Horlicks: A bedtime drink

1. Reading the image, What’s in the picture:

The main part of the ad is a polar bear, which is sleeping on an iceberg. This suggests that Horlicks helps you to sleep more easily, because the bear looks very peaceful (although lying on an iceberg). This ad is set in the wild on lots of ice. The product being advertised is Horlicks hot chocolate. The product is placed in the bottom right hand corner on a money off coupon.

2. Technical codes – how was it constructed?

In this ad there is a still photo of a sleeping polar bear, it has been used to show that you can sleep just about anywhere if you drink Horlicks.

 There is no special lighting in this ad just the natural light of the sun reflecting off the ice. The photo of the polar bear was taken so you can see the bears face very clearly and that the bear is lying down.

 My eye is drawn firstly to the large polar bear because it is in the top half of the ad and is very large. The image fits in very well it has text above it and underneath it.

3. The text of the advertisement

The brand name is Horlicks and in the advert the spell it Horlickzzz and is coming out of a mug of Horlicks. The spelling of Horlickzz was used well as it is supposed to help you sleep. This ad is talking to older people, this is obvious because young people/children don’t have tax, pensions etc. There are 3 font sizes the smallest is on the coupon the medium is the bit about polar bears and Horlicks and the large font is about why the polar bear is asleep. The large text at the top and down the bottom on the left hand side adds humour to the text, which appeals to older people. The advert language is quite understandable and reassuring for its target audience. I think having a money off coupon for the product is a very good idea because people will be able to try the product for the first time at a discounted price.

4. The genre of the advert

The advert is a funny (but not to funny) way of grabbing our attention to look at the product being advertised. This advert is an advert you would find in a magazine or paper (a still advert). The story that it tells in the advert is very clear and very simple. Basically it is saying that if you buy our drink you will sleep better. There are many signs of them doing this in the advert e.g. the polar bear sleeping on an piece of ice, and there are lots of bits of writing which blatantly just say drink Horlicks, sleep better.

Who is it talking to?

The audience for the ad

Who is the ad aimed at?

From the choice of images I can tell that the advert is for older people, because there is a peaceful bear sleeping and a mug of Horlickzzz. You can tell that it is aimed at older people through the product because it’s Horlicks and older people like relaxing before the go to sleep with a nice hot drink and what better for them to drink a drink, which helps you sleep as well.

The text is the most obvious reason for thinking that the advert is for older people because it talks about having taxes and a pension and that indicates whom it is talking about.

Where might it be found?

This advert would probably be seen in TV guides, newspapers and other magazines such as gardening, knitting etc…if it is printed in a newspaper or TV guide the whole family might see it. I think it might be printed on the middle pages because if you were flicking through the pages it would grab your attention.

The makers behind the advert

I think the makers of this product are middle aged or older, to produce a bedtime drink for helping you sleep.