Both these adverts are targeted at a specific audience. For example, the Carlsberg advert is very modern, with a hip soundtrack and it features three young ‘Lads’- This is because the advert is aimed at a younger audience. Whereas, the Guinness advert, with its classic style, middle aged main character and its artistic approach to film, will automatically appeal to a more mature audience. This is a clever way to grab the attention of a specific audience because in order to make a lasting impression it is important to identify with your chosen target and give them what they want. In order to sell their product, Guinness has chosen to adopt an old fashioned style of film and create an intriguing, artistic piece -which also incorporates a sense of story. We are able to recognise the audience the advert is aimed at through a combination of all these things. The main characters featured in an advert are, in fact, extremely significant when it comes to selling the product because in order to interest viewers they have to identify with the main characters to a certain degree. The character in the Guinness advert is certainly an older man most probably in his thirties, this can give us quite a strong hint that the producers are aiming their advertising at a more mature audience and it would probably appeal to a male audience, who are forty plus, and defiantly feel that they are not past it. Whereas the characters in the Carlsberg advert are young, not particularly attractive and appear to be very ‘normal’. This is an interesting sales technique because, as the avert is aimed at younger, laddish males, the producers are trying to say that you don’t have to be anything special to get beautiful, page three, women. Both these audiences are quite general but they are also aimed at particular circles with their genders and age groups, such as; I believe that both adverts are aimed at males, of different age groups, but what these different groups have in common is their social outings. I think the advertising is aimed at people going to the pub and buying beer or maybe people who buy crates of it for party’s -but with the same kind of sociable attitude. This is because of the groups of men found in both the adverts; these made me associate beer with friendship and groups in a sociable way. This also led me on to a thought about the beliefs and values of these particular groups, which I think very much, tie in to the age of the audience. For example, the vintage style of the Guinness advert is, I believe, aimed at the more vintage character with old fashioned ideas and values and also the idea of achieving personal goals is communicated which might suggest it is aimed at people who are ambitious, but the more modern Carlsberg advert with the younger characters, I think, would be aimed at a student- types audience with newer ideals and more modern values. All these factors within the advert help to build a wider picture of the target audience and the specific aims of the producer are revealed.
After identifying the target audience, there are other factors left unconsidered; what is the advert suggesting about the quality of the product? The Guinness advert, with its stylistic approach to film and black and white vintage appeal has the look of quality. It is well put together and is very artistic and pleasing to watch, which is very important when communicating quality. The audience gets quality from start to finish and this will, most probably, convince the audience that this quality is reflected in their product as well. This is cleverly done, not only by the quality of the film technique and the artistic style, but also by the story line within the short film. The story suggests quality also because the surfer is enjoying quality of life by experiencing a phenomenal moment and what the advertisers are trying to do is make the audience associate such an experience, such quality of life, with their beer in the hope that this will help sell their product. This is a clever strategy because as part of the audience I was truly convinced that the main surfer had made a great achievement and in turn I associated this with Guinness and automatically believed it was a good quality product. In contrast, the Carlsberg advert presents quality in a different way. The camera work, acting ability and series of events in this advert are by no means spectacular, but the quality is made known by the similes used to communicate the worth of the product. For example, to put it in modern terms, the Carlsberg advert basically says that; Carlsberg is the Roll’s Royce of the car world, the Ritz of the hotel world, basically the best available. This is not spoken in such a flat sense but communicated through the idea of displaying the holiday of every young male’s dreams and then saying that it is as good as drinking a pint of Carlsberg. This is very clever because it is immediately giving the audience something positive for the audience to associate the product with, which is both general and personal because it is also applying to a certain group of people. This makes the specific audiences believe that their type of beer is of more quality because the adverts appeal to them personally.
All these messages are communicated through the different uses of the camera. The way the camera is used is very important in this communication because it can change the meaning or enhance the idea to a different effect intended if used incorrectly. In the Guinness advert the camera is used to good effect especially at the beginning; the first shot opens on the main man’s face very close up- filling the shot completely, the man is looking upwards as if a great power is above him and the battle of man against nature is immediately communicated. In the Carlsberg advert the camera is used in quite a straightforward way but there is a subtle change from the beginning, where there is an essence of real life, to the rest of the advert where in some parts there are blurred edges and a slow and lazy sense of dream world is communicated. These camera effects are important because they can add a significant amount of depth to the sequence that can alter the appearance of the advert entirely. The camera work is a lot more dramatic in the Guinness advert and this builds up a sense of drama that really convinces the audience that the wave is tremendous, rough and dangerous and the achievement is made even greater. In order to create this effect the shots were edited so that you are only given a glimpse of each water shot because they only last for ½ a second. This is effective because it gives the impression of speed and violence. In this advert a lot of different camera angles are used, such as; long shot, mid shot, close up, extreme close up, birds-eye shot, low and high angle shots and a still frame were all used throughout the course of the advert. This differs to the Carlsberg advert because the format is more consistent, -except at the end when a still frame is effectively used to draw attention to the pint of Carlsberg.
The sound in both the adverts is also a major factor when analysing what purpose the producer had in mind when they were creating the advert. Both the Guinness advert and the Carlsberg advert use a soundtrack as a backing to the film, and both these soundtracks are played continuously throughout, except when an exaggerated silence is needed or when sound effects are used and the music is not required. This is a good way of making the film seem dreamlike because real life is not backed with a soundtrack and it also can be used to create a certain mood for the film that cannot be acted or made by a camera angle. The music that backs the Guinness advert has a heavy drumbeat and this causes a build in tension and helps to create a dramatic effect, which adds to the adrenaline rush of the wave. Another thing I noticed was that the drumbeat sounds like a racing heart, which gives the impression of the music being in sync with the main man and the music, can express his feelings and adrenaline. Also, the narrative speech seems to fit in with the music and almost sets a background that merges together making it truly believable that this rhythm and speech is part of the world of the film. The Carlsberg advert has a very trendy ‘club’ sound, which immediately gives the advert a trendy, young feel. This music is played continuously throughout in the background, the sound effects are used to good effect because they alert the audience to a certain point but without the action to fit the sound so its as if the audience are hearing the background noises that the ‘three lads’ hear. This is particularly effective when the lads are on the balcony and as we watch we hear contrapuntal sound effects of drilling and other general ‘building site’ noises, the lads hear also and then they investigate the noise and the next shot is of a building site full of women labourers, but before this is known the audiences’ initial reaction to the noise is ‘oh no’ because it is a typical holiday disaster and the fantasy is, for a split second, destroyed. This is a very clever way of using sound because the idea intended, to make the audience think there is trouble in paradise, is well communicated, the idea almost deceives the audience for a split second and provokes the right reaction.
In conclusion I think that the Guinness advert is communicating the idea of a very strong personal goal is being achieved. It is very masculine because of the idea that this man’s goal is ‘man against nature’ and the fact that he is almost naked (only wearing a pair of surfing shorts), emphasises this idea because he has no protection but his strength of will and skill in surfing the waves to aid him in achieving this goal. The creator of this advert, I think, is trying to communicate to the audience that being middle aged is not being ‘pasted it’ but instead being experienced. Also, the idea that ‘good things come to those who wait’ emphasises the qualities of older age and this is also tied in with the fact that a pint of Guinness takes a while to pull. This slogan is almost a phrase of hope. It suggests that you should stick at something and eventually you will get what you want or achieve what you have always dreamed of achieving. This has a strong appeal because almost everyone has had a dream of some sort and the idea that waiting for it will make it come true is a very appealing thought, and this, in turn, being associated with such a powerful personal goal idea, would successfully promote the product and boost sales. The Carlsberg advert chooses to promote their product in a very different way altogether. Their technique is to appeal to a younger audience and use stereotypical humour to promote their product as being rather ‘laddish’ and sociable. I think that this advert is trying to communicate that Carlsberg is the best of the best and the method used to communicate this is very clever indeed. In order to convince the audience of this, they used humour and popular culture of today to show every man’s fantasy and compare it to the beer. Whether this is believable or not it still puts the beer in good favour with the audience because it shows that the true male fantasy is understood, it portrays the brand as being ‘hip’ and is displayed attractively to sell the product.
After analysing both the adverts I have come to realise that they are both very successful in communicating their ideas to their chosen audiences and I think after viewing both the adverts that they would both be very successful in selling their products. Speaking purely from my personal opinion though, I would have to say that I prefer the Guinness advert because I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and I really like the idea of achieving a personal goal to the extent shown in the film. The artistic nature adopted by the use of the camera and the stylish portrayal of the significant event and sense of story all had me enraptured. If I were old enough I would definitely waltz into a pub and buy myself a pint of Guinness. After all, that is the whole idea!
