Television Advertisements

Television advertising, like print ads, exploit the wants and needs of consumers in efforts to sell products. Unlike stills, however, video ads take advantage of sound (spoken, sounds and music), motion video, as well as text to construct a message. Just like we have seen with print ads, there is often a covert message that underlies the overt "hard sell".

VISUAL COMPONENTS OF TV ADS.

· The commercial's "story".

Some ads emphasise the product - they show the product in use, performing tasks and generally proving its value. Other ads, however, construct small "movies", complete with plot lines and conclusions, designed to tell a story. Some of these messages tie in closely to the product. Others only connect loosely to the product, but offer the viewer the opportunity to make a connection between either owning the product or service and positive consequence, or missing out because you don't have the product / service.

· Text

TV ads also use text to help emphasise certain aspects of a product or service. It may take only a fraction of a second to say the words "zero percent financing", but a large "0%" sitting on your TV screen for two or three seconds helps ensure that you received the message correctly. It also allows you to take in information even if you are distracted by conversation in the room (usually, conversations stop during the TV programs and starts back up during the commercial breaks).

Other times, text is used to draw attention to certain conditions that apply to the claims made in an ad. In these cases, it is interesting to note that the text is often very small, and does not stay on the screen long enough to read.

AUDIO COMPONENTS OF TV ADS.

· Spoken word.

Few ads are designed to be exclusively visual in nature. The vast majority of ads also rely on the spoken word to present a message. Presenters stating information about products and services, characters engaging in discussions and voice-overs are effective ways of "talking" to the consumer.

One of the most common uses of spoken word is to embed a slogan into the minds of the viewer - that way whenever you see a can of Campbell's soup, you're already thinking "MMM-MM Good!" Advertising agencies have done an effective job of selling when their slogans make their way into mainstream dialogue.

· Sounds / Music

Effective use of sounds, such as the "squeak" of a squeaky-clean dish, or the opening and pouring of a soft drink, can be very strong tools in the attempt to reinforce the idea that the product is good. Furthermore, advertisers can create other associations through songs, including a reinforcement of message through the words of a song, create mood with tone and pace of a song, or draw associations to specific bands or songs with their use. Sometimes, advertisers stumble upon a popular contemporary song and people will tune in just to listen to the tune (Basement Jaxx - "Where's Your Head At?" Pringles ads.

Some artists will even seek out advertising agencies to use their music in advertisements. For example, Moby, the electronic pop musician, felt that his career had stalled because his music did not fit any of the formats that popular radio stations follow. He saw TV ads as a solution to getting his music to a mainstream audience. In his case, the results were spectacular; because of public interest generated by his music in Mazda advertisements, he is now considered a trailblazing performer for the electronic pop genre, his music is now played on mainstream radio, and he even hosts his own show on MTV. In this case, it is easy to see that one ad can sell many things, not just the intended product.

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