Media Coursework: An analysis of two advertisements
Media Coursework: An analysis of two advertisements
I have chosen these two products because they are similar in the sense that they are both 'lifestyle products' for your general health and quality of life. The two advertisements however have very different approaches to both the target audience and how they appeal to them. Ole Med uses fun and vitality where as solgar uses responsibility to your children, although the target audience cannot vary that much as they were found in the same magazine; Hello.
The main focus of the advertisement for Ole Med is a woman in a bright green flamenco dress on a train. The woman looks to be in her late thirties, early forties; she looks full of energy, vitality, and very happy. In the background are lots of people sitting on the train on their way to work, looking very tired, bored and fed up. This is highlighted by the fact that they are in black and white and the woman in the foreground is in bright green. There are three other things in green on the advertisement and that is the word Mediterranean, the product and the word Ole Med. The slogan is "Bring the Mediterranean into your life." This is in green against a background of dull lifeless people in black and white so it sticks out and is immediately noticeable. At the bottom of the picture is 100-200 words describing how Ole Med will improve your health and lifestyle how this has been proven by "medical research" and how many people have chosen to use olive oil and so have a healthy life because of it.
The main focus of the Solgar vitamins advert is a father and daughter playing, the colour of the two people is very dull, like a sepia photograph. The two people both look very happy and like they are having fun. Underneath the main image are some smaller images, which again look like sepia photographs. These images are of the Father and daughter having fun. One of the smaller images is in fact the main image downsized. In between the small images, towards the left of the page is the Solgar bottle, is in bright yellow and so probably ...
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The main focus of the Solgar vitamins advert is a father and daughter playing, the colour of the two people is very dull, like a sepia photograph. The two people both look very happy and like they are having fun. Underneath the main image are some smaller images, which again look like sepia photographs. These images are of the Father and daughter having fun. One of the smaller images is in fact the main image downsized. In between the small images, towards the left of the page is the Solgar bottle, is in bright yellow and so probably sticks out the most. Although for me the word responsibility sticks out the most, it is in white, contrasted against the Father's dark jumper and is towards the top of the page. The reason this sticks out the most is because it is in the centre of the main image. This advertisement has very little copy. Underneath the smaller images is two sentences, one states a fact about the number of vitamins and minerals contained within Solgar, the other tells you to look out for the gold label range in selected health food counters. The slogan is "True to life." This is just above the product name so you tend to read it as True to life Solgar Vitamins, even though there is a full stop after true to life.
In Ole Med the slogan is very important, but most of all the word Mediterranean puts images in your mind straight away of fun, sun, sea, sand and relaxation. This is reinforced by her doing the flamenco, looking very vibrant and energetic. This is also a psychological link as the dress is the same colour as the word Mediterranean and as the product at the bottom of the page. She is made to look more vibrant and energetic by the people behind her in black and white, looking very bored and tired. This not only makes her stand out, but also the writing and the product as well. This makes you think you want to be like her on a Monday morning travelling to work. The copy at the bottom does not tell you very much, and you might think that not many people read it, but it is still important. The copy is important because it is giving a serious side to the whole advertisement, it uses lots of impressive words, such as lifestyle, health balanced diet, monosaturated fat, which leave the reader baffled to the meaning scientificly however impressed. The copy also suggests at the end that if you take Ole Med it will somehow bring some of the Mediterranean in to your life. Even though you know this to be absolute fiction it draws you to the product and you make a relation again between Mediterranean and the woman on the train dancing the flamenco. The target audience of this advertisement is working people, who are in need of a boost, like the people on the train. What the advertisement is implying, is that you are one of the people on the train and you could be like her if you took Ole Med.
The Solgar advertisement is mainly aimed at parents the approach they have used is "Responsibility", responsibility to their children to keep them healthy. The advertisement doesn't say any of this, but suggests it through the pictures and one word. The slogan is true to life, I think this links very well with both smaller images and the general theme of the advertisement. It links to the main image because it is suggesting that the father and the main image, the daughter are having fun, and it is still true to life so you can realistically have fun as a family. The one thing I find strange about the advertisement is that the product is aimed at families, but in the whole images there is no sign of Mum. I think this is because the image is a personal experience, a one on one and by showing the father and daughter it shows that it is not just aimed at women. Obviously though it is aimed at women as well because the advertisement was in Hello, a magazine chiefly read by women.
I have looked at both advertisements and analysed them carefully. I think that Ole Med is a far more effective advertisement than Solgar because it is appealing to it's audience more. In Ole Med it is very clear that the audience it is aimed at is the people sitting on the train. The Solgar advertisement is aimed at the same audience; as it is in the same magazine, but it is doing it in a very different way to Ole Med. It is appealing to the family side, as opposed the work aspect. I think this is less effective because people go to work in a hurry, maybe miss breakfast or lunch etc... Where as a family is linked with very wholesome, healthy eating which one would hope, would not require vitamins.
Tim Jones 11N
Tim Jones 11N Media Coursework
