Radio Advert Research

The purpose of a radio advert is to get an audience to want your products or services. These kind of adverts do reach a wide variety of people, as people tend to listen to the radio mostly every day. This may be in their car on the way to work, whilst in a workplace or school, or even in their own home.

Some essential features of a radio advert are to grab the attention and engage their listeners. A radio advert must stand out and not be bland or boring, otherwise people will zone out and stop listening or even switch to a different radio station. Plus, the advert must have a changing voice depending on the subject. It would be inappropriate to have someone with a bright, bubbly voice do an advertisement for a serious business such as injury lawyers. Another important aspect is accent, as there are specific accents that are favoured over others. One in particular that was popularised by a beer advertisement in the 1980's is northern accents, as since then it was mostly the queens english that was used in adverts before then.

1st example

The first advertisement I chose to analyse was one that we briefly looked at in lesson time, which is the Tesco price drop advertisement starring Chris Clarkson. In this advert, Chris mentions that Tesco are dropping prices on certain food items, and then takes a deep breath in before rapidly listing off different items included in the price drop. Whilst he continues to do this, Julie Walters speaks over him to quickly read the terms and conditions of the offer, with the ad then fading into silence.

The reasons that this ad is so appealing and different from other ads is that it uses a unique way of capturing the audiences attention. This was the way that the items included in the price drop were listed so quickly, as even though it is difficult to work out what he is saying it emphasises on the fact that there are several items that have been reduced, too many to fit into a small time frame of a radio advert.

One other thing that makes this advert more appealing is brand association. Julie Walters is somewhat of a national treasure in the UK, so her association with this brand will make it much more appealing than it was originally to potential tesco shoppers.

It seems that the model used in this advertisement was the Aida model. This is because the attention of the audience is immediately grabbed by the way Chris addresses the listeners, and their interest is drawn in by the way he lists which items are on the price drop. The desire and action part then comes when Julie Walters begins discussing the terms and conditions, which instructs the listeners to see in store for more details. Therefore, this makes the listener want to travel to their nearest tesco to take a look at what offers they have.

According to Aristotle's studies, the technique used in this advertisement is Ethos. This is because of the brand association used in the advert, which makes the ad seem more trustworthy and reliable to people who are fans of the celebrities that are featured in the ad.

2nd example

The second example I chose to use was the Amigo loans advert from 2016. This advert features very relaxing, friendly music; which creates an appealing mood to the advert and makes it sound very positive right from the beginning. The person speaking in the advertisement has a very welcoming tone of voice, and he uses repetition to describe all the things a person can gain when they take out a loan with Amigo loans. By listing all the options people have when they use that companys' services, they are gaining more customers by convincing them to think about their options and consider what they would do if they got their own loan.

Another good feature used in this advertisement is the jingle used at the very end. The catchy, easily recognisable short song stays in the minds of the audience it has reached, and therefore serves its purpose by remaining memorable to the people who have heard it. That way, if the situation arises where the person may need the services of that particular company, they will easily be bale to recall the advertisement and the information stated within it.

The model used in this advertisement is the DRIP model, created by C. Fill in 2002. It starts by differentiating itself from other loan companies, by mentioning that you need a friend's approval to be able to obtain this kind of loan, and then reminding the audience about all the good things they can gain in their lives with that loan. It then informs the audiences about the different options they have and how to obtain these, which persuades the audience further into investing in the service.

According to Aristole's studies, another technique used in this advertisement is Pathos. This is a technique used to create an emotional reaction within the audience, whether that be happy, sad, fearful or angry. In this advert, the creator has used upbeat music and positive ideology in order to create a happy and hopeful mood, which influences people to associate the feeling of happiness with that advertisement.

3rd example

The third example I chose to use was the Lockets radio advert from 2009. In this advertisement, the female speaker announces herself as a mother, and directly addresses the audience as if she is speaking to them personally. She discusses that she knows all the signs and symptoms of a common cold, as she has experience in caring for sick children. After this, examples of each of the 'types' of coughs she describes play one after another, and she explains that Lockets and their ingredients (such as eucalyptus) are good for helping all kinds of cold, no matter how mild or severe it may be.

The fact that the speaker directly addresses the audience is a good persuasive feature, because it immediately captures the attention of the listener as it makes them feel as though they are being spoken to personally. Now that the listener is engaged, the speaker begins saying things that are relatable o their target audience, which appears to be mothers. She explains how, being a mum herself, she can identify the signs of a cold in her family very easily, and then demonstrates how she does this, which other mothers will be able to relate to. This will gain the trust of mother listening, and directly promote the products to them.

The model used in this advert is the AIDA model again, as the speaker uses direct speech to capture the attention of the audience directly and then peaks their interest by being relatable. Any mothers who relate to the situation can then begin to desire the product, as they may need a solution to the problem being described in the advertisement. This then leads onto action, where the listener makes the decision to invest in that product.

Lastly, according to studies done by Aristotle, the technique used in this advertisement is Ethos. This is because the advertisement uses relatable language and a friendly, familiar tone to create trust and reliability with its target audience.