Advert A has almost no writing on it. The advert’s slogan is ‘Whoever said life begins at 40 was 40”. It is in a large, bold font with the first 40 in an even bigger font. The slogan is a play on the saying “Life begins at 40”. The only other writing on this advert is information on how to get more information on the car. It’s in a small font underneath the slogan but bold enough to notice it. There is also another small slogan for the car “Do something memorable”. It is just a bit bigger than the contact information, and in the bottom, right corner next to the logo for the car. The small amount of writing that there is, is in an informal language “go to aygo.co.uk”. This is to match the colourful and playful type of designs in the advert.
Advert B is almost the total opposite. At the bottom of the page there is a large paragraph using lots of persuasive techniques that talk about all the special parts of the car. Although the car and advert look quite formal, this paragraph is written in very informal writing “So grab your coat”. The paragraph is in a small clear font. It is on a white background so although the writing isn’t huge your eye is drawn to it. The other writing on the advert is a tag line at the top of the page. It is a large, white font on the dark background of the picture of the car. It says “Blondes. Brunettes. 3,000kg. You can pull almost anything.” It uses a play on the word pull using both the meanings for it; attracting people of the opposite sex and pulling, as in the opposite of pushing. There are also a few more lines of information and a slogan positioned around the advert. They are all in white, smallish writing, mainly using numerical facts – the price of the car and a phone number.
In advert B, the only picture in the advert, is of the car parked outside an up-market bar. They have chosen this setting because this is the sort of place that people that would buy this car would go. This therefore makes then think this would be a car to suit them. The photo is taken from a lower angle, looking up at the car. The connotation of this is that it makes the car look bigger, stronger and dominates the photo. The mixture of dim lighting and a reflection of an on street lamp in the bar’s window denote that it is the evening, making the car and setting look more sophisticated because the sort of people that would buy this car, are stereotypically going to go out at this time. The source of the light is at the front, left. You can tell this by the shadows that are cast. They have done this to pick out the details on the front of the car such as the ISUZU sign. It also gives the impression that you are the light source or that it is next to you. They have done this to make the person looking at the advert feel more important. They have positioned the car so it is in line with the building next to it and so you can see more of the car than you would be able to if it was straight on to the camera. They have lined it up with the building so that the lines flow and so it doesn’t look messy.
The graphics on advert A give quite a different feel. The only photo in advert A is of the car that has been positioned with cartoony looking pictures and shapes behind and around it. There are eight thick lines that start from the car and end at the edge of the advert. They have put these in to draw your eyes to the car and to give a more exciting feel to the car. Just above the car is a play on the “Charlie’s angels” pose of 3 girls holding guns pointing in 3 directions. On this advert they have changed this image by using silhouettes of 3 old ladies holding knitting, a walking stick and a cup of tea instead. They have done this because the advert is aimed at the older generation and shows that this car will help them have a good time. In the background there is a picture of a burning caravan, they have used this because a stereotypical person in there forties would go on holidays in caravans and this advert is all about rebelling and not being a stereotypical 40 year old. In the top right corner there are 8 toilet type symbols for different stages of a woman’s life. Underneath are symbols for the type of things stereotypical women would be interested in at that stage of their life. Running down the left side is the stages of a women’s life in different shoe styles – it starts at tiny little booties, works its way through to stiletto style shoes in the middle, representing the twenties, and finishes as slipper type shoes, being old age. This advert uses lots of bright colours and connotes rebellion and breaking free from the stereotypical 40 year old.
Advert A’s small amount of writing has a few persuasive techniques. The car’s slogan “Do something memorable” is an imperative sentence. It commands the reader to do something which makes them think it would be a good idea. They use another command in the small section on how to get information “go to aygo.co.uk”. The only other persuasive technique is the idea of breaking away from being a typical 40 year old. They do this by having an image of a burning caravan and other things that show what a typical 40 year old would like and changing it so that it’s more exciting. They have used very bright colours to draw the eye to it and make it more exciting.
Advert B also uses imperative sentences “So grab your coat and come over”. As well as this it has lots of other techniques. In the first 2 sentences there are 6 different techniques. “Blondes. Brunettes. 3,000kg. You can pull almost anything.” The 7 techniques are
- Use of pronoun “you” to address audience directly.
- Numerical fact
- Short sentences
- Pun (word play)
- List of 3
- Two part contrast
By doing this, they are very strong and persuasive opening sentences which will grab the reader straight away. In the rest of the advert it makes a lot of references to special offers that you will get if you buy the car “Now £15,990* with free Smertnav.”
I feel quite excited when I look at advert A. This is because of the bright colours and energy in the advert. I don’t think I would buy this car because the advert makes it look quite cheap and for older people. Advert B doesn’t have the excitement but is very sophisticated and looks more expensive. I think I would probably buy this car because it looks very classy and would make you feel more important if you owned it because it is higher than normal cars.
I think the most effective part of advert A is the use of bright colours and the way they portray rebelling against being a typical 40 year old. This is because by doing this they are aiming this advert at a large group and selling it well to them. People naturally want to be individuals and recognised as themselves and not one large group which is why this advert works. However I don’t like the very small amount of writing. I think it could do with some more information on the car and what it has to offer as this advert tells you nothing about the car.
The most effective part in advert B is the persuasive techniques they use in the large piece of information and the feeling of classiness you get from it. Most people would like to be classier than there are and this advert makes them think that if they bought the car they would be. The only thing I don’t like about advert B is the font they use as it is only Arial which is a common font that doesn’t mirror the sophistication in the rest of the advert. I prefer advert B as it has more information and advert A comes across as quite cheep.