Television Advertisement

Should Television Adverts be regulated?


Advertising plays an essential part in all market economies. It stimulates growth and innovation, encourages competition and increases consumer choice. It is a swift and efficient means of making consumers aware of product innovations and keeping them informed of the range, nature and quality of the products available to them. Advertising is an important element in maintaining or increasing market share and vital to the introduction of a new product or the improvement of an existing one.

To fulfil this important task, advertising must enjoy a high level of consumer trust and confidence; it must be legal, decent, honest and truthful. If consumers are misled by advertising, they will not buy again; if it offends them, they will not buy in the first place. Bad advertising, even though it may account for only a small percentage of the whole, will gradually undermine consumer confidence and all advertising will suffer. So it is in the interests of the advertising industry to ensure that advertising is properly regulated.

In this essay i will be exploring the reasons why i think television adverts should be regulated. I will be using both personal opinion. Advertising regulation refers to the laws and rules defining the ways in which products can be advertised in a particular region. Rules can define a wide number of different aspects, such as placement, timing and the content. In the United States, false advertising and health-related ads are regulated the most. This is due to the fact that false advertising is illegal according to the Federal Trade Commission. It is also unethical. Other kinds of unethical advertising are neither deceptive or illegeal; however, they offend moral principles. For example, an offensive advert is the "Antonio Federici" ice cream advert. It shows two males who look like they are about to kiss, wearing catholic priest robes. The reason this is offensive is about, it is two males displaying homosexual behaviour WHILST wearing clothes of a religion that frowns upon that sort of practice.

In my opinion i believe adverising should be regulated because some adverts out there which have hidden innuendos, are being shown before the 'WaterShed'. For example, the ' Flora' butter advert. In this advert we meet josh and his brother making breakfast for their parents' anniversary. They rush upstairs and burst open the door, however they instantly stop in their tracks and cover their eyes (and also the dog). Later you see the mother coming down stairs with messy hair and doing her robe. The advert doesnt say much except "She seemed quite good at it", this is the sexual innuendo which is shown/said in the advert. This advert should be regulated or changed because it is inappropriate to advertise butter in such a way. There are many other offensive adverts out there which are offensive to people, but yet the ASA miss those adverts and send them through.

In conclusion, i personally believe that adverts should be regulated because, they are meant to advertise products and there's ways to do that. You cannot have a billboard with a woman's chest wearing a bra only as an advertisement, and expect people to know what the advertisement is about. First of all it is offensive to women because their being shown as tools to use for advertising, and it is misleading because one would think that the advert is either for bras or breast implants.

Task 4 Page Layout

Out of the magazine ideas, which would you personally buy?

Which magazine masthead would you prefer?

Which cover best suits it's masthead?

Which magazine idea is most appealing to you?

How could i make improvements to the ideas?

How much would you be willing to pay for on of my magazines?

Which cover line is the least appealing to you?

Magazine Ideas

Magazine 1

Idea 1: "Baka" Magazine

Genre: Lifestyle

Content: In this magazine you will find tourist attraction places e.g Tokyo Disneyland and Kiyomizu-dera (an independent Bhuddhist temple eastern Kyoto)

'Baka' ( meaning 'Idiot'  magazine is based on japanese lifestyle. The kind of topics which i will focus on are japanese fashion, japanese food, exercise and 'Fun'. By 'Fun' i mean fun things to do in Japan, for example you could go to cosplay events, go to the famous temples and things like that.

Where would you find it?
This magazine would be available in most local news agents or stores and you can also find it online. You can also make an online registration account.

Cover lines:

"Travel Japan in the turn of a page"

"Enjoy Japan at it's fullest"

"Explore"

Magazine 2

Idea 2: "A Cosplay" Magazine

Genre: Specialist

This magazine will be about anime cosplay, people who like anime or cartoons would love this sort of thing. I chose to make this magazine about cosplay because a lot of people like to dress up as their favourite characters

Where would you find it?
This magazine would be found mostly in book shops because there will be a number of issues released at once. This way it will

Cover lines: 
"Be the hero you've always wanted to be"

"Don't play the hero, be the hero"

"Make the costume, win the competition"

I've based the cover lines on the idea of of the cosplay show.

Magazine 3

Idea 3:  "Kirei na Hana" (Pretty Flower) Magazine

Genre: Specialist Magazine

Content: Fashion from all over the world, but mostly fashion from East Asia. This magazine is targeted at women in their teens.

Where would you find it?
Since this magazine is targeted specifically at female teens, it will be found in women stores and in some local stores.

Cover lines: 

"The clothes you wear define you"

"Wear the world"

"The world is your dressing room"

These cover lines are based on the different fashion you would see in the world.

Television Advert Offense

KFC Zinger Burger

• Outline what happens in the advert

In the advert, you see some workers eating some Zingers with their mouths full. They start singing about the burgers and only at the end one of them picks up a call and it turns about to be a helpline 

• Identify why they might be considered as misleading, offensive or harmful and to whom?

This advert is very offensive to people are being abused at their homes or wherever they may be. It shows people who operate at this helpline to be non-caring and inconsiderate.

Task 1 Tv Advert Analysis: Sunsilk advert

The Sunsilk advert is a retro ad from the 1960′s. The tone of the advert is calm and gentle, this is because of the use of many different techniques such as non-diagetic sound, the melody played in the background -composed by John Barry- is haunting and sets a mysterious atmosphere within the advert. The voice over also ads to this because mans voice is so calm and matter of fact.

The message of the advert is clear  Sunsilk will make your hair beautiful therefor making you look more beautiful and the tag line is ‘its part of the art of being beautiful’ implying that Sunsilk should be an essential part of a beauty regime .

The representation of the woman is important in this advert she is simply a beautiful woman with beautiful hair. Because the advert is black and white it is hard to keep the audiences attention on the woman's hair but by the way they used personal codes like the clothes she is wearing (light colours) makes her hair more noticeable. However the representation could be perceived wrongly by an audience because in the voice over the man says ‘sunny silky, sunsilk’ and the woman is blonde, in my opinion this could be taken the wrong way and an audience could think the product is just for blonde hair.

I think that the setting used in the advert is completely irrelevant although i know that the directors intentions were probably to make the woman look elegant by rowing a boat. In my opinion they could of used a simpler more relatable environment to set the advert e.g a bathroom/hair dressers.

Product placement was successful in this advert because each bottle is displayed separately at the same time as being mentioned in the voiceover this makes it easy for an audience to recognise the product they are most interested in.

Task 1 Nina Ricci Advert

Colour: The feminine shade of pink instantly makes it clear that the advertisement and product is targeted towards females. The colour pink connotes compassion, nurturing and unconditional love. 

It makes the audience feel as though the product is very gentle and subtle. The colour conveys an image of the perfume as being innocent and the female also as she is dressed in a baby pink dress with white flowers around her, connoting purity.

Framing: The female is surrounded and framed by four mirrors reflecting images in the room, including her. Also, she is holding the perfume bottle behind her as well as it being places at the tail of her dress in a larger print. Moreover, two trees are placed next to and behind her, which creates quite a feminine and innocent feel as it adds white to the image.

Composition: The image has been composed with the female on the right side of the print, using the rule of three thirds. This draws more attention to her and creates a sense of importance not only to her but the perfume bottle also, placed on the opposite (left) side of the print. All the images in the print blend well together due to the similar shades of colours. 

Size:  The perfume bottle that is the actual product is not the largest image on the print, however it is placed the closest to the camera, which draws attention to it. The text is small compared to the images, however the Brand name is clear and visible. The slogan on the other hand is not.

Type of shot: The overall print is a long shot and slightly low-angle, this includes the female, trees, flowers and mirrors. Although, the actual perfume bottle shot is a straight on, close-up. This has been done to make the advertisement look empowering, encouraging women to buy it. 

Subject matter: The purpose of the print advert is to promote the Nina Ricci perfume. Feminine colours and images have surrounded the product.

Setting: The photograph has been taken indoors. It looks as though it is a bedroom with white walls, mirrors, trees and the product. The white emphasises the purity of the product. However the pink and silver adds a sense of femininity and class.

Lighting: The print is very bright and has white light added to the whole image. The background has shadows, possibly portraying an image that the female in the shot has come something negative, but is better now that she has the perfume. The mood is positive as it is promoting the product.

Pose: The female in the image is holding the perfume bottle behind her, as looks as though she is hiding it or has a secret. Her facial expression is relaxed. The pink flower like dress and wavy hair adds to the feminine touch of the image. The product appears three times on the print in a subtle way. It is clearly displayed at the front, and then is shown much smaller in her hands and reflection from the mirror.

Connotations: The constant colour white connotes purity and innocence. It could have a deeper meaning that the perfume actually smells quite floral. The way the image has been presented almost makes the audience feel as though they are in a fantasy. The tress coming out of the mirrors is quite unreal.

Audience: The product is aimed at females who are teenagers and adults. The product is priced at around £30-£50, therefore would be appropriate for a middle class audience.

Task 1 Advert Television Advertisement: Dior

Charlize Theron is shown wearing a lacy, low cut top or dress and a large gold earring in her right ear. She has one hand places at the top of the dress and looks as if she is about to take it off, like she 'cannot contain herself, while the other hand tugs at her earring.

The advert has a main theme of gold (gold earring, gold eyeliner, golden skin and a gold bottle) and the background is fairly dark, but shows a blurry chandelier, which gives the idea that wealthy people would wear this perfume.

The model's eye stare down into the camera and one eyebrow is raised, which gives the impression that she knows something that the reader doesn't, and that she is in control. It makes the advert intriguing and mysterious and also makes the viewer want to be just like the model. This advert also should appeal to men. The model shows a lot of skin and cleavage which automatically draws a man's attention and makes him think of his own partner in the way he is thinking about the model, which consequently should makes him want to buy the perfume for his partner.

The bottle of perfume is placed in the bottom right hand corner of the advert. It is large and gold which makes it look very expensive and grand. 'Sparkles' have been added to the bottle to make it seem more special and they make the bottle stand out even more. 

Next to the bottle, it says the perfume name ' J'adore L'absolu'. The word J' adore, meaning ' I Love' is in a large Serif font which I think is supposed to represent the passion of the advert. 'L absolu' is in a smaller font and is in italic writing to stress the meaning of it, which is 'the absolute one'. The fact that the perfume name in French, probably appeals to the viewer because it seems more unique, more special and by owning the perfume they may think that they will also become 'unique' and 'special'. In the top right hand corner, 'Dior' is displayed in white, on top of the darkest background.

It is also in a serif font and it gives the impression of wealth and have being 'proper; at the very bottom of the advert it says 'the new Eau de Parfum: J'adore L'absolu'. Notice how it says 'The' instead of 'A', this is so the advert sticks in the viewers mind as the only new perfume that has been recently been released.