We have been given 6 weeks to complete a project which limits what we can do and forces us to focus on timekeeping over quality. As there are no resources or direction provided, we must decide on the product, target market, and create all advertising materials from scratch within the 6 week timeframe. The Advertising Standards Authority imposes restrictions on misleading ads, which impacts this energy drink project, as those ads often suggest exaggerated benefits that may not be factually true.

1. Constraints
Every project gives you opportunities to create but also constraints to work to. Use this hand out to
consider the constraints which will affect your project.
Constraints
What timescale have you got for this project? How could this impact your work?
We have been given 6 weeks to complete this project. This will impact my work greatly as it limits
everything that I can do. I will not be able to create everything to the best of my ability because of
the fact we have a set amount of time, and I cannot keep improving it until it is exactly how I like it.
I must consider the time and work accordingly instead of focusing entirely on quality. However the
timeframe given helps me to improve my concept of time keeping and adds to the realism of the
project, as in the real world in a job you would have a set amount of time to complete a project.
Are there any resources you will need for this project that you will not be provided with? How
could this affect your project? What can you do about this?
Usually when a client approaches an advertising company they will provide materials such as a
concept in which to follow, images, logos, a celebrity that endorses their product etc. but in this
brief everything is left up to us.
We are to decide and create a concept as well as produce new packaging, a magazine advert, a
web banner and a storyboard for a moving image advert from scratch.
Furthermore it is up to us to choose the target market and a name for the product.
This affects the project due to the fact that it takes longer to get the ball rolling so to say, as we
have not been given a direction to follow and must decide ourselves. Normally you have a general
idea of what the client wants and who they’re targeting etc. but here we have 6 weeks to create a
product and an advertising campaign to accompany as opposed to 6 weeks to create an
advertisement project for a chosen demographic and target audience, with starting materials and
concepts provided.
What restraints could be imposed by an organisation such as the Advertising Standards
Authority (ASA)? How could this impact your project?
There are certain rules which you must abide by some of which are dictated by the Advertising
Standards Authority (ASA), these include things such as making sure the content does not offend
anyone, does not misrepresent anyone and it also must not be misleading. By misleading it means
that it must not suggest that it does something it does not. In this project one of the things that is
most relevant is the fact that your advertisements must not be misleading. The reason this is one
of the most relevant aspects is due to the fact that energy drink advertisements can often be
extreme and suggest things which may not necessarily be true, for example red bull says it “gives
you wings” and some sports drinks suggest that they improve your ability a lot more than they
actually do.