The posters are quite eye catching because they have large white text set like a newspaper column on a dark background. They also have a picture that is very different to the text if you don’t think about it. The picture is surrounded buy dark as well. It looks very effective and interesting and it makes you think and interesting and it makes you think.
The message of the posters fit with the overall message of ‘Be the Best’ because they take trivial things that young people may do and turn them into important things like helping starving people which is very worthwhile.
I think that the posters are quite effective because they are eye catching and they make you think. They show you different aspects of the Army and they appeal to young people in lots of different ways because of the text and the overall message and the opportunities they offer.
The next part of the Army’s campaign was recruiting from ethnic minorities. We looked at a poster aimed at Afro-Caribbean males.
The image is of a stern, serious, Afro-Caribbean male. He looks very passionate and even slightly aggressive. The image is a close-up of his face and his hand. The image is off center so a bit of his face is cut off. It is a very personal image and is very ‘in your face.’ It is like he is addressing you. He looks like he is telling someone off or trying to get a very important point across and is very angry. It is a very eye-catching image that seems to shout at you. The large writing across the image near the man’s mouth is on a slant and is very designer looking.
The language used on this poster is very forceful and aggressive. The large writing is like a challenge. It is very defensive. The main text is also very aggressive and passionate. He explains that black people in the Army are no longer treated badly in any way and he addresses some racial insults that other black people might call him for being in the Army. He explains how they are not justified and he sounds very proud. He tries to allay any fears other black people might have of joining the Army. Also there is a phone number in the copy, which asks people to call and talk to real black soldiers to prove that this poster is true and give it credibility.
The poster is addressed to other Afro-Caribbean people who would be the ones insulting the man on the poster. He is defending the Army and also trying to convince them to join as well because the Army has changed and it is a good career and there is no more racism.
The effect the poster will have on black people is probably it will make them think about joining the Army if they have never thought about it before and especially if they have. It may reassure them that it is a good thing to do. I don’t think the poster will have much effect on other people except other people from other ethnic minorities who might think that if this is true for black people then it might be true for me. I don’t think it will convince white people to join the Army because it is not aimed at them. Some white people may be offended that it is not in any way related to them, but that is silly because most advertising is targeted at white people.
I think the poster is very effective because it addresses some of the main issues that may keep black people from joining the Army. It is very arresting and personal. It makes you want to read the copy and find out more.
We then had to create our own poster aimed at recruiting women into the Army.
The image I chose is a very exciting image. It is a brightly coloured and eye-catching image of a woman dangling from a ladder attached to a helicopter. There is another woman at the top of the ladder as well. This image may attract women because it shows that women can do anything they want, exciting and dangerous things just like men. It will attract women who are looking for a challenge and something exciting and different to do. The image and the text across the top may make women interested in what the copy says because the picture is different to what you’d normally see on advertising for women.
The text across the top says, ‘Did YOU Break A Nail Today?’ This may attract women, as it is something that is commonly related to women. It can also be used as an insult if you say that a woman might not want to do something because they will break a nail. This text is a challenge to women to do things that they might not normally do, difficult, challenging things that might mean getting dirty. The ‘YOU’ is all in capitals to make this challenge more personal, as if it were aimed directly at YOU and not just to you in general. The text and the image may make women want to read the copy to find out exactly what this poster is about.
The copy is quite short and snappy. It is only three short sentences so it has to say as much as it can in a few words. The copy continues along the same lines as the first text. It explains that the Army is a challenge and an opportunity to do something important and have a good career. The word equality is in bold, accentuating the fact that women will not be discriminated against in the Army any more. At the end of the copy it says, ‘Do you have what it takes?’ This is a further challenge to women who have read the poster to do something about it and prove to themselves and to everyone else that they can do anything.
The copy is on a bright colourful background to attract people’s attention to it. The text across the top is big and easy to read. I think the poster is effective because it catches people’s attention and makes women think about joining the Army as a challenge.
We had to create these posters in groups with a main idea behind our groups campaign. First we thought about what women wanted and what they are concerned about.
We decided that women want: to help people, challenges, opportunities, equality, excitement, good pay, a career, not to be underestimated. We decided that our main focus for our campaign would be equality and opportunities. One of the posters in our group is about fair pay, one is about women being just as good or better drivers than men, one is about the lack of women in the Army and one is about the challenges the Army offers. We think that all these issues are important to women and will attract them to the Army. We think we will attract women that are truly interested in joining the Army and will not waste the Army’s time because our posters appeal to women who want excitement and challenges and equality.
When we presented out posters to the audience I think that they liked our posters. They also gave us advice. Some of the text on some of our posters was too long and not snappy and sharp enough so I changed mine and so did a couple of the other members of my group. I think this has improved my poster because now it is simpler and clearer and more professional.
