Advert Analysis

The colours used in advert 3 are: the white background, the green smashed bottle, the light golden colour of the beer, the orange and the red colour of the text, and the different colours on the bottles label. The bold bright colours of the bottle and beer make the image stand out really well from the plain white background. The viewer can clearly see that the colours on the beer bottle will be the colours used on the bottle you would buy in a shop. This may help them to recognise the beer easily.

Shape.

In advert 1 little attention is given to shape. The main focus is on the focus of the woman. Her arms are the most significant aspects because they stick up from the flatness of the bedding and her head is thrown back with her chin jutting up. These shapes are used to show enjoyment and pleasure. The shape of the abbot ale pump in the corner could be a phallic symbol as the underlying connotation is that the woman has enjoyed a pleasurable experience in bed.

In advert 2 they have given a fair amount of attention to shape. The main shape is of the fan of playing cards as it is the focal point. The shape of the fan consists of a number of different curves

Representing each individual card. The gambling chips are curved and are overlapping which creates an effect as though they are right in front of you. The beer bottle also has curved edges but the beer bottle lid has quite sharp edges to reinforce it looking like a kings crown.

There are many different types of shapes in advert 3 this is because of the bottle that has broken into random pieces. The edges of the glass are sharp and pointed which helps them stand out from the background. The spilt beer however has very smooth an edge, which creates a nice contrast from the sharp, pointed edges of the glass.

Positioning.

The positioning of the woman in the centre of advert 1 signifies that they want you to look at her as the focus point. The text is at the top left hand corner of the page and the bottom right hand corner of the page. This creates balance for the eye. Also beginning at the top left hand corner of the page would be the natural place to start reading something.

The positioning of the playing cards in the centre of advert 2 goes as followed: The playing card with the beer bottles on is facing upwards with all of the other cards fanning out lower and to the left of the card.

The positioning of advert 3 is very simple, as they have not used many images. The product label, which survived the fall, is in the centre of the page with smashed fragments of glass around the outside. The text is at the bottom right hand side of the page.

Camera angle.

The camera angle of an advert can make the advert good or bad.

On advert 1 the picture of the woman in bed is taken from the same angle as what the viewer would be looking at her. This is done to make it look more realistic as she appears to the reader to be just in front of them and this creates more of an impact on the reader when they look at it.

In advert 2 the camera has been positioned above and slightly to the bottom of the playing cards They have done this to create the affect of the viewer thinking the cards are actually in front of them, Which would create more of an impact when seen.

On advert 3 the picture of the Beck's bottle is taken from directly above it. This might be to create the affect of the reader imagining someone dropping the bottle and then looking down at it.

Focus.

The focus of advert 1 is clear and natural. This is reinforcing that the beer is a clear golden brown colour. They could also have been trying to make it look like real life because they have written good thing about it and are reinforcing that the beer tastes good in real life also.

The focus of advert 2 is clear and realistic. This reinforces the effect of the cards being in front of the viewer. This could also be because it makes the advert stand out to the viewer. They may have made the focus clear so the viewer can look in detail at the beer being advertised, which may help the product to sell.

The focus of advert 3 is sharp and detailed. The advertising company have done this so the individual pieces of glass (which are what catches the eye of the viewer) will be clearly seen and look even more realistic.

Text.

The text colour of advert 1 is black and written in cursive joined up writing. It is written in lower case and is quite small. It is presented like this so that the viewer does not get distracted away from the focal point of the picture. The text is merely there to back up the picture on the advert.

The text on advert 2 is bold and can be clearly seen. The writing is white and stands out from the background well. It is written in upper case so it catches the viewer's eye.

There is not much text on advert 3 as they are depending on the brand name to sell the product. The main text that is there is written in orange, medium sized upper case letters and the other text below it is written in red, small upper case letters.

Anchor.

The anchor in advert 1 is the sentence "some things get better given longer" because it links to the woman and helps to pin down the second meaning of the sentence. It is a sentence that refers to both the beer, (brewed longer for a better taste) and the woman. (Being in bed longer means that it will be better)

The anchor in advert 2 is the word King. It is white, so it stands out from the background and is written in clear bold writing. The word King is also quite a powerful word, which may attract viewers because they will associate the position of a King in society with this being the leading of all brands. The word King also links back to the playing cards and the upturned bottle cap.

The anchor in advert 3 is the word "Juggler" and also "Apprentice" because it links to the smashed bottle by saying a jugglers apprentice dropped it and also gives the viewer an idea of why it was dropped. (This adds a little humour into the advert)

Stereotype.

The stereotype used in advert 1 is the image of the young beautiful woman who has just enjoyed being in bed. This attracts male receivers and female receivers wanting to attract men. The connotation is that the longer you are in bed the better it is that also links to the beer because the longer it is brewed for the better tasting beer it is.

There is no stereotype used in advert 2. The producing company has done this to ensure that the advert is aimed at a wider audience and can be sold to many more people.

There is no stereotype used in advert 3, as there is no relevance to have one in the advert. The advertising company have chose to leave a stereotype off because they want the advert to be purely the brand name that advertises the product.

Lighting.

The lighting is another important part of advertising as it can highlight certain aspects, which are important in attracting the viewer's attention.

In advert 1the light is focused on the woman from a range of angles because she is the most important image. Even though the woman is being shone on from different places there seems to be lighter shining onto her right side. They may have done this to make an effect on the viewer of an open window being right next to her.

In advert 2 the lighting is directed downwards from the top right corner to the bottom left. The playing cards are in the line of light as they are an important part of the advertisement. They may have positioned the lighting there so it creates shadow around the playing cards which helps the effect of making the playing card stand out and look more three dimensional. The lighting also reflects off the gambling chips. This helps them stand out, but not enough to put off the viewer and distract them from the playing cards, the focal point of the advert. The significance of the chips is probably that four Kings is a winning hand, so five Kings is a certain winner. Another good association to the beer.

The lighting in advert 3 has been spread evenly over the page. The product has made no shadows so you can't tell which angle the light is coming from. You can see a little reflection on one of the smashed pieces of bottle, telling us that it is being lit from somewhere.

Cropping.

The picture in advert 1 has been cropped just to include the head and shoulders of the woman. By not showing the rest of her body it leaves the viewer to use his/her imagination to fill in details that they would have been unable to publish. This helps to sell the product by encouraging the viewer to associate Abbot Ale with sex and pleasure.

The picture of advert 2 has not been cropped, but the gambling chips have been. They have been cut in half in order to keep the viewer focused on the playing cards and not the gambling chips. Once the viewer does see the gambling chips he may make an assumption that because you gamble in public this beer is one to be seen drinking in public.

Advert 3 has not been cropped. The advertising company may have done this to let you see the whole smashed bottle that has more of an effect on the viewer. It also makes it look more realistic. By seeing the product it helps to sell it to the audience.

Summary.

To summarise, advert 1 uses a combination of successful colour contrast and a powerful image of a woman experiencing pleasure in bed to attract both male and females wanting to attract males. They would enjoy the link between pleasure in bed and pleasure drinking the ale. I think that the advert would be successful in today's society in interesting its target group.

Advert 2 uses a combination of successful use of colour, lighting and the slogan to attract its target audience. The viewer would like the humorous link between the advert and slogan. In today's society I think that this advert would do well in attracting its viewers.

Advert 3 has used successful use of focus and shape to attract viewers. Although the advert dos not have much on it I think that it is still very effective and will make the viewers laugh because of the anchor. In today's society I think that the advert will do well in selling the product.

Conclusion.

To conclude, all of the adverts contain a wide variety of signifiers that are used effectively to attract a target audience. They all feature a large central image/picture and minimal text. Although the colours are different on each advert, they only consist of about two to three different colours to create the effect. The actual product being advertised appears somewhere on each of the adverts but each one is linked to a different theme. The three themes used are sexual pleasure, gambling and subtle humour all of which are relevant and attractive to the people they are trying to target. In today's society I believe that all three adverts should prove to be successful.