In the first shot of my advert there will be a close-up of the product I am advertising being worn on an unknown person’s feet. This should intrigue the audience, making them want to know who the mysterious person is. The camera will follow the shoes, never going higher than the person’s knees, down from a white carriage and up a set of large, marble stairs that are covered with snow. The snow creates a seasonal effect, reminding the audience that Christmas is nearly upon them and presents need to be bought. This is good seasonal endorsement. The camera continues to follow the feet through a pair of antique mahogany doors. The marble stairs and the enormous doors make the audience assume the place she is entering is luxurious without actually seeing the whole mansion. This elegant atmosphere ties in with how I want the product to be portrayed. It also creates a mysterious air – who is the girl, and where is she going? I have chosen to do a close-up of the product in the first shot so that from the very beginning of the advert the audience’s attention is focused mainly on the shoes. The crunch of snow as the person walks subtly enhances the seasonal feeling. As the door is opened music is heard, although only for a few seconds before the person goes through and shuts the door. From this small clip of the music someone may just recognise the melody, but cannot place it. It would make the audience want to hear more and adds further to the mystery.
The second shot is a close-up of the lady and a man’s face looking at each other. Now that the girl’s face is revealed the audience will see that I have used Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt for celebrity endorsement. This is a good couple to use because they had the most publicised wedding of the year, seem natural together, are rarely seen without one another and lead a modern day 'Fairy tale' life. Jennifer Aniston is made up beautifully in a white ball-gown and a crystal tiara, while Brad Pitt looks handsome with a cloak and gold crown. They look sophisticated and also add sex appeal to my advert. Jennifer looks good so my target audience will want to buy my product to be like her. There is little dialogue because I think it would spoil the mysterious and magical effect I am trying to achieve. Brad says: “May I have this dance?” and Jennifer answers: “Of course.” The music is now clear – it is an instrumental version of ‘Once Upon A December.’ This song is enchanting and seasonal, much like my advert. A sprinkle of snowflakes caught in Jennifer’s hair will also remind the audience of Christmas. The focus of this shot is Jennifer and Brad, so the background is slightly blurred behind them.
The camera pans out in shot three, showing the whole of the ballroom. Couples move off the ballroom floor and gather around the perimeter. Jennifer and Brad dance gracefully in time with the music. For the first time in the advert Jennifer and Brad’s whole bodies are shown. Jennifer is wearing a shimmering, almost transparent, glass-like ball-gown with red lining around the sleeves’ cuffs. Brad is wearing a red cloak with white lining. These colours are used to represent Christmas and are also featured on my product. The pair dance without fault, making the audience think that to move like that the shoes must be very comfortable.
In shot four the camera moves across the ballroom rapidly until it stops at a large grandfather clock. The hands click towards midnight and a loud bell sounds. At this point it should be obvious that my advert has had a major influence from the fairytale ‘Cinderella.’ I think this will make my advert memorable as it has a recognisable theme. The clock is antique and adds to the fairytale feel of my advert.
In shot five the camera cuts to Jennifer looking startled. It pans down to show her visibly taking off her shoe and bolting off the screen, leaving the shoe behind. I want the audience to see that Jennifer took off the shoe and that it did not slip or fall off of its own accord. If the shoe fell off then the audience may be put off from buying my product in case it happened while they were wearing them. Also, it would add a humorous side to my advert that I do not wish to create.
In the last shot the camera follows Brad’s hand as he picks up the shoe and places it on a white cushion with red trim. Again, these colours are used to represent Christmas and to match Jennifer’s dress, Brad’s cloak and my product. The background - a crescent moon because 'Luna', similar to 'Lunette', means 'moon' in Latin - will be blurred slightly, snapping the shoe and cushion into clear focus. This effect will make the audience concentrate on the shoe rather than being distracted by whatever is behind it. Snow will fall around it and settle slightly on the cushion, making the audience think again of what time of year it is. ‘Calceus, by Lunette’ will scroll along the bottom of the screen in silver Old English Italics, enhancing the sumptuous feel. Jennifer Aniston’s voice says: ‘Calceus shoes, by Lunette - feel the magic.’ The slogan is short, sweet and straight to the point. The word ‘magic’ intensifies the fantastical theme.
I think that the ‘Cinderella’ idea that I have borrowed is a good persuasive technique. The audience will remember that the story is about an unimportant servant-girl who falls in love and marries a handsome prince. Of course, they live happily ever after. It is a classic romance tale that many women would love to be part of. It says to the audience that in order to share the glamour and magic they must buy my product.
I borrowed the idea of using two very famous celebrities from many adverts, although I have not yet seen a shoe advert using two movie/television stars. In Clarks shoe adverts they make their shoes look fashionable and comfortable, which is what I have done. They also use attractive models, and I have used an attractive, well-known couple for endorsement.
I think that my advert is very effective. The magical fairytale theme that I have achieved is usually used in adverts for young children, especially with the recent Harry Potter phenomenon. Using it in an advert directed towards adults is effective because it is eye-catching and unique. The celebrity endorsement helps a lot with how successful the advert is and I have used colours to my advantage now that the Christmas season is upon us. Also, romance is timeless and classic - not a trend.
I could have advertised my product differently by changing the colours to brighter shades, not using celebrity endorsement, adding more dialogue or humour, changing the music to a well-known disco beat and changing the camera angles. This would not have achieved my desired effect and I think my way is much more successful in doing this. Changing the colours would have resulted in losing the Christmas feel. Not using any celebrities would have made my advert less noticeable. Adding more dialogue would have taken the audience’s attention away from the shoes. If I did change these aspects my advert would be in danger of steering away from its target audience.
