Advertising techniques
Advertisers have a range of different techniques they can draw on:
| Technique | Description |
| Slogans | These are designed to be memorable or relate to something important about the product. They are often a play on words. Some famous slogans are "Just Do It" (Nike), or "Live in Your World, Play in Ours" (Sony PlayStation). |
| Logo | A unique and recognisable symbol which represents the product. Like the Nike 鈥榮woosh鈥 or the Apple 鈥榓pple鈥. |
| Endorsement | Advertisers often use celebrities to endorse products, such as David Beckham promoting Adidas or Gillette products. These types of ads can be much more expensive to produce. However, ordinary people are often used to endorse everyday goods like washing up liquid. |
| USP | Promotion of the unique selling point (USP) of the product like a 'special ingredient'. This could be the 'snap, crackle and pop' used to promote Rice Krispies or the secret chicken recipe used to market KFC fast food. |
| Hard sell | The 'Hard Sell' is short, loud and concise - telling you the price of the product and why you need it - with as little information as possible. |
| Soft sell | The 'Soft Sell' promotes the product with an associated lifestyle or a mysterious story. This may have the audience wondering what the product is, right up until the final image. This technique is often used in ads for perfume or aftershave. |
| Icons | Defining the product through an icon 鈥 making the product design distinct to such a degree that it is so recognisable it almost sells itself, like a can of Coca-Cola. |
| Product demonstration | This is often used in adverts for cleaning products or makeup. |
| Persuasive language | This is usually in the form of hyperbole, to make the product seem more effective or desirable than it really is. For example: "Gillette: The best a man can get". |
| Mode of address | How the advert, as a media text, speaks to us. This could be a celebrity appearing to speak to us directly as Ewan McGregor does in an advert for Unicef. |
| Technical codes | This is how people or products are represented through camera angles or how the advert is edited. Adverts for luxury products, like expensive clothes, will often be edited to be slow paced and considered, whereas ads for fizzy drinks or sports clothing will have fast paced edits. |
| Audio codes | These include dialogue, diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Dialogue will usually be informative and catchy and might include a memorable slogan. Diegetic sounds include things like car engines or the crunch of someone eating cereal. Non-diegetic sounds include music soundtracks or jingles. Jingles are memorable and stick in our minds long after we've seen the advert, like "I'm lovin' it" (McDonalds), or the Go Compare jingle sung by fictional opera singer, Gio Compare. |
| Technique | Slogans |
|---|---|
| Description | These are designed to be memorable or relate to something important about the product. They are often a play on words. Some famous slogans are "Just Do It" (Nike), or "Live in Your World, Play in Ours" (Sony PlayStation). |
| Technique | Logo |
|---|---|
| Description | A unique and recognisable symbol which represents the product. Like the Nike 鈥榮woosh鈥 or the Apple 鈥榓pple鈥. |
| Technique | Endorsement |
|---|---|
| Description | Advertisers often use celebrities to endorse products, such as David Beckham promoting Adidas or Gillette products. These types of ads can be much more expensive to produce. However, ordinary people are often used to endorse everyday goods like washing up liquid. |
| Technique | USP |
|---|---|
| Description | Promotion of the unique selling point (USP) of the product like a 'special ingredient'. This could be the 'snap, crackle and pop' used to promote Rice Krispies or the secret chicken recipe used to market KFC fast food. |
| Technique | Hard sell |
|---|---|
| Description | The 'Hard Sell' is short, loud and concise - telling you the price of the product and why you need it - with as little information as possible. |
| Technique | Soft sell |
|---|---|
| Description | The 'Soft Sell' promotes the product with an associated lifestyle or a mysterious story. This may have the audience wondering what the product is, right up until the final image. This technique is often used in ads for perfume or aftershave. |
| Technique | Icons |
|---|---|
| Description | Defining the product through an icon 鈥 making the product design distinct to such a degree that it is so recognisable it almost sells itself, like a can of Coca-Cola. |
| Technique | Product demonstration |
|---|---|
| Description | This is often used in adverts for cleaning products or makeup. |
| Technique | Persuasive language |
|---|---|
| Description | This is usually in the form of hyperbole, to make the product seem more effective or desirable than it really is. For example: "Gillette: The best a man can get". |
| Technique | Mode of address |
|---|---|
| Description | How the advert, as a media text, speaks to us. This could be a celebrity appearing to speak to us directly as Ewan McGregor does in an advert for Unicef. |
| Technique | Technical codes |
|---|---|
| Description | This is how people or products are represented through camera angles or how the advert is edited. Adverts for luxury products, like expensive clothes, will often be edited to be slow paced and considered, whereas ads for fizzy drinks or sports clothing will have fast paced edits. |
| Technique | Audio codes |
|---|---|
| Description | These include dialogue, diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Dialogue will usually be informative and catchy and might include a memorable slogan. Diegetic sounds include things like car engines or the crunch of someone eating cereal. Non-diegetic sounds include music soundtracks or jingles. Jingles are memorable and stick in our minds long after we've seen the advert, like "I'm lovin' it" (McDonalds), or the Go Compare jingle sung by fictional opera singer, Gio Compare. |