Advertising is important to companies. It is used to exploit all aspects of their product in a positive way. My two chosen adverts are advertising well-known products,

Analyse and Compare two advertisements. In your essay consider how Advertising techniques have been used.

Advertising is important to companies. It is used to exploit all aspects of their product in a positive way. My two chosen adverts are advertising well-known products, “Halls Soothers” and “Synergie purifying wipes”. They both come from the same magazine, Sugar, targeting 12-25 year olds. Both adverts share some similarities but are relatively different.

My first advert is one for Halls Soothers that targets the 16+ age group. This advert shows a woman at a karaoke night singing into a microphone. There is a karaoke sign in the background along with a blue and orange background, disco lights, people and a cocktail glass. In front of her are the karaoke player and a packet of the Soothers. At the bottom of the advert is the slogan; “Your throat feels smoother when you suck a Soother”. These peach and raspberry throat sweets are designed to sooth you throat making it feel smoother. This is what the slogan is telling you. It is being informative whilst also using techniques to give the slogan a catchy feel. Every advertising company wants their product to stand out. This is why Halls have used alliteration in the slogan. It uses the letter “s” which creates a soft sound that gives the slogan a catchy and stylish feel. The use of the alliteration will make the slogan stick in people’s minds so they remember it if they see some Soothers. They will then think about what the slogan means (that Soothers make your throat smoother) and will buy the product making it a successful piece of advertising. The use of the “s” ‘s has a double meaning. As well as creating alliteration, it creates a smooth sound which links into the product. The smooth sound and the slogan, “……. smoother, ……….Soother”. The Soothers are meant to make your throat smooth and the “s” sound makes the slogan sound smooth. It also uses rhyme to link the product with the word smoothers. This ensures the idea that Soothers are synonymous with the word smooth.

The main background to the advert is an orangey, peachy colour. This ties into the product as the advertisement is for peach and raspberry flavour Soothers. It exploits the type of product in the background colour. The raspberry flavour is shown in the colour of the female’s mouth and her top. These are both pink and red colours linking into the flavour, raspberry. Both flavours/colours are also shown in the banner at the top of the image. The actual banner is an orange colour and the letters of “Karaoke” are in a red colour. The whole image in the centre of the advert is alive with colour especially reds and oranges which tie in with the product. To set off these colour links, there is a blue centre background to the image. This contrasting colour sets off the oranges and reds, which are the colours that want to be seen. Blue is also used in the colour of the balloons behind the singer, again setting off the relevant colours.

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The image of the person is of a female at a karaoke night singing and wearing bright clothes. The words “…in luurrve!!!” are coming out of her mouth. The woman’s body language shows how she is singing. Her eyes are closed, her mouth is open very wide, her knees are bent and she is holding her left arm out to the side above her head. These vital pieces of body language prove that she is singing as well as she can. The words coming out of the woman’s mouth are part of the song being sung. The chosen words “in love”, suggest that she is singing about being in love herself, meaning that she is happy. The connotation of these words is that the Soothers are allowing her to sing this well and are making her very happy. So the advert is saying that you will be happy after having the Soothers. The woman’s body language suggests her happiness as well. When singers have their eyes closed, they have often really got into the song and are feeling what the words mean, so this small detail shows she is enjoying singing and the song. Hand in hand with this detail is the fact that she has her mouth wide open, suggesting that she is trying to make the best sound with her voice because she wants the song to be the best she’s ever done it. These two small details together show how happy she is. Other body language in the advert adds to the happiness. Many singers use hand movements and leg movements to enhance the atmosphere around them (sometimes they are not conscious they are doing this). This female is using both of these techniques. Her raised hand suggests that she has reached a climax in the song and is belting out the words. This movement is also evidence that she is feeling the song and words she is singing making her happy. Although you cannot see all of her legs, you get the impression that they are bent, another piece of body language used to enhance the atmosphere.

This image of the woman is actually stereotyping karaoke singers. It is saying that all karaoke singers are loud, extravagant and a bit over the top. This could be found as offensive by some karaoke singers as they might not like to be called extravagant, etc. The image of the karaoke singer, is suggesting that she is singing a smooth ballad linking into the product. It is also a popular style of song, sung in karaoke sessions.

There is a very small, blurred out picture in the background of asocial gathering suggesting the place where the karaoke may take place. You cannot see it very well but you know what it is a picture of. This small picture gives the whole image more depth and shows awareness of the surroundings.

My second advert is one for Garnier Synergie Pure, Purifying wipes. It targets females around the age of 17-25 maybe early thirties, and people with a busy lifestyle. This is a slightly older age group to the Halls advert as it targeted 16+year olds. The advert shows a close-up view of a female using the wipes, the product, a splash of water, the Garnier logo, a slogan and information about the product. The whole advert is based around the purity of the product, starting with the slogan that says, “Cleanse, Purify and Unblock pores. In one clean sweep”. This is similar to the Halls advert as it is based around the smoothness of the product. So both adverts are exploiting the positive aspect of the product. This advert uses the rule of three, hence; cleanse, purify and unblock, unlike the Halls advert that used alliteration to get the point across. Three is an easy number to remember and it is scientifically proven that people remember things well, in groups of three. The fact that there are three keywords in the slogan also relates to the product it is a “3 in 1” product. The “1” part of the “3 in 1” is also mentioned in the slogan in the second sentence, with “one clean sweep”. So the whole slogan revolves around the fact that the product does three things in one. The word “cleanse” is a more sophisticated way of saying to “clean”. The word “purify” crops up a lot in this advert, and means to make pure and finally, “unblock pores” is to get rid of the dirt, etc clogged up in your skin. So these three words are telling you that the wipes will clean, purify and get rid of dirt from your skin, as well as linking in with the “3 in 1” part of the product. The next sentence is also linking back to the “3 in 1” but also relates to the targeted age group of the advert. The phrase “one clean sweep” isn’t something that younger teenagers would say. It is a common phrase used by more mature teens and above and this is the age group for which the advert is aimed at. The word “sweep” means fast in this context, saying that the product can do three things very quickly.

The copy on the right hand side uses the word “purify” and other related words, similar to the slogan at the top. The slogan on the Halls advert does not use a keyword but uses similar words so that they stick in your mind. The first sentence of the copy says, “ The 1st Express 3 in 1 Purifying Wipes”. The word “express” links back into the slogan. “Express” in this context means quickly relating to the word, sweep. Again the copy is pointing out the speed and the 3 in 1 idea. The next sentence uses the words “anti-bacterial formula”, which are scientific. These words again are in a scientific tone. They are basically saying that they have used a formula that stops bacteria. The next part of the sentence says, “easy-to-use”. These three words link back to the 3 in 1 aspect using hyphens in between to point it out. Underneath this sentence there are three bullet points. The first thing of significance in these points is that there are three bullet points, referring back to the 3 in 1 idea. The first point repeats the word “sweep” and uses the word impurities, which relates to the keyword “purify”. The second point repeats what is said in the slogan at the top, that the product unblocks pores and purifies your skin, again linking to the keyword. The final point uses the word “imperfections”. This is a sophisticated word. If the advert was aimed at younger teenagers it is more likely to say “spots” instead. The targeted age group does not talk about “spots” or “imperfections”, but imperfection, is a nicer way of saying spots and is more indirect. So this single word is a clue to the age group. The sentence underneath starts with “ In one quick step”, which mentions the speed of the wipes. The final sentence of the box of copy uses another scientific word, dermatological. Some younger teenagers may not know what this means but older ones in the targeted age group will and that is why this word has been used. The caption under the copy says “Pure confidence come from pure skin”. This carries on the idea of being purified.

The images in the advert also go along with the purifying idea. The background to the advert is white which is the colour associated with purity. If the background were any other colour it would contradict what is said about being pure. The Halls advert also uses a related colour for the background, peach. The two advertising companies have used the same technique in their advert. The packet for the purifying wipes is also white and behind this image is a splash of water. It is fresh water developing the idea of pure. The image of the woman also links into the purity. She is using the white wipe, a symbol of purity and has white/pearly nail varnish on. Her eyes show a great amount of pure white and her mouth is slightly open showing her white teeth. All of these white things represent, purity. The woman has blonde hair and blue eyes. A woman with these visual qualities is said to be the perfect woman. The final points of the woman are her clear skin and eye line. The model in the image has got very clean skin with no “impurities” suggesting that she has used the product and become clear skinned. Her eyes are looking up towards the slogan so you look there too. To finish off the pure, natural, clean idea, at the front of the slogan is part of the Garnier logo. It shows a circle with a close up view of a leaf. This image has a double meaning. The first part is that leaves are natural and pure linking in with the product and the second half of the meaning is that the leaf looks like it has pores linking in with the slogan.

Both of my adverts have something to do with your body and how to make it better. The Halls advert is to do with your throat and how to make it feel better, and the Garnier advert is to do with your face and how to clean it quickly. The difference between the adverts is the use and choice of words. The Halls advert has used the poetic technique of alliteration and rhyme to make the product stick in your mind, whilst the Garnier advert has used the technique of repetition to get their point across.

Hayley License. 10W