122MC Week One – Radio Advert Commerical
122MC is a module which has been based around four purposes of media text:
- Commerical
- Political
- Artistic and
- Popular Culture
The module looks at the way moving and still images, sound and music are able to combine within different media formats to give specific meaning. Each week we will be introduced to the four purposes of media text and given media objects to be produced focusing on each one.
In our first lecture of 122MC we looked at how media text create meaning and communicate that meaning to an audience.
Any media text even before they are produced bring with them a set of predetermined meanings and expectaions before they are even seen by an audience.
All media texts have:
- a context
- an institution
- a text and
- an audience.
We was organised in to groups and our first task for the module was introduced. We as a group had to produce one radio advert which was no longer than 60 seconds. In the lecture we were given five questions/points that we had to think about before production would take place, these were:
- Decide on a product
- Name the product
- Have a unique selling point
- Choose a line of appeal
- Give the project meaning
Decide on a product
When we was thinking about products we could advertise we came up with chocolate and beer. However we wanted to target a male audience between 18 and 25 years old, therefore we decided beer would be the best product. We believed that men would choose beer over chocolate if they were given the choice.
Name the product
We decided to name our beer ‘T-Max’ short for ‘The Max’ because we felt it was straight to the point and a beer that would be remembered by men and also something that they wouldn’t mind asking for behind the bar.
Have a unique selling point
Our unique selling point and catchy slogan line was ‘The one that every man wants.’ This slogan shows gives the impression that all men are drinking it and want it, there fore they should. Our slogan also goes well with the advert idea, where the audiences first impression is that the lads are talking about a woman in a sexual way, yet they are actually describing a beer.
Choose a line of appeal.
Our advert uses many elements of appeal:
- Sex
- Desire
- Want or need
- Humour
All four work well together in making the advert sell the product and attract our target audience.
Give the project meaning.
As our advert can only use audio rather than visual images it is important that the audience still understand where the scene is taking place with the use of indexical and symbolic signs that are used.
The indexical signs used suggest something in our advert – the background noise suggests a bar, the heels suggest a woman and the drinking noise suggests drinking.
The symbolic signs are learned and associated within a culture, therefore the bar noise would link with all the connotations associated with lads in a bar.
Reflection
I really enjoyed making our radio advert, I felt that we came up with a really strong idea and it reflected in the end result. Rebecca and I were able to edit with adobe audition and with all the clips together I felt sounded really professional. The only thing I would change is the bar noise in the background of the advert as it is quite quiet in some parts and I would have made it louder for the audience to hear better.
