Also on my visual presentational devices I found that camera and editing was a vital device in getting the advert right. As it has to relate to the product the advert is trying to sell.
Action Man Ice Extreme contains 20 shots. This gives the toy a fast, racy and brisk look. It also brings the audience straight to the point at a fast speed, this is a trick used to make the people watching stay and watch instead of turn over the channel. The camera angle used on the advert is mostly pan, as the camera goes along with action man itself, to give the illusion of speed.
My Baby All Gone is completely different to Action Man Ice Extreme. Even though the advert is shown over the same length of time, it only contains 6 shots. These shots are all close ups of the doll and are only from a few different views, such as from the left side and the right side. They are also very slow. This is done so the attention of the audience is always kept on the doll, and is never distracted with another object.
For Puppy Racers, 20 shots were contained in the advert. Most of these 20 shots were medium length and made the total length of the advert longer. But there were some fast shots contained in the advert as well. This was to emphasize the fact that the game is fast. Camera angles used in the advert were long shot and two shot. This was to get more people involved in the advert to make it look like lots of people played the game.
My sound presentational devices contain many important subjects. A very important device was voice over and voices in the songs.
In Action Man Ice Extreme the voice over seemed very aggressive, rough and shouting very loud. This emphasizes the fact that Action Man is a loud and boisterous toy, and that it is also rough and ready. This may be suggesting that the toy is for a loud and boisterous child that could deal with playing with such a toy.
In comparison with Action Man, My Baby All Gone’s voice over was sweet, loving, very motherly and caring. Little children singing the My Baby All Gone theme tune made up the My Baby All Gone song. The voices were quite irritating, but at the same time the songs repetitive manner plays on your mind, so you never forget the tune. This is suitable for the product because the doll should always be there with you like the song.
Puppy Racers voice over was a male voice that made you want to listen and watch the advert. In the middle of the voice over talking about the product, a group of children shout ‘Puppy Racers’. This brings excitement into the advert and maybe suggests the game is really exciting too.
Music is another important sound presentational device. In Action Man the music in the background was very fast and racy. The music from the advert attracts the child’s attention to the television. Once they are watching, the influences of the music say the toy is cool, fast and exciting.
My Baby All Gone showed many big differences in the music from Action Man. Music in My Baby All Gone was very soft, light and dreamy. This seems like the toy is made for the dreamy child that likes looking after toys that have a soft nature attached to them.
As for Puppy Racers the music was quite upbeat, bubbly and persuades you to listen more. This is because you are enjoying listening to the music from the start and that you want to keep listening. The music also says that if you buy this game, your life will be upbeat and bubbly as well.
Language can also be a good presentational device to influence people and children to want and buy the product. Some words and slogans play a big language device in the advert.
Lyrics make people perceive a toy in a different way depending on the lyrics. Action Man said things like the toys name, which was ‘Action Man Ice Extreme’ except Extreme was spelt and was said as Xtreme. This abbreviation puts more emphasis on the extreme part of the slogan so that it is perceived as ‘wicked’. This also ties in with the slogan, as the slogan is the same as the song, which is ‘Action Man the greatest hero of them all’. This gives the idea that the boys that buy this product will be a hero too.
My Baby All Gone was a miniature song within the advert linking to the slogan, which was ‘My Baby All Gone, she makes it all gone’. There are many words that are effective in this sentence. The first word is ‘My’ which is effective because it makes a strong point that the baby is your baby and no one else’s. Another part of the slogan that is important is ‘all gone’ as this is repeated a lot and makes it clear that the baby makes the food all gone.
For Puppy Racers the slogan is also tied into the lyrics, which is ‘Puppy Racers’. The lyrics are quite meaningful. The word ‘Racers’ emphasizes the fact that it is a fast and racy game that children want to play with. The word ‘Puppy’ is important too as puppies are seen as cute, nice and sweet. They make it seem like the game involves a real dog. This is very appealing to parents to get a fake dog instead of a real one.
Every presentational device is important. When they are all linked together you get an advert. The makers of the advert do not want you to know the underlying truth behind the charade of a perfect advert, and that’s what the subtext reveals.
The subtext for Action Man is very simple. When a ‘boy’ toy is brought onto the market it always seems that they are aggressive, hard and also violent to an extent. The makers of this advert are really trying to say that boys are all of those things, and also that boys are the only ones who can save people and be the heroic figure in life. When boys or girls see this advert they always think that boys should be like a certain heroic figure. This is a good way to make them want the toy, as Action Man can be their role model.
There are many products for girls, of which Baby All Gone is one. The same subtext keeps popping up. This is that the girls should stay at home and should be mothers and care for their baby. This also encourages younger children to want to have children and feel they have to keep up with ‘real life’. The babies are also perfect. They do not cry at all or they stop when they are picked up, which in real life is totally untrue, but the advert gives the illusion that it is true.
Puppy Racers is meant to be suitable for both sexes and in some ways it is. But there are many different subtexts in this advert. One is that the boy wins and the girl doe not win. This is putting the girls lower down like they are weaker. But still whoever wins it seems that the brother and sister love each other and are the best of friends. This is not normal life. Another subtext is that if you buy the game you will have a really happy family that play with each other. It shows children that are both beautifully made up a thin mother and a bubbly dad. It is trying to give the perfect image of what we should want in life.
All of them try to perceive the world we live in. Society teaches us that in our world it would not be normal to bring and Action Girl out as most people would not see it as acceptable.
I conclude that the effectiveness of the advertisements is outstanding. They affect not only children but adults too. Every time you watch an advert there is a subconscious message being given out. This may be that boys and girls need to act a certain way. But really the adverts are trying to show how we represent our life. They are trying to make the perfect image and how we as a nation should act. Children watch the advert and want to be like the product. Adults watch the advert and want to have that life. But really with no presentational devices in the advert the product would not be so appealing. Just imagine an advert with no music or colour. I wonder if you would buy the product then.
