Codes and Conventions of Advertising - Advertising Production
Codes and Conventions of Advertising
Product or Service
This is what is being advertised ‑ coffee, mascara and baby food are all
products, banking, insurance, utilities are all services. Some
adverts promote an overall company (or brand) as opposed to a
specific product made by that company. Fashion, sportswear and
technology adverts are often like this.
An example of a company being advertised would be HSBC. We are all aware HSBC are a bank, so their adverts take a different approach than normal. They link themselves to history, talk about the work they do in other regions such as Asia and how they continue to grow as a company, you're buying into their ideals more than you are their actual banking system.
In this advert, HSBC refrain from stating that they're a banking company, instead they focus the advert around a man, representing the consumers, and his advancement in his career including the ups, downs and eventual success. HSBC then state that they understand that any path to a career has a supporting cast (on the surface you'd assume they're referencing the friends of a character in the advert - but they're pushing themselves forward as the integral part of that journey)
An example of a product being sold would be an Xbox advertisement via Microsoft. They're selling a gaming system instead of the parent company Microsoft known for it's ventures in computer technology.
Here we have a straight to the point ad that is showcasing the system and the tech inside, we see it's hardware and it's 4K streaming capabilities (Ignore Kevin Spacey's House of Cards). The only mention of Microsoft is a brief logo appearance at the end of the advertisement.
Brand
This is the ‘idea’ of the product and is often the same as the company who
manufacture the product or provide the service.
manufacture the product or provide the service.
A good example of the brand idea would be Vans, the clothing and shoe brand isn't often differentiated from the company that manufacture the clothing and market it.
Often when you wear a pair of Old Skool's from the Vans shoe collection, people will refer to them as simply "Vans" because the brand has become synonymous with the product they supply.
Image
The central or key picture that encourages us to look at the advert.
This can be analysed by looking at its technical features (lighting,
camera position etc.). These are called technical codes. Also you would
explore its visual codes. This refers to the content of the picture (who
or what is the picture of, their position, clothing, décor etc.).
An example would be Pepsi's advertising war against Coke, in which they use only the image of the two brands (one being Pepsi and the other implied)
Copy
This is the written explanation of the product on the advert. It is designed to get the reader to respond or take action. In a standard sales setting, salespeople spend several minutes to several hours answering prospective customers' questions and addressing their concerns. Without this interaction, many of the customer’s objections would go unanswered. If a customer has unanswered objections, they will not buy the product or service.
Slogan
This is the catchy phrase about the brand or the product that is
supposed to stick in our minds.
A classic example would be Maybelline's "Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's Maybelline"
It's a phrase that we all know, even those of us who have never purchased or need to purchase any of their products.
Another great slogan is Nike's "Just Do It" logo, enticing those with adventurous personalities and/or ideals.
Brand logo
This is the small graphic used to represent the brand. Tends to be a consistent logo that gains the brand notability amongst the general public.
Brand logos tend to be the one thing that can catapult your brand to the top tier of companies. If an audience can recognise your brand amongst countless companies potentially selling a similar product, you need a grab that makes a consumer trust the brand.
When I see an Adidas logo, I immediately trust that brand and it's products due to Adidas being famous for being the brand with "three stripes".
You invest in a logo, you can even create a sense of nostalgia that creates loyalty amongst consumers.
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