An analysis and comparison of two advertisements to see how successful they are in reaching their target market Advertising is a form of introducing the public to a product to increase its sales.
The purpose of advertising is to make the public aware of a certain product, so that the next time they need to replace it, they would choose that make, but ultimately to encourage them to buy it straight away. There are many different types of adverts, including adverts appearing on billboard posters, football teams, ‘ Junk’ mail, radio and television, magazines, the Internet and flyers. Advertising really affects everyday life. People are encouraged to spend more money by seeing adverts and deciding they would like to purchase the product. The two adverts to be discussed are ‘ Durex Play’ lubrication and a ‘ Constellation’ wristwatch.
My first advertisement, the Durex Play is a lubrication made by Durex and my second advertisement is an Omega design wristwatch called Constellation. The two advertisements are very different and that is the reason why I chose them. The Durex Play advert is very striking because of its bright background and its clear and memorable slogan ‘ Not everything has to be hard to give you pleasure’ by having a quick read of the advert you immediately know it’s related to sex. The Head and Shoulders advert is a very simple and clear, because there is a celebrity, wearing the product, fitting with the slogan, ‘ Cindy Crawford’s Choice’. Hence both adverts came from different magazines, so the content would be very dissimilar.
In order to investigate the techniques used, I will look at the 5 steps to advertisements: Step 1 – Importance audienceStep 2 – Psychology of advertisementsStep 3 – The language of colourStep 4 – Every picture tells a storyStep 5 – Slogans Importance audienceThe Durex advertisement is aimed at sexual partners who want to have some fun during sexual intercourse, without the worry of risking pregnancy, if and male and female. The product is very general, meaning it can be purchased by anyone above the age of 16 who has a partner. The impression I got from the Omega advertisement, the wristwatch product, was that the product is aimed at women who are dazzling, elegant and sophisticated. The woman featured in the advert is Cindy Crawford, a woman who fits all the character for the watch; this shows the standard of the watch.
I found both advertisements in Cosmopolitan magazine; a lifestyle magazine aimed at professional women in the twenty five to forty age brackets. Psychology of advertisements The Durex advertisement has a picture of the product, which is in a spray form, although this product does not support any of the ‘ wants of life’ philosophy. It does however fulfil the consumer pleasurable wants in an easy to use manner. Some may argue that this product could fulfil the want of keeping up with your neighbours or friends. The Omega advertisement, has a former supermodel posing with her arms crossed and her hands touching her shoulders, her head is tilted a bit and her lips are open just enough to expose his upper teeth. The whole pose shows innocence and beauty, which is a something people want from life.
On her right wrist, we see a beautiful watch. Underneath that we see a better frontal view of the watch to show the features. The watch shows-off its style and elegance. These are things all people want from life, to be wealthy, to be superior to others, to be a trendsetter. The language of colour The prime colour in the Durex advertisements is purple; other colours involve white and blue.
The purple background gives the reader a sense of laid back in soft blissful bowers, purpled sweet with springing flowers. Also the colour purple is a colour worn as a symbol of royalty. This gives the audience the feeling of superiority, to be ‘ born to the purple’. The product is coloured white and blue. This can show that the product is clean and pleasant. The prime colour in the Omega advertisement is white, other colour involve the colours of the product gold and sliver.
And all text is written in blackThe white background makes the picture of Cindy Crawford look more dazzling and glamour. It helps built up a strong sense splendour. This all relates to the psychology of advertisements. The colour white shows the achromatic colour of maximum lightness; the colour that reflect nearly all lights of all visible wavelengths; the antagonist of black, the other extreme of the neutral grey series which flaunts its more business, serious or disaster approach. The gold and sliver colours of the product display are prosperous, elegance and luxury.
The language of colour is always chosen intelligently to relate the product to the ‘ wants of life’. Every picture tells a story The way the Durex product is laid out to create an image is very clever. The product is laid out in purple flowers. As mention earlier purple symbolises a sense of laid back in soft blissful bowers, purpled sweet with springing flowers. This would be an ideal environment to use the product; the product is the representing a couple, using the product. In the Omega advertisement a celebrity is employed to pose while wearing the product.
Celebrities are often used in advertisements to catch the eye of potential customers. Slogans The slogan use in the Durex advertisement is ‘ Not everything has to be hard to give you pleasure. The use of such potentially inflammatory word play also gets the message across that this product is suited to a fun-loving, laid back kind of partners; the kind of people who wouldn’t be afraid of experimentation. ‘ Lubrication’ is a substance which can help reduce difficulty of penetration; this advertisement gives the impression that this is a very kinky product. The slogan in the Omega advertisement is ‘ Cindy Crawford’s Choice; this is a very clever slogan because the main trendsetters and role models in the world are celebrities.
This is because celebrities are, beautiful, wealthy, popular and superior. These are all the ‘ wants of life’ characterises. Therefore if a celebrity is seen wearing a product, the public are going to want that product to try and follow the trend the celebrity is setting, this is because by looking like celebrities they feel wealthy, beautiful, poplar and superior. Also it says that this is the only watch created that Cindy Crawford is proud to wear, this give a standard for the watch. In conclusion, I think that the Durex Play is the most successful advertisement of the two, as it uses effective strategies to appeal to the target audience and has a larger target market. The use of sexual wording adds the impact of the advertisement.
The sensual and passionate language appeals to the sexy and erotic attitudes of couples today, who want to experience the pleasure and fun created by hype. This just goes to prove sex sells. The colour of the watch is a luxury, bright, rich, as well as being ‘ the colour of the moment’, is vivid and stunning, making it catch the reader’s eye. The fact that the Cindy Crawford advertising the product looks beautiful and confident makes woman subconsciously think that if they buy the lipstick, they will posses the same qualities.
The advertisers responded to woman’s insecurities (about their looks, confidence, and the impression they give to others), and produced an advertisement that implies the product can solve these problems. Both advertisements appeal to me and make me want to go out and buy them either for myself or as a present for a friend or a family member. They both come across as being exciting and glamorous, but in very different ways
