McDonald's

McDonald’s –

This advert is used to promote brand awareness and it is in a simple style. At first you do not realise what this advertisement is about which will get people listening carefully trying to guess who it is for, but then ten seconds in, the name McDonald’s is mentioned which is instantly recognized by most people of various ages, and also the different ways of saying the names are mentioned, for example “Mc D’s”.

This advertisement uses multiple voices which you imagine to have very different backgrounds and puts them all together to form one big (if slightly jumbled) story relating to the brand about their breakfasts. They then list a variety of breakfast products that they provide and ways that you can purchase them. This advert suggests that by going to McDonalds all these people have been brought together – it’s selling more than just the food, it’s trying to sell you a lifestyle also.

Right at the end of the advert they remember to get in some important information that they only serve that menu up until 10:30am so as to avoid confusion with the listeners and customers.

I would say that this advertisement follows all the regulatory guidelines. There is nothing in it that could potentially upset you or be offensive in anyway. Everything that they say is correct and they aren’t trying to sell you untruths.
At the end of the ad you hear the familiar McDonalds whistled tune which again promotes the brand and the tune is memorable and simple to stick in people’s minds.

Metropolitan Police – Serious and Aggressive.

Metropolitan Police –

I would say that this advert is both serious and aggressive as it is focussing on a serious subject, but the main style of the piece is aggressive and fast paced, with shouting, use of intimidating language and talk of life and death. You get the feeling of feuding gangs when listening

This advert starts off with a youth talking about “one day in London” over a background track of what I imagine to be a very low pitched almost siren like sound which gradually builds pace as the advert continues and as more people’s voices come in, the whole thing seems to get more aggressive and the tension builds.

The main male voice then lists things which are important to him, friends, enemies, family, future, life, death. The advert then takes a different turn, instead of being negative and tense, it then lightens up slightly with the youth talking about how you should change what happens next and change your own future and how it will end. A serious and more senior voice then cuts in to announce that the advert is indeed for, Metropolitan Police, working together for a safer London.

The advert is aimed to target someone who feels they fit these criteria, and uses a lot of the word “You” to make sure that they feel solely addressed.
There are multiple voices used in this advert, making it quite hard to keep up with what is going on, however this just adds to the overall chaotic and aggressive feel of the piece. The ad tells you to search online for “Choose a Different Ending” so the listeners are aware of how to find out more details.               
Sound effects are one of the main features in the advert; the one most commonly used in the background is the very low pitched siren of an emergency vehicle. There are also others used such as dogs barking and crashing sounds.       

I would say that this advertisement follows the regulatory guidelines because nothing in it is to offensive. Maybe the use of the word knife could be taken out or swapped for something else during the day, but I do not think that it is offensive enough for somebody to file a complaint.

I think this advert is very effective in targeting its audience as it is different from others out there. It is fresh and new and its style is something that its audience want to hear.                                                                                                                                                                                        

Kids Company - Persuasive.

Kids Company –

The main focus of this advert is to persuade people to donate money to the charity, “Kids Company”. They use emotive language to try and get the listeners to feel for the children living in harsh conditions.
The advert opens up with a young boy talking about Christmas Day, and how he wants his mum to go out and work as a prostitute. Straight away this grabs people’s attentions as it’s not the type of thing you would usually hear a child saying.
The boy then explains that he will be all alone in their ‘cold’, ‘dirty’ flat going hungry because there is no food to eat. This again is emotive as you don’t like to think of anyone in these situations, never mind a vulnerable child.
The advert then goes on to say that the boy will be sitting amongst drug dealers which is obviously not the correct surrounding’s for him, and waiting for his mum to come home.

After this a woman’s voice then comes on to explain the situation of how over 1,000 children in London will spend Christmas Day alone. The persuasive part then comes in by her saying how “YOU” can help Kids Company change that. They ask you to PLEASE support a child by donating five pound by donating at their website which is said to be kidsco.org.uk.

The use of emotive language in this advert is the main reason why it is so persuasive. The use of the word ‘you’ makes listeners feel like they are being directly targeted and that they’re involved with the young boy and his situation. They also use the word ‘please’ which is almost as though they’re begging you to help them.

The fact that this advert is based around a young child being alone on Christmas Day will also tug on peoples heart strings as we all know that the Christmas period is usually one spent with family members and should be a happy memorable time. Not a hungry, cold and dirty one as described.

The advert ends with the website name to make sure that people have the right information and are able to look them up and donate money to their organisation. Without this some people may be unaware of how to donate therefore the advert would be pointless.

Depending on the time of day that this advert is played, it could be upsetting for younger children to listen too, as it could be hard for them to understand that some people live in situations like this. It could then also be annoying for parents to have to explain away the meanings of words such as “Prostitute” and “Drugs” to children who’re not yet old enough to fully understand them.

Overall I find that this is an effective advert because it really does grab the listener’s attention and get them involved from right at the start by using a lot of negative situations, but by letting the listener know that if they hep, it could change into a positive.

Introduction

I have been commissioned to complile a blog on radio advertising. I will analyse a number of radio commercials and show in my blog the purposes of commercials, the styles of commercials, the structure of commercials, regulation and its impact on the content and message of commercials.