Both adverts focus on an item of clothing, but are used in different ways. The subject in the Persil advert is wearing silver designer washing-up gloves. This is suggesting that “Persil” is a more classier washing-up liquid than your ordinary brand. I think the idea of designer rubber gloves is implying that washing the dishes isn’t a chore and can be made into an enjoyable experience. This image could appeal to household women. When looking at the Hovis advert, the reader’s attention is drawn towards the shocking pink thong, which is revealing underneath his casual jeans. This is a parody of the “builder’s bum”. Also, the thong is contrasting with the stereotypical masculine work gear he is wearing. The underwear the builder is wearing, links to the caption, which suggests the man, has lost a bet over the taste of “Hovis” bread and now he is paying the forfeit. I think this is a clever and witty which will stick in people’s memories.
So whereas the Persil advert is promoting their product by changing women’s perceptions of washing-up, Hovis give the audience a look into a comical joke. Both adverts have something in common as they rely partly on sex appeal. Women might envy the famous supermodel because of her beauty and looks and therefore are lured into buying the product and designer gloves in hope of feeling more luxurious. The man is wearing feminine pink underwear is an incongruous thought and could appeal to women.
The main heading of the Persil advert, I believe is a sexual connotation. Together, with the image of the well-known supermodel, women will be drawn to the product. Below this main heading, there is a caption explaining briefly what is being advertised. This engages the reader, as the language is simple and easy to understand and gets the point of the advert across directly. Below this caption, there is a paragraph of factual information explaining details of the product. This paragraph is in first person narrative so that the reader feels addressed. In the Hovis advert, the amount of words has been kept to a minimum compared to the Persil advert. The main phrase is the caption from the builder. The first person narrative directly speaks to the audience, which remains true for Persil advert as well. Ellipses split the caption into two parts, which makes you pause in between when reading. This pause gives you the chance to look at the main subject.
The text in the Persil advert is in one band beside the image of the supermodel. The chosen font colour is black which is the most visible colour against the white background. My eyes were drawn to the main heading, as it is the largest text. The size of the text then gets smaller in the caption. Then the text of the bottom paragraph is very small as this is the factual information and although it is necessary, it doesn’t look interesting to the reader.
The layout of the Hovis advert is set out in a clever way. The small white text stands out against the dull colours of the building site and the pink thong is centred between the two sections of text. This is important because the ellipses after the first sentence leads the audience to the image of the builder and then the final phrase is just below the image. The image of the actual product is on a small scale in the bottom right corner and is also the case for the Persil advert; the reason being it isn’t necessary. Both brands are well known and the audience need a small image of the product to remind them what the advert is trying to market. Beneath the product image in the Hovis advert, there is a short slogan suggesting the new improved bread recipe is healthier, “25% less carbs, but you’ll never guess”. They are campaigning the bread as a healthy option and are implying that it won’t taste any different. Nowadays, people are always careful about what they eat and try to choose the most nutritional food, so this slogan will interest many readers.
Between these two advertisements, I think that the Hovis advert is the most effective idea because it was clever and funny. I find adverts more enjoyable to read when humour is included. The purpose of this advert was to tell the audience their new and improved bread is now healthier but without losing any of the taste and they have done that by showing the reader a humorous situation of a builder wearing a thong. I found the Persil advert a bit dull, as it doesn’t use much colour, and it takes too long to find all the information that you need from the text.
