Presentation of the advert is also very important when considering persuasiveness. The values of the advert should be considered for its appeal to the advert’s target audience, and this should relate to the way the advert is presented. All the visual appearances and the music of the advert should suit the general theme of the advert and appeal to a wide range of target audience. For example, if the advert is for sports trainers, the music in the background could be generally upbeat, but not specifically grunge or any other genres of music, as it would deter people who do not appreciate that type of music from buying the trainers. To ensure a large target audience, viewers are sometimes encouraged to buy the product even when it is not designed for them. For example, adverts might claim that a product is a great gift for Christmas, so women might buy men’s clothing just as a present.
I am going to use the points above to analyse my two chosen adverts, which are for Natwest bank and Nikefootball.com.
Connotations with banks are poor financial situations, loans and debts. In the Natwest advert, the advertisers use these connotations to establish the common problems with banks and then provide Natwest’s solutions to these problems.
The advert starts with an establishing shot of a very busy capital—London, with a simple jazz melody in the background. The main character of the advert is a cab driver. He is a very “average” kind of person: dressed casually, goes to his regular café, and speaks “normally”, i.e. not posh and without a heavy accent, giving a very friendly, casual and trustworthy impression. The advert is based around the cab driver’s bank problems. We see a low angle shot of him on a very busy street, giving the audience a feeling of being contained in the dreaded traffic congestions of central London—a feeling familiar to many drivers in London, similar to a tricky financial situation. The cabbie speaks directly to the camera, which makes the audience pay more attention and establishes a direct relationship of trust between him and the audience. All of the above descriptions form a very stereotypical image of a Londoner, promoting values of honesty, loyalty and the importance of every individual “regular Joe”.
The advert then focuses on individual banking problems which Natwest solves for its customers. One is the frequent change of bank managers, with the cabbie meeting three different bank managers in succession, and conversing with three different bank phone operators, last of which is in Bombay. These examples give a humorous representation of common banking problems, emphasising each problem by giving three examples of each problem is also very effective. There are also several puns in the advert. For example, when the cabbie receives a letter from his old bank stating that he would be “re-routed through a dedicated advice centre”, the camera focuses on the “diversion” road sign, linking the two problems. Also, when he is receiving a tip from his passenger, he says, “Want my tip? Try another bank.”
To explain Natwest’s solutions to the problem, the camera is brought to roadside billboards of Natwest’s adverts with specific solutions on them, such as, “Business managers stay in place for 4 years” and “Face to face business advice still free”.
I think that this advert is very persuasive and would appeal to a wide target audience. It has used connotations well, and has emphasised the general value of Natwest—simple and no-nonsense. It focused on particular problems, not just stating, “Natwest is good”, and the stereotypical examples worked well, blending with its simple black and white theme. It has used humour effectively and has built a firm relationship between the viewer and the cabbie character.
Nike is one of the biggest and richest sporting companies. When the advert “rematch” was released, Nike has already made its “scorpion football” game very popular, based on a 3 vs. 3 first goal wins rule, therefore people would instantly recognise its theme. This advert is set in a very unrealistic old ship in the middle of the sea at night. A second establishing shot focuses inside the large ship. Figo, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo (the OS Tornadoes team) enters with Henry, Totti, Nakata (the Triple Espresso team). These football superstars would be instantly recognised by football fans and would immediately attract them to the television screen to watch them. The camera then focuses onto Eric Cantona, the “master” character of scorpion football, who paints two goals and tell the players, “First to one hundred wins!”
For many football fans, the life and actions of a football superstar are fascinating and would be a dream come true for them, with astonishingly high salaries and amazing skills. Much of this reality seems unreal to many people, and Nike uses this point to push the fantasy to the limit—by having six of the world’s best football players gathered together in an abandoned ship in the middle of nowhere, playing first to one hundred goals football.
As the game starts, we expect some very cool football skills to be demonstrated, and we’re not disappointed. There is a fast montage of the players, performing incredible skill to the perfection with a fast paced, upbeat song in the background. Every now and then, Cantona would add some humorous commentary to the game, lightening the mood. Every time a player scores, we can see the nuts and bolts of the ship loosening, showing the power of the shot. After Cantona shouts, “Next goal wins!” Figo blasts the ball into the goal and turns around to celebrate, but the shot has broken the ship, and water comes gushing in from the sea, knocking Figo over. The camera then comes out of the ship, showing it sinking, and the players scrambling to get to a raft. The final screen shows, “Nikefootball.com” with its trademark tick.
I think that the connotations used in this advert would appeal much more strongly to the target audience than the Natwest advert, although the Nike advert’s target audience may be less in number. The Nike advert is also used for entertainment purposes, and the real adverts are in , where the products are presented. In a way, these two adverts completely contrast eachother, as the Natwest advert is based on the theme of being stereotypical and solving a current issue that affects many people, as well as showing the importance of communication. The Nike advert is anything but stereotypical, attracting the audience with its sheer “coolness”, and is an advert which people want to watch again and again as they try to master the skills on the advert and be more like their idols. These two adverts are both very appealing and persuasive but the persuasion is delivered in completely different ways. The Natwest advert is persuasive because it makes people want their simple, effective services. The Nike advert is persuasive because it is so cool and fantastical that it makes the viewer want to be part of it. An effective, persuasive advert makes people want the product/service advertised, and changes people’s views on the product/service, not forcing people, but making people feel like that it was their own wish.
