Television Advert Evaluation

Television Advert Evaluation

The Brief

The brief for this assignment was to rebrand a product from Unilever, a transnational consumer goods company. This was quite a wide brief as Unilever make and sell a wide variety of products, including a range of food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products, so there was a large choice of products and companies to choose from.

The product chosen for this coursework was a skincare product from the company Simple. This company was chosen as there are a broad range of products within it, and none of them are targeted towards teenagers. By rebranding it for a younger demographic, an advert would be created for the product that is unlike any existing one. This is something the whole group was keen to do, as all are teenage females who use Simple products.

The current primary target audience for Simple are women aged approximately 21-27, and the psychographic group they best fit into are mainstreamers. This is clear as Simple is presented as a comforting brand for your skin, and the adverts have a domestic feel to them as most are based in a home. The demographic groups Simple’s primary target audience fall into are C1 and C2, as the products are aimed at working class women. The secondary target audience for the brand are younger women, aged 17-20, who are succeeders. This is because the products also highlight satisfaction and instant effect, which are factors that this psychographic group cares about. Therefore, the demographics for the secondary target audience are students.

The primary target audience that Simple was rebranded to in this coursework are teenage females aged 12-16. This demographic was chosen as many Simple products target acne, which is something that many adolescents struggle with. Teenagers often begin to feel self-conscious of their skin at these ages for this reason, and so they would be a good target audience for Simple as the products’ function is to target acne and help skin be less oily. This would appeal to teenagers as it would improve their self-confidence.

The Finished Product and Feedback

To collect feedback on the television advert that was made for Simple, it was sent, along with a survey, to ten different teenage females. All the people who gave feedback on the video fell within the age group for the new target audience (12-16). Out of the ten participants, all found the narrative in the video easy to follow, and eight would buy the product based on the advert. A main point of criticism that was received was that the advert was very ‘cheesy’ and cliché, however, it advertised the product well. A positive point that was repeated by seven of the participants, was that the statistics included in the advert made is more ‘relatable’ and persuasive. Overall, the feedback received on the advert was positive and constructive.

The main message that was aimed at the target audience was that Simple skincare products help your skin feel soft and smooth, whilst also targeting acne. The advert is successful at conveying this message to the target audience, mainly due to the voiceover running throughout the advert and the tagline created by the group. By explaining the statistics of problematic skin and the effect it has on teenagers, the narrative of the advert is clearer and more persuasive, as the product is immediately presented as able to reduce acne. The tagline, ‘Silky Smooth Skin For The Win’, also supports the message of the advert as it tells the audience that the product will help make their skin smooth. Ultimately, the advert will have the desired impact on the target audience, as they will immediately know that the product targets acne due to the voiceover. The target audience will be more attracted to the product for this reason.

The mise-en-scene in the advert makes it clear who the target audience is, as well as making the advert more convincing. The opening shots are in a teenage girls’ bedroom, so it will immediately appeal to teenage girls, whilst being clear who the target audience is to other demographics. In the shots filmed in the bathroom, the product is sitting on the edge of the sink instead of in a cupboard, which shows how often the subject uses it. This convinces the target audience more of its effectiveness, as it must be helpful to skin if she uses it regularly. The advert doesn’t have a variety of different camera angles, but the ones used match the narrative. The camera angles used were mostly long shots, which were important shots as they showed the subject using the product, as well as admiring her reflection at the end. This would help make the product more appealing to the target audience, as using the product in the advert improved the subjects’ confidence. There is also a close-up of the product before the subject uses it, which highlights that this is the product being advertised without it being explicitly stated.

The editing of the advert effectively improves the continuity. The first shot originally ended before the subject moved to the side of the bed, so before editing, the shots jumped from her sitting in the middle of the bed to her getting out of it. This error made it confusing and slightly disorientating to watch. However, after editing, the shots transition so that the error isn’t noticeable. This was done a few times throughout the advert to improve the continuity. The advert has cheerful music playing throughout, which gives the impression that the product makes the day better, as problematic skin is no longer an issue. Originally, the main voiceover running throughout the advert was too quiet, as it couldn’t be heard over the music. The volume of the voiceover was raised so that it could clearly be heard without having to turn down the volume of the music.

The final advert effectively sells the product to the specified audience as the narrative is something that they can empathise with. The advert follows a teenage girl getting ready in the morning, which is something that the target audience can easily relate to as they will most likely be in education and will probably go through a similar routine themselves. By choosing this narrative, the advert shows how the product easily fits into an everyday routine, whilst showing the audience how effective it is as it’s a product they will want to use every day. This will make the product appeal to the audience even more.

There are several persuasion techniques used effectively throughout the advert to appeal to the target audience, the first being the tagline. At the end of the advert, the slogan appears on screen along with the voiceover reading it. The use of alliteration catches the eye of the audience and makes it easy to remember, meaning that they would remember the product and are therefore more likely to buy it. The tagline also sums up the whole advert by promoting that the product can help reduce acne. Another persuasion technique used is the nature method. The voiceover states that the product has zinc and chamomile ‘goodness’, which tells the audience how natural the product is. This is an effective method of persuasion as the audience will know that they’re putting a natural product on their skin and are more likely to buy it than if it had artificial chemicals added. Finally, the advert holds a temptation, as the product will help reduce acne and improve self-confidence. This would appeal to the new target audience as they are adolescents whose confidence might have been knocked by problematic skin, and the product will help with the problem.

The message that the advert was trying to convey was that Simple products are not just for adult women, as they target and reduce acne which is something that a lot of teenagers struggle with. To help present this message, the advert used a female teenage actor, which made it explicitly clear right away who the target audience was, whilst also meaning that the target audience will identify with the advert. Simple makes a lot of products related to removing make-up, but the advert shows the teenagers watching that the brand can be used by teenagers as well as adults, whether they wear make-up or not. This will immediately appeal to the target audience more as not every teenager with problematic skin wears make-up. Also, the advert uses very cheerful, upbeat music, which is more likely to appeal to the target audience than more serious music as young people want to be relaxed – which is an outcome of using the product that the advert presents.

Overall, the advert created is successful. Adverts for skin care products often have a voiceover running through to explain the narrative of the advert and the function of the product, as well as what it contains. For this reason, the voiceover in our advert runs all the way through to do these things. This makes the advert more professional and more fit for public viewing. The advert also follows the BCAP (Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice) regulations, as it is not misleading – it has a clear narrative with plenty of information on the product and isn’t misleading while doing so, so the audience can make an informed decision on whether to buy the product. It also doesn’t cause any physical, mental, moral or social harm to anyone under the age of 18, or any widespread offence to the audience. Therefore, the advert is fit for purpose.

Personal Reflection

The narrative of the final advert matches the original intentions for the advert, although we made a slight change while filming to shot 10. Originally, the subject was just going to leave the bathroom and walk down the stairs, but while filming the group decided it would be better if she admired her reflection in the mirror. This way, it better supports the message that the product gives the user confidence. Shot 11 also changed slightly, as it was again decided that the advert would look more professional with the subject holding the product up while the logo appeared, instead of a static shot of the product. Finally, more voiceover was added in post-production to run all the way through the advert instead of just in the final shot, as it makes it more professional and realistic to current adverts for skincare products.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the final advert, as it looks professional and is similar to existing skincare adverts, while still being different to any existing adverts for Simple. As a group, we rebranded Simple for a younger demographic, and based off the feedback, the advert does this successfully. However, if I were to undertake the task again, I would add the Unilever logo at the end of the advert with the Simple logo. This is because Simple is a Unilever brand and existing adverts would have the logo included along with the brand logo. During the coursework, I had a reasonable amount of participation in the project. This includes several aspects of the pre-production paperwork, including the location recces, location and talent releases, the shot list and the production schedule. During post-production, I contributed to the editing process, including recording part of the voiceover. To conclude, I am satisfied with the final advert and my participation in the project.