Structure:
Linear
Realist Narrative
Stand Alone
Style:
Dramatic
Techniques:
Overt Messages
Emotional response or association
Fear
Concern
Describe and explain the structures of the advert:
This advert is from the Home Office in an
attempt to prevent rape. The advert is one minute long. I chose this advert as
it wasn’t advertising a product or service; it was advertising a message and
raising awareness. There is a linear plot which consists of a teenage boy and
girl going into a room, the girl refuses to have sexual intercourse with the
boy, the boy begins to get aggressive and lays her down on the bed while the
girl starts to cry, he then proceeds to rape her. The boy is then shown behind
a glass wall watching himself rape a girl. The impact comes from the fact that
he is shouting and banging on the glass in an attempt to stop himself from
raping the girl. A message is then displayed asking “would you see rape?”
underneath it there is a statement which says “Sex with someone who doesn’t
want to is rape”, under that statement there is a search bar which invites the
viewer to search into that subject. It seems like the boy behind the glass wall
is forced to watch himself rape the girl as he has a look of discomfort and disappointment
on his face.
I feel this advert has a realist narrative as
the section in which the boy rapes the girl as this particular scenario would
seem common. There is a hint of an anti-realist narrative to the plot though as
the boy is watching himself rape the girl. However this is used as a metaphor
for the fact that it makes the boy see himself and not like what he’s seeing.
It’s a stand-alone advert as there isn’t another one similar to it or
continuing from it. The whole advert is used in a dramatic fashion as it makes
the viewer feel uncomfortable as soon as they realise what’s happening.
The camera shots consist of close ups and
medium long shots, this is so the viewer can still see what is happening but
without being able to see any nudity. There is also an over the shoulder shot
at one point which makes the viewer realise that the boy is watching himself
from behind a glass wall. The advert also uses a lot of camera shots that are
tilted or at an angle; this is to prevent any nudity from being shown but still
allowing the viewer to see what is happening.
The lighting throughout the advert is low-key,
this helps set the tone for the dark topic of the advert. It also helps the
viewer feel part of that dark mood and atmosphere. In the advert the viewer can
only see that lamps are dimly lighting up the room.
There isn’t a clear soundtrack to the
advertisement; this is so it doesn’t take away from the subject of the advert.
However there is music playing in the background but it is muffled and it
becomes obvious it is placed there as it would make the boy and girl seem like
they are at a party. The advertisement contains a sensitive subject therefore
it would be unethical to take away from the message. The only sounds the viewer
hears is the sounds that the boy and girl make, noise from another area of the
house to set the party tone of the advert and the muffled music in the
background.
The editing in the advert consists of quick
shots from various angles; this would retain the viewers’ attention and ensure
that the viewer focuses entirely on what is happening between the couple rather
than anything else.
Describe and explain the techniques of the advert:
There is an immediate overt message to
this advert, which is being aware that if a person doesn’t want to have
intercourse, it would be rape. This message can’t get any clearer, there is
even a message displayed at the end of the advert to ensure the viewer
understood what just happened. The advert is produced in a manner that presents
an emotional response out of the viewer, the viewer would feel discomfort
watching the advert or even disgusted. Women may feel a sense of fear as they
could be in that same situation, whereas I feel that men would be concerned as
they wouldn’t want to be considered a rapist. I am aware that women can rape
women however it isn’t as common as men raping women.
Who is the target market? How are they targeted by the advert?
This
advert doesn’t necessarily have a target market as it isn’t selling a product
or providing a service, its spreading a message. Similar scenarios could happen
to anyone which is why the advert is produced, to make the population aware.
Saying this, the advert does seem like it is aimed at teenagers/young adults
more than any other age range, this is shown by the advertisers using a young
boy and young girl. This is also because I can’t imagine little children being
at a house party or the elderly or even older adults being at a house party
like it is shown in the advert. I feel if the advert was aimed at a particular
age range it would be between 17 to 24 year olds as this is usually the age range
that goes to house parties and get intoxicated which could play a part in rape.
I
don’t really feel this advert is restricted by a social class as it is a
widespread message for everyone rather than a particular social class. However
I would say that it would be for the working class (D), skilled working class (C2),
lower middle class (C1) and the middle class (B). I feel these standard
occupational classes would fit as the lowest social class wouldn’t really be
throwing parties like this as they wouldn’t be able to afford it. I feel that
the higher social classes wouldn’t be the type to throw a party shown in the
advert. On the other hand, the couple in the advert could be attendees of the
party which means that any standard occupational class could attend that party,
it wouldn’t matter what their occupation would be or income.
Identify and explain the characteristics of the product or service:
As there isn’t a product or service
advertised, I will explain the benefits of the actual advert. It allows the
British population to be aware of what would account for rape. It would make a
person think about how they actually look while they are trying to have sexual
intercourse with someone else who may not want to. This advert gives the
viewers the opportunity to go into further research into the topic or seek help
if required. It may give a person the confidence to report rape in certain
cases as the advert could relate to a persons situation if they had gone
through a similar experience to the scenario shown in the advert. I feel the
most important benefit is it will raise awareness of rape within a younger age
group, this could potentially prevent rape.
There aren’t any similar products as
this isn’t a product, nor does it appeal to a lifestyle or identify itself as a
brand in anyway. The advert is shown on
behalf of the government, more specifically the Home Office, the advert would
potentially prevent rape and raise awareness of rape.
The content of the advert would
obviously seem really dark and bring in complaints to the Advertising Standards
Agency. The advert may seem to feature sex directly on the television in really
disturbing fashion, this lead to complaints such as the advert being
distressing or not suitable for children. However despite the complaints the
ASA claimed that the message in the advert was far more important than any
complaint they have received. The ASA also said that the advert is only shown
after the 9pm watershed therefore aiming to reduce the chances of children
seeing the advert. In total around 95 complaints were received about the advertising
campaign. The ASA allowed to advert to carry on being aired on television as
they didn’t believe there were grounds to ban the advert.
