This re-presentation is similar to that used in the Audi A6 advert. This very different representation still presents people and places in a stereotypical way. The butch looking authoritarian type and the technologically advanced western world goods are both stereotypical representations. Stereotypes are traditionally seen to be the ‘normal’ that is, what is accepted and right in our society.
These stereotypes are shown in the values and ideology that are portrayed throughout the adverts. A media institution has a producer, who has his own values and ideologies and these will be carried thorough into the advert as he is constructing it. In the Comfort advert, the values and ideologies shown are the fact that it is assumed that women do the washing and look after the children at home, that relationships are of a homosexual nature and this will lead you to living a vigorous, healthy, happy life, in the comfort perfect world, that is.
In the Audi A6 advert it is the smuggling of western goods, which are seen as superior and advanced, compared to that of China. The power and authority lies in the hands of males and capitalism and consumerism is portrayed as being better than communism. The values and ideologies are again stereotypes; these are seen as the socially accepted rights and wrongs.
In order for representations and values and ideology to be shown to us, media language is the concept, which combines camera shots, lighting, non-verbal codes, costume, sound and editing. The media language is what is used to make the advert and aid the content of it. In the Audi A6 advert, wide camera shots of a river narrowing in the distance are used to promote the fact that they are nearing the destination. Close ups of the car itself as it is shown in a sexual revelation and a low angle shot of the authoritarian is used to make him appear higher than us, so as to reinforce his power and dominance.
The media language used in the Comfort Vitality advert is the use of graphically matching shots to create theme and continuity. Dissolves, fades and swipes are used to blend shots together and help reinforce the idea of brightness and vitality. The upbeat backing sounds, which are played, as words and images appear on screen and the fast cut rate of shots help to keep the target audiences attention.
Representation, media language, values and ideology are the elements that combine to communicate a story, theme or meaning. Through simplistic means such as a style, a look or a way the audience is conveyed a preferred meaning. The most important thing in the whole process of advertising in whatever form is that there is actually an audience to advertise to. This audience is the most important thing because without it, no products will be sold as a result of the advert and the expensive process will have been a waste of time.
The target audience will be those for whom the product is intended and so Comfort Vitality is aimed at women aged 18+, particularly mothers and family households as well as independent women. We know this because women feature highly in the advert, as the central figure of family life. This audience is targeted by setting the scene that appeals to this particular group. In this case the perfect home, the perfect family and the perfect lifestyle.
The Audi A6 advert is aimed at a male audience of 50+ year olds, older, experienced men that have money. This is obvious because the product is a car; the advert involves authority, power, technology and weapons and generally has a masculine feel to it. This advert has a different feel to it because it appeals to a specific group of people, therefore it needs to be relevant to that audience and capture their attention, because they are the people who are going to buy the product.
In order to target the audience specific to the product, the advert needs to appeal specifically to them. The audience makes the advertising process worthwhile and makes the media institution money. The other key concepts, narrative and genre are also important to an advert, again these will be determined by what the product is and who the audience are, or what audience the product is aimed at.
Narrative is the way information is structured so that the audience understands it. Genre affects the narrative shape. Genre is important both to the producer and the audience. The audience will determine the advert, from what the content of the advert will be like to what time of day it will be screened and in between which television programmes. For example, the Audi A6 advert has a completely different genre to the Comfort advert because they are each aimed at different audiences. The Audi A6 advert is shot more like a film than the comfort advert which is meant to be like a realistic example of typical family households in today’s society.
The ideas contained within each advert can be analysed by looking at the key concepts. Any media text contains elements of all the key concepts and they all overlap with each other. In these two adverts, the audience is targeted in a number of ways that appeal specifically and directly to them. By creating an idealistic scene the producer can attract the potential customers attention in an attempt to persuade them to buy the product. Few people actually see the way in which they are tricked into thinking that something is better, newer or more advanced than something else, this is why media institutions spend lots of time and money on producing these types of advertisements.
