Flex Tape Advertisement
This advertisement for the DIY repair product, Flex Tape. The target audience for this advert is most likely working class, middle-aged to older men who are interested in DIY, as the narrator and presenter of the video is of this demographic and clips are also shown of other men in this age range using the product to make repairs. The product is unique and innovative, but also a fresh take on more well-known products like Duck Tape, so this marketing video aims to appeal to psychometric categories like the explorer (who is willing to try an innovative product) and the mainstreamer (who is more comfortable with popular and tried and tested products). However, this advert attempts to catch the attention of mainstreamers by taking the very common format of an infomercial, which includes many practical demonstrations of the product showcasing the validity of the claims made by the presenter.
The Flex Tape product is presented and demonstrated by Phil Swift, the company’s CEO. In the advert he maintains a consistently jubilant and excited tone, which helps to build hype for the product and the extraordinary demonstrations of it, most notably where he saws in half a small boat only to reattach the two pieces using the product. This extreme demonstration gets the attention of the audience if they were not already watching fully and shows that the company has faith in their product, as Phil Swift is later shown riding the repaired boat on a large body of water. The over-the-top nature of this product demonstration is especially memorable as it is both fun to watch and a contrast to other infomercials which only show everyday uses for their products.
The Flex Tape advert was shot on a set that is designed to look similar to some kind of industrial warehouse or facility, decorated with ‘brick’ walls and exposed pipes. This could be to appeal to their predominantly male, working class audience and to imply that the product features industrial level capability. As well as this, the set features giant version of the product container and is decorated with colours from the branding of the product, blue, yellow and red. These are bold, primary colours which appear in all or most of the Flex Tape branding.
In addition to the excited narration and the recordings of flowing water to accompany the slow motion footage, the audio of this video features a generic rock music track in the background which plays throughout the advert. Rock music was likely used because it is the most popular genre of music amongst all demographics, and is especially likely to appeal to Flex Tape’s target audience of older men. The drum and guitar track featured in the advert also fits the action-packed nature created by the slow motion visuals and extraordinary demonstrations.
The advert contains editing techniques such as zooms and slow motion effects, however it mostly consists of simple jump cuts. This is because the messages the company wishes to convey are contained in the narration and demonstrations and adding too many effects would subtract from the authentic feel of both. Thus, postproduction effects are only used when this will enhance the message communicated by the demonstrations, such as the slow motion shots of leaks being sealed with the product where the effect allows the audience to see clearly what would otherwise be a very quick action. This means there is more time for the action to leave an impression on the audience. On the other hand, they employ a split screen shot in another part of the video to show the audience each step of using the product but in a condensed time, so the same information can be conveyed without dragging out the runtime of the video, which is crucial for an advert as it may need to fit within a certain advertising slot on TV. There is some use of on-screen graphics to deliver important information like the company website (via a banner which remains on screen for the duration of the advert), repeated phrases from the narrator in large text often accompanied by necessary disclaimers in small print, a watermark of the brand logo, and an end screen which summarises all the potential use cases for the product.
Through this collection of methods, the Flex Tape brand conveys the message that their product is fresh and innovative, yet capable and dependable. The extraordinary way in which it is presented matches the products supposedly extraordinary abilities. It also ensures that this message reaches a large and well engaged audience through its interesting and eye-catching product demonstrations.
Autodesk
Autodesk is a corporation that creates 3D design software for a variety of industries and use cases, including media and entertainment. This is a show-reel, which is a video consisting of a montage of clips demonstrating the capabilities of their products through the work produced using them, featuring work created using their products aimed at the media and entertainment industry. In this show-reel they have compiled clips from a variety of media which has been created using Autodesk products, which includes films with computer generated effects and 3D models as well as footage from video games and video game cut-scenes.
The target audience of this show-reel is likely potential clients, in this case, visual effects and video game production companies similar to the ones whose work is featured in the show-reel, like Freefolk and Bethesda. Including the names and logos of their existing clients in the video not only serves as a way to give credit to those companies, but also shows prospective clients that Autodesk products are already used by big names in the media and entertainment industry. This shows they are a trustworthy brand that makes quality, industry-grade products.
There is no narration or informational text in this promotional video, other than the company watermarks and a briefly shown slogan on the end screen “Make Anything”. This is because, being a show-reel, the video serves to let the media created with Autodesk products speak for itself and demonstrate the viability of their products. This is effective as the main thing clients in this will care about is whether they can produce quality media and effects with these products, with the show-reel existing to show clients that they can. The slogan itself is short and open-ended, reflecting their brand identity and the nature of their products because they serve purposes not only in media production, but also in engineering and product design - meaning you really can ‘make anything’ with Autodesk.
Most of the shots in the montage are only a few seconds long and the video is put to energetic and upbeat music. This gives the audience enough time to digest each example, while keeping the fast pace required to fit so many examples of media production work into a few minutes. The music matches the pace of the cuts while helping to portray Autodesk and the processes of 3D design and post-production in a positive light, suggesting that their products are both efficient and a joy to use.
The show-reel features examples of shots from examples of media which have been produced using Autodesk software, but also includes some shots where the audience is shown a ‘behind the scenes’ type view of the special effects being shown. The inclusion of these shots reaffirms that the primary target audience for this show-reel is potential clients and people who work in the media and entertainment industry. This appeals to these industry professionals as they are familiar with seeing behind the polished final products and these shots acknowledge the process of working on the software, rather than just showing what a general audience would see on the screen.
Xbox
This video is a television advertisement for the first Xbox video game console. It depicts an extreme narrative where a baby is born and immediately shoots out of the hospital window, continuing to fly through the air at high speed while rapidly ageing until he crash-lands in a grave as an old man. The video then cuts to a black screen with the text “Life is short. Play more.” followed by the Xbox branding. The memorable narrative, along with the slogan, send the tongue-in-cheek message to the audience that they should play more video games (on the Xbox) because life is too short not too.
The target audience for this promotional video is young adult males and teenagers because this is the largest demographic of people who play video games. The shocking, comedic and edgy nature of the video is aimed to appeal to this audience as they are used to consuming media depicting violence such as action movies and shooter games. Furthermore, this demographic, especially on the younger side, is less likely to respond to a more traditional advertising approach.
The advert features computer generated visual effects used to portray the boy flying through the sky and rapidly ageing. Use of these effects further appeals to the target audience of people who play video games as games themselves revolve around computer graphics and effects. This also reflects the Xbox brand identity as a company looking to cement themselves in the video game industry (at the time this video was produced). The visuals used, along with the fantastical and action-packed narrative, therefore communicate to the audience what the brand represents and, to some extent, imply what they can expect from playing games on an Xbox.
With regards to audio, this advert does not use music so the audience only hears the screams of the characters (the mother and her child) and the sound effects used to complement the action on screen. These sound effects are exaggerated and jarring, adding to the shock value of the video as a whole. For example, the sound effect used for the umbilical cord snapping at the beginning is or closely resembles a whip cracking sound, which is unrealistic but adds to the shock and gruesomeness of this shot. Similarly , the impact of the now elderly man in the grave is accompanied by a loud explosion sound effect, exaggerating the action on screen. Once again the purpose of this shock value is to be provocative and appeal to the edgy tastes of teenagers - particularly during the early 2000s. Clearly the sound effects are important in creating the overall experience of this video so the choice not to include music was likely to avoid drawing attention away from them, forcing the audience to experience the action.
Hellmann’s
This video is a television advertisement for the Hellmann’s brand of mayonnaise. The target audience for this advert is likely the general population, more specifically adults/parents who shop for themselves and/or their families. This can be inferred because a household food product is being advertised. The video also features recognisable figures from television like Brian Blessed, Sue Barker, and Joe Wilkinson who were likely included to market towards a more mature audience. It can also be inferred that Hellmann’s is for everyone because of the wide range of demographics featured as characters in the advert.
The video involves characters from different walks of life, all ordinary people, discussing their perfect sandwich and showing the many different preferences with everyone agreeing at the end that they use Hellmann’s “to top it off”. This builds up to the conclusion of the narrative, that “Hellmann’s Makes It” which also doubles as the slogan for this advertising campaign. This results in the communication of a primary message: that everyone’s perfect sandwich should contain Hellmann’s mayonnaise. The discussion of the ‘perfect sandwich’ idea also encourages the audience to engage by considering what their perfect sandwich might be and perhaps even stimulate a similar conversation between friends and family.
In the video jump cuts are used to switch from different conversations between characters in different locations. It forgoes music, instead favouring atmospheric sound effects to sell the settings of each shot, such as the shop bell ringing at the hairdressers and traffic noises heard during the taxi shot. The effect of this is that each shot feels more like a real situation, thus making the characters and their conversations about the product feel more genuine despite their heavily scripted feel.
In some shots, particularly the hair salon and golf shots, bright and saturated colours are used as part of the mise-en-scene. This colour palette matches the light-hearted tone of the video and is visually attention grabbing, which is possibly why the first shot takes place in the colourful salon. In terms of specific colours, blue and yellow feature prominently and frequently in many shots throughout the advert, even in those which have a more toned down colour palette like in the taxi and window cleaning shots, and more obviously in the colour-rich salon shots. For example, in the salon, blue and yellow are present in the clothing of the characters as well as the cloaks that the customers wear. And in the comparatively modest-coloured taxi shots, blue and yellow is more subtly implemented into the shot through the characters' shirts, parts of the taxi interior, and the exterior shot where there are some blue and yellow cars and a cyclist wearing a bright blue jersey. This is important because blue and yellow are the primary colours of the Hellmann’s branding, which itself is shown to the audience at the end covering a jar of the product. This means the whole advert is consistent with the product branding without having to show the actual branding on screen for the whole duration. By only revealing the brand at the end of the advert, the audience is allowed to mentally engage with the discussion present in the narrative before being sold the product itself.
