An analysis of Lucozade, Old Spice, and Shelter advertisements.

1. Advert Analysis
Lucozade, Old Spice, Shelter

2. Lucozade sport is targeted at
people who do sport, as suggested
by the name and the use of a
famous sportsman (Gareth Bale).
Because Gareth Bale is a footballer
it may be more specifically targeted
at footballers as well as the general
sporting community. I could be
assumed that the target audience
for the drink would be between
about the ages of 12 to 16 because
there are more children and
teenagers that drink Lucozade then
adults.
There is a play on words
on the advert “In a different
league” which could
reference football in the
advert, but also that the
drink is better than others
because it is ‘in a different
league’.
The colour scheme of the advert is mainly blue and
yellow with parts of black and white. The blue and yellow
are the same shades that are used on the packaging of
the product which make it explicitly clear that the product
on sale is Lucozade sport. The blue colour scheme is
also carried over onto the eyes of Gareth Bale. The blue
colour of his eyes appears artificially enhanced to be a
better match for the background of the advert.
The use of the exclamative
‘yes’ at the bottom of the
advert is positive affirmative.
Although it has no context it
represents the product
positively.
The adverbial phrase
‘scientifically proven’ is
ambiguous because it doesn’t
state what has been proven.
However, like the word ‘yes’ it
positively represents the
product and makes it, maybe,
more appealing to consumers.
The audience response to the
advert would be to purchase the
drink, and then drink it in order to
be like Gareth Bale. This is more
likely the reason for younger people
top buy the drink as they may be
fans of his and under the illusion
that drinking Lucozade Sport will
make them a footballer like him.
At the very top of the page the advert
references the company that Lucozade
is owned by: GlaxoSmithKline. This is
a pharmaceutical company that owned
the brand until 2013 when it was sold
to the Japanese company ‘Suntory’.
The fact that the company was
pharmaceutical shows where the drink
originated as it was sold to ill people.
The representations visible in the
advert are that of a white,
masculine, famous, sports
personality. Gareth Bale is a
popular footballer and this would
attract consumers, especially
children and young teenagers.
These representations are used
to represent the drink as suitable
for masculine sports people.
In the corner, there is a profile of
Gareth Bale. This may be to show
what people can achieve if they
drink Lucozade. But it may also be
there incase some members of the
public are unaware of Gareth Bale
and his achievements. If this
information was available it may m
sake these people feel as though
the product id out of their reach and
is not aimed at them so they may
not buy it.

3. The advert is set in a beach
location with waves. This is
reminiscent of the original Old
Spice adverts that were in the
water. It keeps connections with
the original product to possibly
maintain the customers that the
brand may have had for a long
time. There are palm trees and
white stallion in the advert which
make the product seem perfect
and that it will create a sense of
luxury.
The advert contains the
actual product in the hand
of Isiah Mustafa so that it is
made explicitly clear what
the advert is promoting.
This is important because
the strange events of the
advert it need to be shown
what is actually being
promoted.
The classic, original logo of Old
Spice is featured in the advert.
This shows how the brand is still
the same, which would maintain
trust with long-term customers
who have supported the brand for
a long time. The old-style font
used connotes feeling of
authenticity with the product.
Isiah Mustafa is the main feature
of the advert. He is stereotypically
good-looking due to his muscular
physique. He has a ‘causally’
draped sweater over his
shoulders, an intense expression.
He also has a hand placed on his
hip in a devil may care fashion. In
the advert he talks with a deep,
manly voice. The combination of
all of these elements aids the
representation about Old spice
being a ‘manly’ brand. It makes it
seem as though Old Spice turns
you in to the man in the advert.
The colour scheme in the advert is mainly pastel colours, with
a light blue for the sea and sky, accompanied with sand and a
white horse. There is a slight bit of green on the right side
where there are palm trees. This connotes nature and makes
Old Spice appear natural and clean. The pale colours help
with the idea that paradise can be achieved with Old Spice
because the colours are calm and not harsh or intense. The
burgundy is used because that is the colour of the brand logo
and the bottle of the product they are selling. The burgundy
contrasts pleasantly with the pale blue background.
The target audience for this product
would be man because there is a direct
mode of address towards men in general.
The advertising of who they want to buy
the product, however, is women because
of the way the dialogue takes place within
the advert - it is as though Isiah is talking
to the heterosexual women in the
audience and telling home that in order to
get their man to be a real man they need
to buy him Old Spice grooming products.
The audience response to the
advert would be for either men
to buy the product for
themselves in order to
impress their partner or
girlfriends and wives to buy
this product for their partner in
order to make them smell
more manly.
In recent years, men have been
more bothered with their
appearance and grooming than
they were historically. Because of
this the products that are targeted
for men have changed. They have
also had to sell the products in a
different way because these
products are not just bought by
women for men, but also by men
for themselves.

4. The colour scheme of these adverts is very
standard. Red, white and black go together very
well as a trio. The simplicity of the colours mean
that the message of the advert is carried across
easier than it would be if there were more complex
colour combinations. The simplicity could also be
seen as a way to show that it is not a complex
process to get advice from Shelter but instead it is
very simple and easy so people should do it before
they get into an extremely bad housing situation.
Because the advert doesn’t mess round with
colours it also connotes a sense of seriousness
about the issue and shows that homelessness isn’t
a joke.
In the logo for the charity
the ‘h’ is in the shape of a
house. This shows the
audience that the charity
is to do with housing if
they weren’t sure at first.
It also means that they
don’t have to read the
whole poster to
understand what the
charity helps.
The poster has information such as the
website and a phone number with the
phrase ‘to donate’. This information is
on the advert to make it clear that
Shelter is a charity that is there to help
and support but also needs money and
support to keep going as a charity.
Each of the posters contains a different
scenario that shows different ways that
people can have housing problems and
face homelessness. This is employed to
inform people that there a number of
ways that cause people to face
homelessness so should be aware of
them in case any happen to them. It
creates a sense of realism about the
problem and that it is a threat to many
people.
The advert contains emotive language in order to appeal to the
sympathetic nature of people. The words printed across the
faces of the people in the adverts makes people think about
others and feel sorry for those facing homelessness so that they
will donate to the charity. Because they are simple sentences
that are fairly vague, in terms of context, I makes people feel as
though this could happen to them, their friends, or their family
and so they feel obliged to help by donating.
The lack of representation with
diversity in the images on the posters
mean that people don’t stereotype
those that face homelessness. The
people used look ‘average’ and don’t
look scruffy and dirty as people
assume homeless people are. This
causes people to realise that
homelessness can happen to anyone
and isn’t specific to certain types of
people. There is a possibility that the
people featured in the advert are
ethnically diverse, however it is not
obvious.
The adverts follow the same sentence
structure in the bold white writing
underneath the mouths of the people. It
has a declarative statement followed by
the words ‘We can help.’ This is
repetition and makes people in these
situations feel reassured because it
makes them feel as though the charity
is there for them in their time of need.
The fact that all of the adverts use a close
up of the faces expresses a sense of
vulnerability for the people in the advert.
It seems as though they are in a very
tough situation and are struggling to get
out. It shows that in these situations you
may feel weak, and vulnerable but
Shelter are there to help and will try to
solve the problem as best as they can.
The expressions on the faces of those shown in
the adverts is extremely blank. This again helps
with the representation that homelessness can
happen to anyone. It makes the possibility of
homelessness more real for the audience. The
blankness also allows the audience to read into it
how they want to. For example, they may view
that the people are truly broken and in a bad
situation.
The target audience for these posters is
likely to be people over the age of about
25. By this time the majority of people
either own or rent property and so these
issues will affect them the most,
especially young people who don’t know
what tenants are supposed to act and
how they are supposed to be treated.
With these adverts there is a sense that social consciousness and collective
responsibility. They appeal to the side of people that want to help others and
make sure they don’t end up in these terrible situations. The posters also
serve the purpose to educate people, briefly, about homelessness.