Media Coursework: Comparison Of Two Television Advertisements Essay, Research Paper

The two advertisements that I have chosen to

compare are for Robinson?s orange drink and Norwich Union loan company.? I chose these because I saw that the two

company?s marketing techniques are similar, and they use similar persuasive

methods in their campaigns.The Robinson?s advert starts with a small child

jumping around next to a woman who we presume is a relative sitting on a

bench.? All through this advert a

simple, nursery rhyme-like piano tune is playing.? These people are on an empty path next to the Thames.? Trees line the avenue and you can see the

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in the background.? It is a bright summer?s day and the child is wearing a red and

white dress with her hair tied in a red bow.?

The camera is quite far away and zooms into the child as she takes a

glass filled with an orange drink.? The

relative asks: ?Do you know what the capital of England is??? The little girl grabs the glass with both

hands and takes a sip.? She glances at

the woman for a moment and then looks upward in thought.The scene then changes to what we presume is

the child thinking.? This is in black

and white, a contrast to the bright colour film we have just seen.? The child is in a classroom wearing a

scholarly cap and gown.? There is a

large clock towards the back, a large blackboard and the girl is standing on a

large wooden table.? She is balancing on

one leg and pointing to the writing on the blackboard.? It reads the word ?England?, written in

chalk with the capital ?E? emphasised.?

The child is pointing to this letter.The scene then suddenly changes back to the

little girl next to the Thames in colour film.?

She thinks for another moment and then announces with a proud smile:

?E?.The location changes at this point to an

Antenatal ward of a hospital.? A

different little girl, who has short blonde hair, is sitting with who we

presume are her mother and baby brother on fold up chairs.? Above their heads there is a sign that reads

?Antenatal?.? The camera is quite far

away.? The family is sitting to the

right of the shot and a doctor in a white coat walks past.? Then, a woman walks on with a man following

her, from the right to the left of the screen.?

The woman is pregnant and wearing a flowing skirt with a cardigan, which

tightens round her bump.? The man

following her has a large stomach and is wearing a shirt tucked into his

trousers which accentuates it.? The

camera changes angles and appears to be just behind the mother on the child?s

left.? It zooms into the child, who has

a small smile on her face.The scene then changes to what we presume this

child is thinking.? This part is also in

colour.? The background appears to be

hand drawn and coloured in and there are clouds floating across the

screen.? There is a tunnel of people,

leading down to what looks like a maternity ward with a red door.? There is a line of women on the left and a

line of men on the right.? They are all

wearing hospital gowns.? It looks as

though everybody on both sides is pregnant – they all have large stomachs.? A woman brushes her hair out of her face as

the camera pans from left to right.? The

man closest to the camera is rubbing his stomach.? The location then changes back to the hospital as the camera is

zoomed in on the little girl and she is saying: ?Do mummies have girls and

daddies have boys??The scene then alters to a shot of a kitchen

window with a white painted window frame.?

There is a vase full of sunflowers on the sill, and a metal old-fashioned

tap.? An empty glass is also on the

window sill and a hand pours some of the advertised orange concentrate into

it.? The camera zooms in slightly as the

glass is filled with water.? There is a

blue sky outside and the glass reflects the sun to make a clean and sparkly

looking reflection concentrated at a point.?

As the water is poured it also sparkles and glistens.? The voice-over at this point says:

?Robinson?s Original.? Now with five new

vitamins?.? It is read by a young

woman?s voice and is motherly and attractive.The location then suddenly changes to a little

boy with red hair who is leaning with his head on his hand.? There is a glass of the orange drink in the

foreground of the shot.? The boy is

looking up at a wire cage that is next to him and contains a hamster which is

sniffing around.? In the background

there is a blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds.? The boy says: ?Grandad, when Colin dies, will he go to

Devon??.? As he starts to say this, the

scene changes to what we presume again to be what the boy is thinking.? It is in colour.? There are fields, the sea and clouds which look to be all hand

drawn and coloured.? There is a white

wooden signpost which is pointing to three directions.? One reads Falmouth, on Torquay, and the other

is indistinguishable.? From the back of

the shot towards the front, a hamster with angel?s wings floats towards the

direction of Torquay.The location then changes back to the kitchen

window.? The sky is still bright

blue.? There is a bottle of Robinson?s

Original on the window sill.? It is

glistening in the sun and the concentrated reflections are oscillating.? The voice-over reads:? ?Robinson?s Original, now with

vitamins.? Feed their imagination?.? The advertisement lasts for thirty seconds.The Norwich Union advert begins with a shot of

a large, old, intricately decorated building which is reflecting light from the

sun on its walls.? The reflection

shrinks suddenly.? The camera is near to

the ground, looking up at the building.?

The sky is blue.? The scene then

changes to a close up of a middle aged man?s face.? He looks up slightly, and his whole face changes.? There are lots of indistinguishable voices.? The camera shot changes to the man,

standing, looking around at the buildings.?

He looks lost and out of his depth.?

The sun peeks from behind the grand building.? The man?s voice says: ?To be a doctor?.? The camera angle continuously changes, and then stops at the

camera looking up at the buildings again.The location then changes to a field with a

little girl standing, looking upward and shielding her eyes from the sun.? The camera zooms out and fades to a brief

view of a bustling library bathed in blue light.? The location then changes again to see a shot of the man from

behind, walking along and empty corridor, again looking lost.? His shoes make a metallic sound on the floor

which echoes.? There are large windows

which give lots of light, and the corridor looks either like a hospital or

university.? The man?s voice then

whispers ?to become a doctor?.? The location then returns to the field.? The man and a woman are lying on their

fronts facing each other, there arms intertwined.? Their noses are touching and they look very in love.? We presume that the woman is his wife.The scene then changes back to the man peering

into a lecture in what we now know is a university.? The camera is quite far away.?

You then see a close up of the man?s face and what the man is seeing

through the lecture theatre?s window.?

The lecture is full and the lecturer is using a projector.? The man says, ?I was wondering how long it

takes to become a doctor??, as the camera switches to a shot of the

projector.? It is flashing and it has

anatomical drawings on it.? The lecturer

replies to the man saying, ?Five years undergraduate, one year clinical?, as

you see the man sitting on the lecturer?s desk and the lecturer standing next

to him in the lecture theatre.? The

camera is at the back of the room behind the seats.The scene then changes to the staircase in the

university.? The lecturer finishes his

answer as they are walking down it.? The

area looks busy.? The picture then fades

to a camera angled above a desk with someone working on it.? The person runs their fingers through their

hair, deep in thought, pen in hand.? The location changes to the man walking down a

busy corridor, seemingly in the opposite direction to everybody else.? His shoulders nudge the people going the

other way.? He still looks lost and a

bit depressed.? The camera then changes

angle to the man?s view.? You can hear

his voice saying ?Six years?.You then see the man walking down a cobbled

street.? He is on a mobile phone saying

?Five years undergraduate, one year clinical?.?

At the bottom of the screen from this point it says in small writing:

?regulation by the Personal and Investment Authority.? Norwich Union can only advise on its own products.? www.norwich-union.co.uk?.? The man is walking at normal speed but the

?traffic? of people alongside him is so fast it is blurred.? The location then changes to a kitchen – a

woman is sitting at a table.? She looks

deep in thought and she is leaning on her arm.?

The camera moves down to see what she is doing.? ?Six years? she says.? She is doing a sum, obviously adding up how

much it would cost.? You can see a

number multiplied by six.? She

underlines it and a blue light dances across the paper.? The location changes again to outside in the

field.? The man and girl from earlier

are leaning against a tree branch.? The

girl in looking into the distance (perhaps dreaming) and the man is looking at

her.? He looks proud and loving.? A voice over is saying: ?Sometimes a dream

is worth investing in.? Norwich Union

helps millions of customers invest?.? The scene then changes to the field at

dusk.? The girl is doing cartwheels and

handstands in the distance.? You then

see the man walking along the cobbled street.?

A close up of his face shows him smiling.? The writing at the bottom of the screen fades.The location changes again to the fields.? The family are walking through them towards

the back of the shot.? They fade and

appear walking toward the front of the shot.?

The scene changes to the girl laying on a tree branch.? The camera is close to her face.? She starts to say: ?Mum, Dad? You know I

said I wanted to be a doctor??? The

camera changes angle to behind the girl.?

She is sitting astride the branch.?

You can see her parents laying on a red check blanket next to the

tree.? The light fades slightly.? A close up is seen of her hand resting on

the branch.? She lifts her finger

slightly and puts it down again.?

?Yeah??, her parents say in unison.?

There is a close up of the girl leaning against the ?V? shape of the

tree.? She looks content.? There is a shot further back of the tree on

its own, in a dim light.? The camera

returns to the girl leaning as she says: ?I really do?.? The shot changes to the parents laying on

the blanket.? The mother is holding a

piece of paper and the father is holding a book.? They look at each other and smile.? The father says ?Great? with a smile.? The screen then fades to a yellow background and the Norwich

Union logo appears.? The slogan:

?Together we?re stronger? appears at the bottom.? Its texture makes it appear as though it is written in chalk? A female voice says ?Together we?re

stronger.? Norwich Union.??? The voice sounds motherly and caring.? The advert lasts for 37 seconds. I think the two advertisers shared their angle

from where they were coming from in their promotion.? They both relied heavily on the effect that the image of children

have on the general public.? The reflex

reaction that most people have when children are involved is the desire to

protect them, and to urge and encourage them to go as far as they possibly can.? The two promoters made great use of this in both

the adverts.In the Robinson?s advert, the general message

is that if you give your child this orange drink you will allow them to explore

knowledge, and nourish their minds.?

This is shown throughout the advert in the way the children are always

asking questions.? I think that this is

trying to touch the viewer, especially those who have children.? This commercial is almost exclusively aimed

at parents of young children, this is its target audience, and makes use of the

fact that all parents want what is best for their children.? It shows inoffensive, tidy, seemingly

perfect children who have all ?adorably? misunderstood a minor detail that they

have been told.The first child?s scene is all linked to

patriotism.? The great majority of the

viewers will be zealous about their country, and the advert hints at the fact

that the little girl is too.? In the

background of the scene, you can see English landmarks: Big Ben and the Houses

of Parliament.? The little girl (after

taking a sip of the drink, which they happen to have in the middle of the

street), thinks of the capital letter of the word ?England? instead of the

capital city.? She has misconstrued

something that makes the viewer supposedly think she is charming.? In the child?s mind, she is wearing a cap

and gown, showing the reader that she is intelligent and willing to learn, both

desirable traits for your children.? The

reaction to this would be, the promoter hopes, laughter and a universal ?ahhh?.? Because the child took a sip of the drink

before her answer, it is seen as a trigger for what she just said.The next little girl shows this again.? Her reaction to the man and woman who both

have large stomachs, is that they are both pregnant.? This is what you would automatically think if you didn?t know

better, and this then makes you want to inform the child as this shows she

needs instructing and nurturing.? The continual perfect images of the children

throughout the advert aim to endear them to you, and encourage the feeling of

paternal or maternal benevolence.The little boy with red hair is also shown in

this way.? His question shows a slight

misunderstanding which encourages a humorous image.? The way the hamster is shown as an angel on his way to Devon

tries to provoke laughter, and in this attempts to leave the viewer with a

pleasant memory of the product.I think that the publicist used children?s

drawings in the ?Antenatal? child and the hamster child?s thoughts in order to

promote the idea of innocence and adolescence further.? The image of these clean-cut children is

perhaps refreshing to a parent.? They

will want to protect their family from things that are happening in the world,

and in this advert, they can see inculpable, safe children in everyday

occurrences.? This will be reassuring

for them, and project a good image for the product.? This idea is also shown in the choice of music.? Throughout the advert, a simple, child-like

piano tune is playing, promoting innocence and freedom from artificiality.The actual product only appears twice in the

advert: once approximately two thirds of the way through, and once at the

end.? The first time you see the

product, it is shown to be eye-catching and attractive.? The bottle is placed on a window sill, next

to a vase full of sunflowers, in a clean, old fashioned kitchen.? It is bright and puts across a wholesome

image, which is in tune with the theme of the advert as a whole.? As the drink is poured you are aware of the

blue sky outside and the sun?s reflection on the bottle glistening.? This is accompanied with a voice-over

telling us about the vitamin content.??

The woman?s motherly voice saying this helps elevate the product?s

credibility, because a parent?s main concern is whether their child is consuming

things that are doing them good, and this ?mother? is telling us that the

product contains things that are good for them.? This will therefore encourage the viewing

parent to buy Robinson?s Original.You don?t then see the bottle again until the

end of the advert, when you are briefly shown again.? It is still glistening, promoting a clean, fresh semblance.? You hear the voice-over again, reminding us

of the vitamins, and adding on the slogan: ?Feed their imagination?.? This is a key point in the advert because it

is using guilt and the feeling of obligation to sell the product.? It is basically proclaiming that in order

for a child to fulfill their capabilities they will need to drink Robinson?s

Original.? The parent will feel

compelled to buy the product because they want what is best for their child.Many of the ideas and techniques that I have

just mentioned are present in the Norwich Union advert.? Some things are different though, for

example the overall theme of dreams and ambitions that exists in the Norwich

Union advert.? This is first shown when

the father is looking up at the university building.? His facial expressions indicate that he is in awe of the place

and he is looking up in wonder.? The

camera is positioned close to the ground looking up which gives the impression

of triviality and insignificance, because the man is seen as small.? The whole image of the university is that it is

daunting and something that the man (or child) is not part of.? This is also seen in the way that the man is

looking into the lecture from outside, being apart from the university

lifestyle.The way the university is seen as bustling and

busy also contributes to this idea of intimidation.? Throughout the advert, there are many incomprehensible voices,

all talking at once, which leads to a confusing portrayal of the place.? This unpleasant feeling is seen to subside

when the man is walking along the street and the throng of people are traveling

in slow motion.? This is after the man

has collected the information he needs, the solutions to his problems are being

planned out and going to the university is becoming more feasible.Another way that this is shown is in the camera

techniques.? The scenes change very fast

between each other, and this leads to a confusing effect.? In addition to contributing to the daunting

feeling, this engages the viewers attention.?

The first time you see the advert, the scenes change so quickly, that

you don?t see everything and have to be very vigilant to understand the advert

at all.? I think that the advertiser did

this so that the viewer would want to see the advert again so that they could

digest it fully.? This is good for the

promoter because then the television audience will be more observant and the

service will be advertised better.The camera techniques also show you the

happenings as if you were there.?

Sometimes they show you as the man, sometimes as a bystander.? This aims to bring you closer to the

situation.The first similarity that you see in the two

adverts is the use of children and the effect that they have on the

viewer.? The reaction to want to nurture

that child is used to this promoter?s benefit too.? At the beginning of the Norwich Union advert, you are firstly led

to believe that perhaps the man wants to go to the university, but the short

view of the little girl tells you that it is her.? The image is short but stays with you throughout the advert.? The girl is looking into the distance, and

this is symbolic of her looking to the future.?

The girl looking into the distance is also shown alter in the

advertisement. This is where the ?guilt? technique is used:

the parent will want to provide their child with the best chances for their

future.? As the voice-over says later

?Sometimes a dream is worth investing in?, they are basically saying, ?is your child

worth it??.? Obviously any parents

answer would be yes. ? The man shows the realisation that he has of

the hard work needed in: ?To be a doctor.?

To become a doctor.?? He

gets across that there needs to be time and effort (and evidently money) put in

for dreams to be realised.? This is

reminding the audience of that fact, so that the rest of the advert can be

appreciated.? He also shows that things

can get in the way of that dream in the scene where he is walking along the

corridor.? He is walking in the opposite

way to everyone else, and they are in his way.?

This is symbolic of the obstacles that they will face.? He eventually gets by however, and this is

also metaphorical of life?s struggles.?

Or that is what they want you to think anyway.? These sacrifices are also shown in the way that

the mother is working out the cost of the studies.? ?Six years?, she says with doubt.? It is obviously a problem and it is beginning to be solved as

there is a blue light dancing on the paper.?

This is the point where the actual advertisement of Norwich Union

begins, and they proceed to tell you their aims.? the man?s face is shown after this, and instead of looking

bewildered as he has done before, he is smiling.? Apparently all of his problems have been solved.The family shown in the advert are depicted as

?perfect?.? There is obviously a lot of

love within their relationships and the parents show signs of adoration towards

their daughter at certain points, for example when the father and daughter are

leaning on the tree branch.? This is a

similarity to the other advert.? As the

family is seen as perfect, the viewer will of course want this for their

family.? This would make you feel

terribly guilty if you were forced to say no to your child, if they wanted to

accomplish their goals, because of financial problems, thus encouraging the

viewer to get financial aid from the company.There is also a similarity in the fact that

scenes of learning and discovery are shown in both adverts.? In the Robinson?s advert it is with the

first little girl in the cap and gown, and with this advert it is with the

university, and the person working at the desk.? These images both aim to show the characters as people worthy of

your emotion, and they do this by gaining your respect in their pursuit for

knowledge.? The child in the Norwich

Union advert is also seen as lively.?

Her cartwheels in the latter part of the advert are images of vitality.The ending of the advert is very

important.? It shows the girl to be

determined, and shows the viewer that the parents have invested in the child?s

dream.? It makes you think that she has

changed her mind, but in the end shows her to be more decided that ever.? The parents also seem very happy about her

decision because they have been helped by Norwich Union.In my opinion, neither of the adverts are very

effective.? The Robinson?s advert is

very condescending and actually expects you to think that giving your child

this orange drink will make them more intelligent and make them say all those ?delightful?

things that the children said in the advert.?

I?m not sure that anybody would respond to this type of advertising,

simply because the idea is so absurd, but perhaps the inclusion of the fact

that there are vitamins in the drink would boost sales.The Norwich Union advert wouldn?t work for a

different reason.? I don?t think the

director?s technique of using confusing camera angles accomplishes what it was

intended to.? Instead of holding the

viewers attention it encourages them to look away, because it is much too

puzzling for a thirty second advert.?

For this assignment I spent many hours watching it over and over again,

and only towards the end did I pick up every little detail.? The way it is made is very inventive, but

perhaps is too arty for a prime-time commercial break.