Flintstones Winston Cigarette advertisement. Slide 2 The primary media that I will be analyzing is a video advertisement taken from the hit childrens show: The Flintstones. The ad in the show was created by Winston Cigarettes. Winston cigarettes was created in 1954 by the R.J Reynolds Tobacco company. Shortly after being manufactured, they boomed in business due to their slogan which became an instant hit in their ads. Unfortunately, their rise to success was handicapped as the company became a subject of the U.S Federal trade commission due to deceptive advertising.
Slide 3 I will now play the advertisement for you if you havent already seen it.
AD
And that was the advertisement! Slide 4 The authors main intention for this advertisement was to persuade the audience to buy their product, to entertain such audience and to convey their message. The message of the primary text is: - If you smoke Winston cigarettes, you will be relaxed, focused and you will attract females. When the 2 characters: Fred and Barney, walk in at the beginning of the commercial, it can be assumed that they are returning from a smoke-break. After a Winston, they seem relaxed and confident and as seen in the ad, they go straight to their women and dance with them, creating a humorous dialogue, entertaining the audience.
Slide 4 Contd - The scene in the shop can also connect to a smoke break. The shopkeeper, feeding his bird symbolizes, the bird going for a smoke break and returning back to work. As seen in the ad, the bird is completely focused at his work. This aspect could ultimately appeal to the audience, essentially informing them, about the product. - The author intends to persuade the audience by using many different advertising techniques, anti-competitive behaviour and bias, but more on this later.
Slide 5 The dialogue in the primary source can be seen as plain, informal, and bombastic. Whilst imagery can be found in the ad in onomatopoeia and personification (these are seen where the bird is considered a human and produces a bird-like sound), and simile is found in the slogan used in the ad, where they assume a cigarette has a specific taste and they compare it to the taste of a Winston cigarette using the word like. The voices of the characters are loud and clear and the tone is set as an energetic tone. The energetic and positive tone of the of the commercial, puts the audience in a good mood and aids in the generation of revenue for the company.
Slide 6 Advertisers for cigarettes must account for specific audiences and they must hit on specific key points and techniques, to appeal to such audiences. The intended audience at the time for this ad (1961) was the middle-upper class US citizen who was also in the working class. The ad targets this group of people because they have the luxury of TVs and money, and also they are able to invest into the company because unlike the majority of the population back then, didnt have the luxury to watch TV or to buy cigarettes on a daily basis. It also appeals to the working audience because it targets people who work and enjoy having a smoke while on their break, as seen in the ad.
Slide 7 In order to have created a successful ad, especially for something as big and as regulated as a cigarette company, many subliminal (yet noticeable) techniques were used in this advertisement. - The cigarettes in the ad are portrayed as an avant-garde products. This means that the user of this product will feel ahead of the other people smoking their preferred brands. - The advertisement also incorporates anti-competitive behaviour, this is seen when Fred Flintstone (the main character), is buying cigarettes from the shopkeeper. This can also be seen as textual bias incorporated by the creator of the media (I will refer to this later).
Slide 7 Contd The usage of celebrities/famous characters is also seen in the advertisement. The usage of Fred implies a nostalgic feeling for those who will watch the ad. The usage of characters also creates a feel of security for the audience, because they already have a close connection with the character which they can relate to. - Another subliminal technique used in the advertisement is the usage of diverse camera angles/lighting. Throughout the duration of the ad, the camera angles changed from: close up, to longshot, to middle shot, all at eye-level.
Slide 7 Contd Some other stylistic devices incorporated in the ad are: black and white colours (Image/ and light), subject (animate), Superimposed sound (created), and minimal copy. But the most important advertising technique in the ad is: the slogan. Winstons taste good like a *clap clap* cigarette should. Personally, after seeing the commercial, the simple yet elegant slogan stuck with me and I had been repeating it in my head ever since. In the point of view of the advertiser, this is considered a win, as they had reached out to a portion of their intended audience. Their slogan was one of the most important advertising techniques because it also directly mocked all other cigarette companies products (by taste). In order to stress the importance of the companys slogan and message, the slogan was repeated twice during the ad. Slide 8 The techniques seen in the commercial can also be seen as textual bias. Bias is prejudice in favor of or against one thing compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. The bias is in the ad makes it feel like the product is always present. The author conveys the pros for the product in the commercial without telling the audience any of the cons (well, any smart advertiser would do the same). The bias is seen when there is anti-competitive behaviour. The shopkeeper refers to how: Winston steps ahead of the crowd, which directly targets any competitions product.
Slide 8 Contd Bias is also seen when there is persuasive language used. Many euphonious words are used to reel the attention of the audience when they are watching this ad, such as: - They really got something - Enjoy! - Up front! All of these words have direct correlations with the product and this is how the author conveys his bias into the advertisement. Now, that is my speculation, I want to see your points of view!
Slide 9 So now I have a little activity for you guys. On a show of hands, we will determine whether the primary source was bias or not, based on this audiences perception of the ad. 1 out of 4 is not biased, where 4 out of 4 is very biased. Let me see a raise of hands for 1! Let me see a raise of hands for 2! Let me see a raise of hands for 3! Let me see a raise of hands for 4! Now (select one person from group 1), give me one reason why you selected 1 out of 4. Now (select one person from group 4), give me one reason why you selected 4 out of 4.
Slide 10 I chose to create a spoof poster ad for the creative media response. Poster advertisements are cost-effective ways of advertising as they capture a select audience, they can be placed anywhere, theyre controllable, available to all parts of society and they convey their message relatively easily.
Slide 11 The poster ad that I created is intended for a younger audience. Imagine that I am a large company, and I want to maximize my profits How am I going to do that? Obviously one way to do that, is to increase my exposure and to increase the crowds that I am selling to! Back in the 60s there was little knowledge of the negative effects of cigarettes nor was there an age limit for the purchasing of cigarettes in many countries. A child could have been easily buying a pack for his elders. By creating an ad that appeals to children and easily influenced teenagers, the amount of people that are going to be using and investing in the product will be much greater. Plus, if they start smoking at a younger age, they will become addicted to it and will be more dependent on cigarettes. Therefore more demand calls for more supply, and Id be the one raking in the profits. Slide 12 One message that I want the intended audience to pick up on is the essence of bandwagon. If you smoke Winston Cigarettes, youll belong to the cool group and you wont be alone! Winston cigarettes make you happy, as you can see, the three present characters are all sporting a smile, while Fred, is in the background frowning. Another message that I wanted to broadcast is that Winston is the future, more on this later.
Slide 12 contd Essentially, the message that I wanted to convey in my advertisement was how big corporations such as: Winston Cigarettes at the time, employed simple advertising tactics to entertain, persuade and inform easily influenced audiences to buy their product. In the advertisement I created, I used many key methods that would affect the youth. Slide 13 In the ad I implemented the idea of peer pressure. Peer pressure is influence that a peer group exerts on others to change their attitudes. The peer pressure that I want to achieve in this advertisement is related to bandwagon. Essentially, you see what you want to be, and you change your actions to appeal to that group. In the advertisement, there is a group of characters smoking, while one character is left out of the group, sad. The goal of the poster is to get that child involved because which child would want to be left out? Am I right? Another technique that I capitalized on in the ad was the usage of stylistic devices. Here are some that I used: Slide 13 continued - Very little copy (text) would appeal to the intended audience. Kids dont want to read, they want to see pictures. Most kids dont have the attention span to read a whole advertisement, they would rather see a couple of words (in this case the brand and a slogan), rather than a couple of paragraphs. I know for a fact that I wasnt able to read full magazine advertisements or watch full TV commercials when I was a kid. - The camera angle also plays a big deal in conveying the message to the audience. The cool group is close shot and the point of view of the ad, while Fred is at long shot and alone. The camera angle used in the ad is at a high tilt angle. It gives the viewer the full point of view, it makes them feel like nothing is missing out, all of the details are present. Slide 13 continued The content in the ad can be noticed in characters, set and colour. In order to appeal to the intended audience, I used famous cartoon characters. The famous characters that are found in the ad are Spiderman, Superman, Bugs Bunny and Fred Flintstone. The usage of characters in the ad creates a relationship between the audience and the advertisement, based on previous memories, experiences and favoritism. The goal is basically to make them think: Oh, if superman smokes, I should smoke, then maybe I too, could have super powers!!!
Slide 13 continued The set in the ad can be seen as the cityscape on the horizon. They are in a field in front of a city. Back in the 1960s there werent many large cities like the one in the picture, so I thought maybe if I put this large city skyline in my background, people could assume that Winston would be the future. Colour: colours used in the ad are warm and comforting which would generally appeal to the intended audience. Arrangement in the ad can be seen in the 2 main groups of the advertisement. While the cool group is the focal point of the poster, poor lonely Fred is in his own group at the back. Slide 14 Quite contrary to the primary text, the language, diction and tone in the creative media response are much different, and this is to make sure that the new audience is targeted. Diction is found to be monosyllabic in the slogan of the advertisement and it is found to be denotative. The meaning of the advertisement is exact. This would appeal to the new audience because it is much simpler. Language relating to the diction is plain, precise and concrete unlike the informal/conversational form of the primary text. This renders the tone more serious. The seriousness stresses the importance of the slogan Dont miss out. The serious tone has a greater impact on the audience, as they would feel bad if they were not to obey the rules.
Slide 15 The ad was created in context to many aspects of the primary advertisement. It considered the date of the primary advertisement. The ad was aimed to look more futuristic, to convey the message and to persuade the audience that Winston Cigarettes is the future, and that they will be around for a long time. The context of creation also considered the economic demographic. For example, in 1960, 32% of families in Boston were homeowners. 86% of Bostonian house- owners owned televisions. The idea of the ad was to create an poster that was available to all the people, especially the younger audiences.
Slide 16 The primary text was able to persuade an older audience by employing smart advertising tactics, anti-competitive behaviour and textual bias. The creative aspects and stylistic devices used in the creative media response were put in place to persuade the younger audience. The primary text was able to entertain by using humorous dialogues and actions that would only be understood by older audiences, whilst the creative response was able to entertain by using many characters that would have appealed to a younger audience.
Slide 16 continued The primary text used the anti-competitive behaviour and textual bias to inform the audience that as a matter of fact, Winston cigarettes are better than the next leading brand. The media response was able to briefly the inform the younger audience by the usage of a slogan and peer-pressure.
Slide 17 A question to look at and reflect upon is: how do both advertisements reflect on the audiences cultural values? One cultural value that can is be looked at is the way the ad targets the audiences interests in media culture. The ad directly deals with the preference of media tastes of the two different audiences. One advertisement appeals to one audience, while one ad focuses on a younger audience. The selling point all depends on how that audience perceives the commercial and how cultured is the audience. Another question that can be asked is: are the advertisements fair?
Slide 17 continued The only possible answer: of course not, the goal of the advertiser is to try and get as many people to buy their product as possible with the least amount of difficulty. The learning outcome I focused on in this FOA was to show the way mass media uses language to inform, persuade or entertain. A speculation that I was able to make was that most advertisers only include 2/3 of these tasks: they entertain, and they persuade but they leave out the inform. The audience, has to buy the product, to figure out the inform for themselves. Thank you for listening!