h ow to a nalyze a t elevision c ommercial business essentials (unit 11) ms. hawkins source:...

HOW TO ANALYZE A TELEVISION COMMERCIALBusiness Essentials (Unit 11)

Ms. Hawkins

Source: Understand Media (Santa Monica College, California State University)

http://www.understandmedia.com/media-theory/110-how-to-analyze-a-television-commercial



HOW TO ANALYZE A TELEVISION COMMERCIAL

Some Statistics... 98.1% of American

households have a television, while 99% of people in America can read.

This means that being able to read barely beats out having a television in your home.

Most of us were taught to read when we were very young, but did we ever learn how to watch television?


What is a Commercial Ad? It is a span of television

programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product.

It is a selling tool and reflects the business needs of the corporations that pay for it.

Advertisements are also cultural indicators, though often distorted ones.

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) convey messages to promote the public good.


Why Commercials? They are the main ways for a

television station to make money—the station sells commercial time.


How Do Commercials Impact Us? Buy things we don't need Vote a way we might not normally vote Desire a lifestyle that we wouldn't

necessarily agree with


Why Analyze Commercials? So we don’t get snookered and WASTE

MONEY!!!.


Analysis—Seven Things to Consider

What is the product or service being sold? Can you easily figure out what the product is? Is there a product? What attributes and qualities of the product or

service is the commercial trying to sell?

1



Who is the company sponsoring the product or service being sold? Can you easily figure out who the sponsoring

company is? Is this a new product or service for this

company?

2



Who is this commercial aimed towards(target market)? Who is the sponsoring company trying to sell to? Consider demographic characteristics such as age,

gender, income, educational level, etc. What are some examples of target markets?

White women in their 30s (race and age) Divorced males (family status) Senior citizens (age) African-American teenagers (race and age)

3



What is the message of the commercial? What is the central idea that the creators of

the commercial want the target audience to believe?

Examples:

“This face cream will make you look younger and feel more attractive”

“If you shop at our supermarket you will save a lot of money”

4



How does the commercial try to get your attention? What methods are the advertisers using to

make us interested? What Persuasive Methods are used

(see class handout)

5

HOW TO ANALYZE A TELEVISION COMMERCIALAnalysis—Seven Things to Consider

How does the commercial try to get your attention? (continued)... Does it use flashy

graphicswith fast music?

Does it alter the waywe see the world, eitherthrough the useof specialeffects or through the storyline?

5



How does the soundtrack play a role in your interpretation of the commercial? Is the music cheery, dreary, suspenseful, whimsical,

fun, or exciting? Does the music affect our perception of the mood? Is there a voice-over of someone telling us

something? Would our perception of the voice change if the

voice was of a different gender or race? Does the commercial jingle stick in your head?

6



How do the actors playing the characters affect your interpretation of the commercial? Would your interpretation change if the characters

were of a different race or gender? What if the characters dressed differently or spoke

differently? How would that change your perception of the

character?

7

h ow to a nalyze a t elevision c ommercial business essentials (unit 11) ms. hawkins source:...

Documents

commercial slide

commercial time

commercial ad

television station

age slide

span of television programming

lot of money slide

class handout slide