Similarly the target audience for an advert about football boots would be boys and young men who read football magazines. It might show a goal being scored, giving the impression that if you wore these particular boots you too would be successful and score goals. The advert would be found in football magazines, on television in the breaks of football match coverage or on boards around football grounds.
Advertisers use a variety of techniques to attract attention and make us notice the message they are trying to put across. They try to persuade in a way that is thought likely to work with the people they are aimed at- the target audience.
Advertisements don’t always try to sell products, sometimes they are designed to give information, for example the recent advertising campaign to inform people about the symptoms and dangers of meningitis and the campaigns every year about dangers of drinking and driving.
Adverts can also be used in an attempt to change the way people think and behave, for example Greenpeace try to change our attitudes about the environment and charities like the RSPCA advertise to raise sympathy and ask for money to help them.
Adverts also have to be in the right place at the right time to reach the target audience. There is a variety of media to choose from.
The press is very important, magazines, newspapers etc. They have the advantage that they can be read and re-read, as they tend to lie around for days, if not weeks (in doctor’s waiting rooms.) Software firms will advertise in computer magazines, and food manufacturers in good housekeeping magazines.
Television adverts are also very important; voices, music, lights and jingles liven up the message. They are often repeated several times in one evening to reinforce the message and audiences that can easily be targeted. For example, children’s toys are advertised in the late afternoon or early evening when children are in front of the television. The big disadvantage of television is that it is very expensive.
Adverts also appear outdoors on walls, bus shelters, busses and the underground etc. The message must be clear and short as the reader is probably on the move, slogans become popular. An example of this is Heineken- ‘reaches the parts that other beers can’t’ and ‘Guinness is good for you!’
Some of these techniques are used in the two magazine adverts I have chosen.
The first advert is for golf drivers. The target audience for this is obvious, people interested in golf, the advertisment is from a golf magazine.
The colours might be thought boring by some people as it is mostly shades of grey and silver but this is t make you think about metal especially titanium. This is reinforced by the ‘liquid’ writing of the heading suggesting pure, expensive titanium metal. Attention is to be drawn to the shape and smoothness of the clubs. There is a lot of information, which could be considered boring, but the sophisticated golfer reading this magazine needs to be impressed by the technical details given. As a golfer I know that the Titleist 975D doesn’t sell as well as the 976R club and suspect that the advert has been designed to give the impression that the 975D is superior.
The advert also includes a picture of Davis Love III winning his first championship with the 975D driver. He is also the biggest money winner on the circuit, this is suggesting that by using this club you too could be successful.
The photograph of the designer and the toolmaker at work wants you to appreciate the care and attention given to making these ‘special’ clubs as if each one is hand crafted. Both men are look happy and contented in their job, suggesting the clubs is lovingly created.
An additional information box gives the number of wins using these drivers in the 1998 season Tours, it looks impressive but there is no mention of how many actually took place.
At the end of the writing there is a clever play of words- ‘come and test our metal for yourself.’ ‘Testing your metal’ being a way of saying, prove yourself. Finally the advertisment informs the reader, who is by now desperate to try out these clubs, where he/she can obtain further information.
As always the advertisment includes the Titleist logo always recognisable and the quote always given in their advertising-‘ serious clubs for serious golfers.’
The second advertisment is for lemon and ginger tea found in the ‘Sunday Times’ magazine. The target audience is those who enjoy herbal teas and caffeine free drinks as a healthy alternative to coffee. They are probably people who try to eat healthily and possibly have a bit more money to spend on food.
It immediately attracts attention because of the bright yellow colour shading into orange. Yellow for the refreshing lemon and orange for the warming ginger. These are the colours you would look for on the supermarket shelf as it is reflected in the illustration- it therefore becomes immediately recognisable.
The attention is then drawn to the sparkling at the top centre, which implies a drink of this tea would give you the warming, sparkling and refreshing feeling. Reading the ‘Sunday Times’ after a Saturday night out you might feel you need a drink of this.
Unlike the last advertisment, this has very little information but tells you all that is necessary. Ginger is known to be warming and would make you ‘glow inside’ and lemon has a ‘citrus’ tang.’ The writing has been carefully arranged to ‘catch the eye’ as it draws your attention to the centre of the page. ‘Tang’ stands out as it is written in orange on the yellow background.
An additional feature, not immediately obvious, is the cup handle further down the ‘sparkler’ which reinforces that it is a cup of tea, and gives added interest to the advert.
The Twinings name is prominent, black writing in block letters on the yellow/orange background and all the information needed on a definite stripe across the bottom of the advert, the Twinings website for additional information and the brand name.
Having looked at both adverts, I feel that the Twinings one is more ‘powerful’ in the way of colour and first impressions, with the sparkler and the brightness.
The Titleist advert would stand out to the golfer reading the magazine, ‘serious clubs for serious golfers’ as he/she would think that in order to be a serious golfer you have to buy this club. So overall both adverts are unique in their own way. There will always be a place for advertising, be it in a magazine or the side of a car, as there will always be those who can be influenced by these tactics.