Linear
implies that it is a straight forward advertisement with a beginning, a
middle and a end. The advert would show us a series of events in that
order, an example of which is the John Lewis advert in which a snowman
travels on quite a long journey to a John Lewis store to buy snow-woman
some cclothes for christmas. The advert has a beginning in which we are
introduced to the snowman and the snow-woman, it is apparent that the
snowman isn't really happy. A middle in which the snowman travels across
various terrains to get to the John Lewis store. As well as an ending,
in which you see that the snowman has bought the snow-woman gloves, a
scarf and a hat, after which both of them are happy.
Non-Linear:
A
non-linear advert would be if the advert was sequential. This could be
achieved in many ways, for example the ending could be shown at the
start of the advert and the film-maker could show us how we got there
after, this would show a series of events in the past shown after what
is happening at the present time. Another way it could be achieved is if
the same events were shown however they were shown in various points of
view.
Realist Narrative:
A
realist narrative implies that the events during the advertisement
could potentially happen. This style of advertising gains attention from
providing a perspective that could realistically happen. An example of
this style of advertisement is the ASDA advert for Christmas, in which
the mother is shown doing all of the work leading up to Christmas. She's
shown picking a Christmas tree, sending christmas cards, decorating the
tree, buying gifts and preparing the Christmas dinner. All the way
through the advert the mum is shown having to make numerous trips to
ASDA for various things such as wrapping paper when she doesn't have
enough or an extension lead when the plug won't reach the socket. This
shows a realist narrative in the way that there will be households were
the mother will do the majority of the preparation leading up to
Christmas. It is also worth noting that this advert received complaints
for being sexist towards women, some women claimed that it degraded
women in the sense that it showed a stay at home mother who is shown
doing all of the work.
Anti-realist Narrative:
This
style of advert is the complete opposite of a realist advert. This
means it could be anything but realistic, the advert could contain
anything from dancing babies to vampires. Mostly anti-realist narrative
adverts are over the top so they require some form of CGI or heavy
editing like the John Lewis snowman advert. An example of an
anti-realist advert is a Kia advert in which there is a war going on
between what looks like robots or something from a science fiction film.
This initially gives the impression its a video game advert. Then, a
car pulls up from out of nowhere and three hamsters get out of the car,
they then proceed to dance. This is far from realist, it also means that
the advert has utilised CGI to make the advert give a completely
different feel which surprises and entertains the viewer after seeing
three giant hamsters dance.
Animation:
Animation
styled adverts could be anything from claymation to computer generated
imagery. The advancement in technology means it allows advertisers to
show animation a lot easier which means there are more adverts using
animation. A lot of adverts will have certain parts of the advert
animated, the rest will be real footage. An example of a animated advert
using CGI could be the hamster advert shown above. An example of a
claymation advert is the National Accident Helpline advert.
Documentary:
Documentary
styled adverts are usually very informative based adverts which include
statistics. They're usually serious adverts however occasionally they
can be quite humorous, for example the anti-smoking advert which chooses
to shock the viewer so they consider quitting smoking. The video shows a
typical scenario but showcases what smoking actually does to your
arteries.
Talking Heads:
Talking
heads is literally what it is. These are usually shown in a comedic way
which catches the attention of the viewer. One notable example similar
to talking heads is the Costa Coffee advert in which heads are dancing
in coffee beans, however instead of talking they're singing.
Stand Alone:
A
stand alone advert means that the advert isn't part of a series of
adverts. It would be a one off advert for example the Galaxy chocolate
advert, it has a beginning, a middle and an ending all in one advert,
which means there isn't another part of the advert.
Series:
A
series of adverts are numerous adverts with an ongoing plot. These
usually go on for quite sometime and they remain popular for that, sort
of like a soap opera. There are quite a few series like adverts. One of
the most notable is the BT adverts, which have slowly been progressing
following a man and a woman getting married in which the telephone line
was advertised. After a while the son they have goes to university and
now they advertise their broadband services instead. Another notable
series of adverts is Daz, which parodies soap operas in terms of the way
they're shown.
Humour:
Humorous
adverts are intended to make the viewer laugh therefore allowing the
humour of the advert to linger in the viewers mind. Usually people like
what makes them laugh so it allows them to remember the product or
service. Using humour as a way of getting a viewers attention usually
works better at a younger range of audience as they are more likely to
want to watch the advert again or send it to a friend. You'll notice
that that majority of the adverts that rely on humour are for companies
that try to sell more towards a younger age range. A lot of adverts use
humour to catch the attention of the viewer, most recently it's the
dancing pony advert from 3 that has everybody laughing. As mentioned
before they have tried to aim this at a younger audience as the elderly
wouldn't really want to take out a contract for a phone on 3 as they
wouldn't know how to use it, where as a young adult would.
Surreal:
Surreal
adverts are usually a mixture of fantasy and fact, they come across as
being bizarre, they aim to be something you've not seen before. For
example the Skoda Advert in which they make a cake based around one of
their cars. The other Skoda model shows a slightly different approach of
making a mean car.
Dramatic:
Adverts
tend to use drama to reel in their audience to pay attention. They do
this by provoking emotion in the viewer which causes the viewer to
retain their attention and donate to the cause or purchase the
product/service. Charities tend to use this technique a lot when
advertising. One example is the Barnado's advert which showcases an
adult's life story backwards which provokes an emotional response as it
shows the actor go from happy, paranoia, anger, lonely, upset and scared
all in the space of 90 seconds.
Parody:
A
parody advert is an advert that is imitating something else for a
comedic effect. An example of this is the Daz advert I linked under the
Series header, this usually links in with humour as the viewers will
remember it as the advert that makes fun of their favourite soap opera.
