1. What style of radio advert is it? (humorous, serious, factual, fiction, pastiche, repetition,
simple, complex, nostalgic, modern, futuristic, aggressive, seductive, persuasive, surreal,
immediacy, long term)
What was the overall message?
What types of voice/s were used in the advert? (Male/female, young/old, foreign accent,
British accent, celebrity?)
What tone of language was used? (Conversational, informative, jokey etc)
The firstthingI noticedaboutthe style of the advertwas that itwas extremelyfactual inthe
waythat it gave you a guide tobeginwithwhichcontainedgreattipssuchasusingplain
backgroundsinsteadof somethingdistractingwhichwill take the focusawayfromthe main
subject(s) whichwill helpyoutocapture excitingmemoriesingreatqualityandstyle.Another
thingI realisedwas howthe female voicehad asexy,huskytone therefore makingit
seductive andappealingformen(the maintargetaudience asitcan be classedas a boy’s
toy). Besidesthis there are signsof repetitionwiththe advertmentioningthe company
‘Canon’3 timesmakingsure the audience know where togoto buythe particularproduct
beingadvertised.Inthiscase,the Canon XS200 IS.
The overall message istellingthe publictobuythisamazingCanoncamera to capture
incrediblemomentsthe rightwayusingthe righttechniques.Italsomentionsaboutitcoming
out before Christmastime makingitthe perfectpresentforpeople wholove theirgadgets
and toys.The male alsoemphasisesthatyouwill getthe bestqualitypicturesasitgoeson
witha listof newaddedbonusessuchas touchscreen,face trackingand a self-timerwhich
can onlymake it more appealingtothe audience.
I noticedthatthe tone of the language wasveryinformative and formal fromboththe male
and female youhearinthe advertand the female doesalsosoundlikeshe’susinga
conversational tone aswell due toherhuskyvoice andeditedmobilisedaccent,italmost
soundslike she’sspeakingonthe phone.The male doesappeartohave a slowervoice than
the female makinghimmore easy tounderstandhowevertheyare bothclearenoughtoput
the keypointsacross.
Withinthe advertthere were botha male anda female voice heard,bothhavingBritish
accentshoweverthe male’svoice appearedtobe olderthanthe female’svoicewhosounded
verymuch like ayoungadultin her20’s. The male toldusmost of the importantinformation
such as howthe camera wouldworkandthe correct techniquestouse,alsohe mentioned
some of the add-onswhichisalmoststereotypical asthe male of a familywouldbe more
likelytosetitup andgo throughthe settingsandlearnfroma guide like the one mentioned
inthe advert. Onthe otherhand, althoughthe female statesafew factstoo,I thinkshe is
more usedto attract the targetaudience whichisadultmenandherhuskyvoice helpsherin
thisperspective.
Radio advert analysis sheet - Canon
2. Was there a tag line or slogan in the advert?
How many times was the product or company name mentioned?
Was there any contact details mentioned? (Phone number, web address etc)
What music or sound effects were used?
What is the main purpose of the advert? (Informational, sales or special offers, promoting
a particular product)
A tag line Ipickedupwas rightat the beginning whenthe female voicesays‘Absolute radio
winterphotographyguide withCanon’whichwasaclear introductionandeasyforthe
audience toremember. It’sverysimple,complex andonlyaminimumamountof wordsto
remember,aswell asthis,withthe help of the huskyvoice it’scatchyandappealing.
The Canon camera (product) itselfwasonlymentionedonce whenthe adverttellsyouthe
extradetailsaboutit.Although,Canonthe companywasmentioned3timesandthe radio
advertisingit‘Absolute Radio’wasmentioned4timesshowingtheyalsowantedtobe
noticedandrememberedeventhoughit’saCanonproduct.Repetitionof the productor
companyalwayshelpswithpushingthe businesssothe more frequentlyit’smentionedthe
more people will remembertocheckitout,in relationtothisI do thinkthe specificname of
the camera shouldhave beenreferredtoat least3 timesbecause the productname isthe
mostimportantpart of the information.
Afterlisteningtothe advertI noticedthattheyputthe website inthere
(absoluteradio.co.uk/canon)tocreate more attentionforthe productas you’re tellingpeople
where togo to finditmakingit one stepeasiertogetthe perfectChristmasgift.Although
otherdetailssuchas whatshopscan you getthemfromor whetherthere isanyspecial offers
at a particularplace wasn’theardwhichcouldhave helpedtopromote salesbutitisn’toverly
important.
Throughoutthe whole advertnomusicwasplayedwhichdidactually fitinwiththe formal,
informative theme showingtheymainlyfocusedonputting the wordsacrossto the audience
and wantingthemtobe heard. However,there isacontinuoussoundof bellsjinglingreally
quietlyinthe backgroundsettingthe scene forChristmastime andlettingthe audience know
it’sgoingto relate togiftgivingin the winterholidaysmeaningthey’re mostlikelytolisten
out to see if it’sa goodidea/potential gift.
The main purposesof the advertare to promote the productas well asthe twocompanies
but alsoto try and sell the amazinggadgettothe target audience.The sellingtechniques
were strong,as expectedfromaChristmasadvertwhengiftgivingseasoncomesaround,as
all the facts were made aboutthe extraadd-onsand settingsmakingitseemexcitingand
unique.Alsousingafemale voicewithaseductive,sexytone toaimatmenseemslogical as
the company alreadyknowit’smore than likelyto workwell.
3. Why do you think the advert was good or why do you think it wasn’t verygood?
I thinkoverall the advertwasbrilliantontermsof givinginformationandextradetail because
the more you give tothe audience the more appealingitwill be.The voiceschosenincluding
the language andthe tone worksreallywell withthe productandinsome wayshelpstokeep
it excitinghearingaboutitfromtwodifferentpeople.Boththe male andfemale were well
spoken(clearandinformative) andIthinktheybothsuitedwhatpartstheyhad to saywith
the man beingmore technical andthe womanbeingmore attractive,itworkedwelltocreate
an interesting,complex advertisement.The onlydownsideformyselfwasthatI stronglythink
theyshouldhave usedthe specificname of the cameramore frequentlytokeepreminding
the audience of the producttheywere talkingabout.
