants of the E4 audience: young people, aged 16 to 24 years old, and mostly female. Popular shows on the channel include Made in Chelsea, and the Inbetweeners, suggesting that the audience is fond of comedy, drama and romance. I will aim to reflect these genres in my ads. The channel E4 also conveys the brand identity well; youthful, active and unisex.

Copyright
I must adhere to the copyright laws of the ASA. As a result, I had to use copyright free music in my ads, which I sourced from the Audio Library and Non-Copyright Sounds channels on Youtube. Copyright free music is only copyright free if:
- The music was never copyrighted
- The author/artist has explicitly published the music into a public domain
- The copyright has expired
These are the tracks that I have used in my adverts:

This Is Me by Declan DP  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKIR_JzPI7U

Disfigure by Blank https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7ZsBPK656s

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

Representation and challenging stereotypes is of great importance when producing an advert. People are more likely to buy into the brand if they can relate with the messages, themes and portrayals of race, gender and sex. For example, homosexual audiences are extremely unlikely to buy a product that centres its themes around hetrosexual love and relationships.

Lynx launches a transgender campaign

Lynx, a brand famed for its solitary appeal for young males, in the past promoting their deodorant as one that would score plenty of women for a man. However, the brand has turned over a new leaf in recent years, embracing the LGBTQ messages, like those of a transgender male, as shown above. This was a major turnaround for Lynx, and has resulted in many new people buying into the franchise. However, much of the original Lynx fan base were unhappy with this change, and dropped off buying the products. Lynx should not have made such a drastic change in marketing, but should have slowly built up to this change of heart, so the fans would have slowly adapted with it, and not just dropped off Lynx.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/laddish-lynx-has-gone-transgender--but-is-mainstream-man-ready/

Axe produces a unisex product

Axe is Lynx's American brand, and was previously famous for the same thing as Lynx: ita solitary appeal to young males, and its strong messages about using the deodorant to attract women. However, Axe turned over a new leaf when they unveiled their Axe Anarchy campaign, making the slogan, 'for him and her'. This was finally the positive female representation that many people were waiting for. Audiences were attracted by the simple use of everyday activities (such as filling a car with fuel) that put women on the same level as men, and not as in need of a man as they were previously portrayed. The campaign, however, lacks any sense of challenging racial stereotypes, as the models for all three poster adverts are white.

Brands which previously stuck to the normal stereotypes that made one group look stronger above the rest have changed, portraying messages challenging gender, racial and sexual stereotypes. It is therefore important to challenge the audience's normal perceptions of these topics, in order to potray a positive message and attract more people to buy into the product.

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

Cosmetics adverts often use their content to portray the product the are selling in a positive light. They usually do this by creating an average, relatable character, who then goes on to become something more inspirational by using the product. This inspiration persuades the audience to buy the product.

Lynx Upgraded

This advert takes a common problem, which in this case is talking to a girl, and applies it to several visually appealing and memorable moments throughout history, making the main character seem glorified, but down to Earth and relatable at the same time. This factor will help sell the product among the target audience. Although I cannot replicate the visual effects of this advert, I can incorporate a unordinary themes into my advert, in order to portray my characters and ultimately my product in a positive light.

 Lynx Peace

This advert portrays a message throughout its duration. In this case, it is to make love, and not war. These overarching messages are important, as they can be used to appeal to a target audience, by matching their beliefs, or most noticeably, to spread a positive, liberal message, that people can think about and discuss, after they have watched the advert. Positive messages can be ones of freedom, challenging stereotypes or simply spreading positivity throughout a community. Positive messages will therefore also help the brand to gain popularity among viewers.

Adverts use content in many ways to create appeal, through conventions that appeal to the target audience. I plan to follow these conventions and themes, as mentioned in this post, in order to achieve a suitable advert.

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

In the advertising industry, corporations use many different codes and conventions, in order to entice their audience, in order to persuade them persuade them to purchase the product/service they are selling.  In the TV advertising industry, codes and conventions can also be used to portray themes and messages in detail, further persuading people to purchase the product. Below, I have identified codes and conventions which I can incorporate into my own adverts, in order to persuade people to buy the deodorant I am promoting.

Each and every deodorant advert contains a pack shot at the end of it, in order to show the product to the audience, so they can get an idea of what it looks like, and recognise it when purchasing it. This pack shot also helps to promote the brand, as the product logo and name can also be seen in this shot.

Many deodorant adverts also feature use of the deodorant throughout its duration. This is so that the effect of the product can be linked to its brand identity, through the series of events throughout the advert, and so that the product can be persuaded in a positive light, thus persuading people to buy it.

Another common convention for deodorant adverts is to be set in an urban environment. This helps it to seem modern and trendy, and helps the target audience to relate to it. Each advert also has a basic storyline, usually on a modern topic that audiences can relate with. This storyline incoporates the deodorant into itself, to potray the deodorant positivly.

All cosmetics adverts use basic codes and conventions to suit themselves to their audience. It is therefore important that I do the same, as the themes mentioned in post 2 will not have a context without these technicalities, which work together with themes and ideas to appeal to a target audience in the fullest extent.

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

Research is essential when creating a new advertising campaign, as it helps to give an idea of what appeals to the campaign's target audience, through spotting conventions.  Without these codes and conventions, I would have much less of an idea on how to appeal to my target audience. I have used the three adverts below as the main inspiration for my ideas.

1- Nivea Men Stress Protect

Above is Nivea's Stress Protect deodorant advert for men. Although this a stereotypical advert that follows plenty of male conventions, like impressing the woman, it also explores unusual themes, like riding a motorcycle, and descending from a high platform, using a rope. This helps the advert to stand out from other countless deodorant adverts, and reflects the excitement the target audience may crave during their day-to-day lives. This allows it to appeal to them, as they can relate to the man in the advert, and wish they were more like him. I plan to include more exciting elements in my advert,  to appeal to my target audience in a similar manner, both male and female.

2- Lynx Peace Deodorant

This advert inspired potential advert ideas, through its youthful, liberalist type message that is often popular among 16-25 year olds. Instead of having one actor who is beautified and focused on, a wide range of characters and settings are introduced, representing different races and genders to an extent. I plan to subtly use these unconventional methods in my adverts.

3- Old Spice Terry Crews Adverts

Although the above clip is a mirage of several Terry Crews adverts, they all share the same codes and conventions, with the main one being random humour. These load, randomly occurring jokes hold a sense of comedic value for my target audience, and I therefore plan to use this element in my TV commercials. These adverts stand out from many other deodorant adverts across the internet, TV and social media, and as a result give Old Spice more of a presence in the cosmetics industry. 

Researching these adverts gave me an insight into popular themes and messages from my target audience group, and allowed me to brainstorm ideas incorporating these themes and messages into my TV adverts.  I will be incorporating comedic, lighthearted themes into my adverts, as well as liberalist messages.

1. How I intend to fulfil the requirements of the brief I have chosen

For this task, I have chosen the first brief, where I am required to create two 30 second adverts, for the new unisex deodorant, Wave. The adverts should be suitable for viewership on the channel E4, on weekdays, at 7-9 pm. The adverts must appeal to 16-25 year olds, both male and female, as the product is targeted at this age range.

I will use at least two actors; one per advert, of ages 16-17, and most liekely male and female. I will use these actors to represent the unisex target audience of 16-25. Also, I will consistantly express three key brand values, in order to well represent the target audience: active, youthful and unisex. I intend to follow the rules and regualtions set by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) when carrying this task out.

I intend to use conventional methods of deodorant adverts, like shot types, but I largely intend to break stereotypes as well. There is the possibility of challenging racial, gender and sexual stereotypes in my advert, carrying this out in a comedic sense, as I feel this is more likely to attract the attention of the target audience.

I will have two products, one presented in each advert, each with a different USP: one will offer 48 hr protection from odour and dryness, while the other protects from odours for 48 hr and smells really appealing. The products will both bear the same slogan, however: 'go against the flow', to show that people can be capable of completly new things if they put their mind to it. Each deodorant will be presented as a 'choice' (i.e. choose a certain deodorant depending on how you feel or, what you are going to do today). This will hopefully encourage consumers to purchase more than just one of the deodorants in the range.

During production, I intend to use two different settings: a park and a city. I will use only copyright free music and sounds, as well as creating my voice-over from scratch. There will be a variety of different camera shots and angles, such as long shot, mid shot, close up, low angle, pan and over the shoulder.

Below is my intial flat plan of ideas for my adverts:

Non-copyright music: This Is Me by Declan DP  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKIR_JzPI7U

Disfigure by Blank https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7ZsBPK656s

Ideas may be subject to change over the course; final ideas will be illustrated in post 10.

Homeland Continuity Task

1. What was your role in the task and what did you actually do?
I was an actor, playing the role of an Iranian ambassodor under interrogation. I had to learn my lines, and then play the role of the ambassodor in the shoot. I had to do this role somewhat convincingly, so the shoot ressembled a Homeland interrogation to an extent.


2. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, filming and editing?
We had to base our plotline around the brief, which stated that we required two people to enter a room, with one suspect sitting at a table. We had to try several practice takes, moving around tables, trying different lines of dialogue and incoperating different themes, in order to give our story a Homeland-esque feel. During filming, we tried different angles of shots, rehearsing the entire script at these different angles, in order to give people different types of shots to work with during editing. Finally, during editing, their were a number of things we had to take into consideration, in order to make the edit make sense. A large problem was the transtion between shots, and creating a linear flow; for example, opening and closing a door across two differents shots was difficult to edit, as the door couldn't look like it jumped from one position to another across shots.


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?
I feel that we were, as a group, able to maintain the 180 degree rule, with a wide variety of shot types, allowing us to create a linear sequence, demonstrating both shot-reverse-shot and match-on-action, with different props and costumes taken into consideration, to create continuity within the sequence.


4. What have you learnt from completing this task?
I have learnt that the smallest details during planning affect filming for the better or worse, which in turn have massive effects on the edit. It is therefore important to pay close attention to detail throughout each stage, as these features could hinder/aid you later on.