Textual Analysis: Radio advert

For the radio trailer for my short film i will have to research the various techniques that are used in radio advertising to appeal to their target audiences and how they sell their individual project effectively.

"switch"
Lexis
http://radioville.co.uk/

In this advert for the car manufacturer Lexis, there are certain techniques which i wish to apply to my radio trailer for my film. For example, the use of orchestral music to give a calming feel to the advert which is associated with the topic of the advert which is the smoothness of hybrid engines. I on the other hand wish to use quite dark music which contributes to the darker themes of murder and insanity which are present in my short film. In the Lexis advert there is also a use of word play in which the speaker switches to another man very discretely in order to bring the theme of smoothness back in to the advert from an interesting angle so the theme sticks out in the listener's mind. There is also the use of rhetorical questioning in order to appeal directly to the listener. There is also an effective use of a slogan at the end of the advert in order to give the listener or potential customer a message which in this case implies reliability and modern thinking.

"Phone"
Scottish Widows
http://radioville.co.uk/

In comparison this advert, the narrative voice is a lot more direct towards the listener with constant use of the word "you" this catches the listener's attention since he/she is listening to something which is relatable to him/her. In this case listing distressing or seemingly difficult things that a person would commonly use a mobile phone for. The true meaning of the advert is only shown right at the end to insure the the meaning has a lasting impression on the reader which in the case of this advert is sorting out your pension over the phone. Also using the list at the begging it is suggested that sorting out a pension plan through this company is easier than most of the other things that you would use a mobile phone for.


The music for this advert is very simple, powerful and rhythmic with the use of a strong drum beat to catch the reader's attention. An aspect which i would like to use for my radio trailer is used in this advert, the music stops when the list stops so the meaning of the advert is more prominent. Like the lexis advert, this one also switches the narrative voice to another one. However the switch in the Scottish widows advert is a lot more obvious. The first narrative voice is quite rugged in order to reflect the possibly difficult situations that a person can go through whilst on the phone. In comparison the second narrative voice is a lot smoother and more well spoken to imply trust and ease which is reflective of the apparent ease of sorting out a pension through Scottish Widows.



"Nipper"
HMV
http://radioville.co.uk/

In this advert for HMV they the distributors attempt to use humour to advertise their product. In this case they use a "talking dog" called nipper who is very well spoken while the main narrative patronised towards "nipper" like he would be towards any dog using stereotypical phrases like "good boy" or "good doggy" to invoke humour. This use of humour attracts the listeners' attention toward the topic of the advert which is the HMV summer sale. The technique of humour is something which i would like to use in my film trailer in order to attract potential audiences. There is also a sense of informality achieved by the casual greeting of "hi" to the listener. Like the two previous adverts there is the use of a slogan at the end which is: "top dog for music, video and games". This slogan not only ties in with the talking dog joke in the advert, but it also implies that HMV is the best through the common saying: "top dog". Unlike the two previous adverts there is no music used, this is because the distributors want the listeners to focus more on the conversation between "nipper" and the main narrator who are both giving the listeners facts about the HMV sale and the prices some of it's products.