Advert Evaluation

The Brief

What was the brief? -  The brief was to rebrand a Unilever product of our choice. We had the option of all the products that Unilever hold and had to rebrand the product. This doesn't mean we have to completely scrap the original idea and start from scratch but it means that a certain aspect of the product like the target audience had to change. We then had to make a presentation for the product and pitch the product for an audience. After the pitch, we were put into groups and had to pick one of the pitches to go through with and rebrand that product. Once the product was established, pre production documents had to be completed before the initial shooting for the advert of the rebranded product.

What was your chosen product and how/why did you decide, as a group, to choose it? - Initially, our group chose my rebrand of Magnum as we collectively felt it was the best and most reasonable to achieve. We felt that we could be the most successful and create the best product within the time frame using this product and the change that it was going to undergo. However, members leaving the group forced me to transfer to another group. They had already decided on their idea and the product of Ben and Jerry's to rebrand, however they were more than happy to accept my opinions and queries about the change to the product. We then collectively decided, that we all agreed and were happy with the plan we had in place and pre production could begin.

Who is the current target audience for the product and who did you decide to appeal to? Why? - Ben and Jerry's existing primary target audience are people under the age of 24, with customer numbers dwindling once they reach over the age of 34. A consumer behaviour report undertaken in 2013 found that the demographic was young professionals or students living in a cosmopolitan city. We decided to aim our product at an older audience primarily people aged over 60. We decided to go down this route as many old people may feel that they can't enjoy things that are stereotypically associated with younger audiences so we wanted to make them feel included and feel that there's a product out there specifically for them. We also wanted to incorporate a nostalgic element within our advert and thought that aiming our product at an older audience would capture this thought nicely as it essentially gives a throwback element.

The Finished Product and Feedback

How did you collect the feedback on your finished advert from the target audience? -  We collected feedback on the finished product  by creating a questionnaire about what audience members liked about the advert and the ideas presented throughout. We then emailed this out to people and to those who couldn't receive them online ,we asked the questions out loud and collected the data manually from that. We also just asked people who fit into the target audience that we knew what they liked about the advert and what they thought could be improved. This gave us representative data of our target audiences opinions as well as opinions from our secondary target audience.

Do you think you managed to get the main message to your target audience you specified in pre production? Would the advert have an appropriate impact on them? - I think we successfully managed to get the main message across through our advert. Our main focal point was nostalgia and nostalgic elements, I think we incorporated these nicely through the use of sound effects, camera quality, lighting and the actors used. This also seemed to resonate with the primary target audience members we asked. I think the nostalgia is blatantly obvious when viewing our advert, we use transitions like blinking and spirals to really make this clear and to indicate and emphasise this to our target audience. I think the impact on the primary target audience would be and was appropriate, no elements would make them feel upset to be where they are now and I'm quite certain they'll view it as thinking back on the good old days rather than being depressed that those days are over, hence the advert being nostalgic rather than dampening.

Technical and aesthetic qualities - I think we executed these elements particularly well within our advert. Our use of sound was that of high quality, we made sure to purposefully use more cheerful and upbeat music with the brighter scenes and more dull and drab music with the duller scenes. We also used the cameras effectively with the movement being more fast paced in the brighter scenes, thus correlating with the positive energy and the camera movement being quite still and maintained in the duller scenes again correlating with the storyline and plan. Mise-en-scene was a key factor for us. We purposefully incorporated a spinny cap in the flashbacks, the propeller was intentional as it could be used as a transition and also incorporated elements of youth which was the main intention and tied in with the nostalgia.

Do you think your finished advert effectively sells the product to the specified audience through its storyline/narrative? - I think our finished advert effectively sells the product, we purposefully made sure to include the product in all the scenes in order to make it known to the audience and not just a reveal at the end. It being previously known also incorporated our idea of nostalgia. We made sure to really sell the product and make the flashback seem almost monumental, to make the audience intrigued and potentially warrant their purchase. We also made sure to really brighten the flashback as to again make it seem overpowering and like the best ice cream available.

What was the effectiveness of the persuasion techniques you used to sell the product? - I think the persuasion techniques within our advert were effective and incorporated our vision. We brightened certain aspects to really sell the product overexaggerate its brilliance. The use of this hyperbole was effective in making the product stand out and seem brilliant. The current time scenes also made it seem that life is nothing without the product, this again helps to persuade the audience that if they purchase the product they'll be able to find some happiness and will be able to reminisce about the past.

What was the message you were trying to send to the target audience? What were the main techniques you used to send that message? - We wanted to spread the message that old people can still remember their youth and enjoy it or that they can enjoy the lives that they now lead as they're still considered youth or might consider themselves to be young. We used looks of shock and astoundment from the older cast member to potentially spark their memories and begin their journey of reminiscing. We also used a younger actor to again make them remember the past and potentially resonate with their youth.

Do you feel that your advert is fit for purpose? - Overall, I think our advert is fit for its purpose. I think it looks professional and made to good standards. It also complies with advertising regulations made by ASA and BCAP . It provides an accurate description of the product and it's legal, decent, truthful, honest and socially responsible as there's no explicit content, no anti-social behaviour and it doesn't encourage anything illegal.

Personal Reflection

How does the advertisement compare with your original intentions? - I think our finalised product reflects our initial intentions. Our synopsis states that our main intention was somebody reminiscing about their past. This is exactly what was achieved in the final product and what was highlighted as being a good element of the advert from peers and the tutor. The final advert also correlated quite nicely with our storyboard with no major elements changing, this continuity is quite impressive as we has discussions quite frequently about things we could improve yet we were able to successfully improve those elements whilst still sticking to the storyboard.

Self-evaluation. Reflect on how satisfied you are with your final advert. Would you do anything differently if you were to undertake the task again? Finally evaluate your own involvement in the project. -  Overall I'm highly satisfied with the final outcome of the advert. I think it turned out exactly how we planned it and incorporated our initial visions and plans well. If we were to redo the project I think I would keep the majority of elements the same as they worked well for me and were enjoyable, however I would potentially like to film the flashbacks in a different location. Whilst I think a park incorporates youthful elements well, I think it could've been a better park as the ground was quite uneven forcing us to change the location of our filming a few times, I also would've liked to include the playpark in the background as this further enunciates the youthful elements, however it was occupied during the time of filming hence forcing us to use the field in the background. When considering I joined the group late, I think I had a good involvement within the project. I filmed the flashback scenes with Georgia and completed a few pre production documents that were vital at the time, however I feel I could've been more involved in the editing process, Em initially took the reigns and I complied which means my editing of the final advert was quite limited.