I created a single 1 minute advert for Jelly Belly
jelly beans. Prior to creating the advert, I conducted a series of research
tasks in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the specific advertising
techniques, forms and structures which are used in the advertisement industry.
The ultimate aim of any advert is to gain the audience's attention with the
hope that they will consequently buy the product.
Research Evaluation
The main method of research I conducted was through
the analysis and investigation of existing ads. I looked at the brand identity,
target audience, structure, persuasive techniques and existence of ASA rulings.
The advert I found most useful to analyse was Sharwood’s ‘Bring on the colour’.
This was one of my favourite ads and because I found it extremely attention
grabbing, I knew that I wanted to create my advert with a similar essence.
Within my brand identity analysis of this ad, I picked out words such as
‘colour’ ‘taste’ ‘smile’ and ‘fun’. As this research fed into the production of
my advert, it was great to hear feedback from my peers on my advert, of which
one of my survey questions was ‘how do you feel after watching the ad?’ and the
most popular answers were ‘happy’ ‘uplifted’ and ‘hungry’- very similar responses
to that of what I felt after watching the Sharwood’s ad. Although this advert
didn’t have a specific storyline or narrative, I felt it was just as effective
in reaching the TMA. It made me feel confident that I did not need to include a
narrative in order to create a successful advert, because other persuasive
techniques could be used to inspire my audience- I did this by following their
conventions of high-key lighting, a catchy soundtrack, lack of narrative and
fast paced editing in order for my final ad to appear similar to a professional
one.
I also analysed a Haribo star mix advert, of which
was essential to my research as they were advertising a similar product. From
this I learnt that using persuasive techniques such as humour is really
effective, and that targeting a typically ‘childish’ product at an older
audience can be done. I didn’t want to include any offensive language or harmful
material in my advert, I wanted to keep it fun and silly just like that of the
Haribo advert. I felt confident that this style would appeal to my TMA (16-24
year olds) because for me, as a member of that specific TMA, I felt the nature
of this ad was heart-warming and likable. Therefore, In my advert, I aimed to
keep the structure and persuasive techniques light and jolly, just like the Haribo
advert. I think looking at existing ads of a similar product was really helpful
in understanding how to reach the TMA and how to display the product in an
original and exciting way.
It was interesting to investigate an array of
adverts (I also analysed a coco mademoiselle and foxy bingo advert) because it
meant that I understood the different structures and techniques used across the
industry. However, I feel that by looking at adverts which were more geared
towards the style I was hoping to produce was much more beneficial. If I were
to conduct my research again, I would look more into the advertisement of
sweets and confectionary, and those which have similar conventions to the
advert I hope to make. This means that I would be able to gain valuable
inspiration from a specific market research.
I also conducted a small questionnaire regarding
scheduling and form. The responses of this survey were pictured in my initial
advertisement pitch. From the 29 responses I received (within my TMA) I learnt
that channels such as ITV, E4, and Comedy Central were the preferred choices of
my audience. I was to bare this in mind when creating my advert. By also watching
such channels myself, I took special attention to the advert breaks and got a
clear understanding of what kind of ad would fit within such channels.
Furthermore, I conducted some institutional
research into the preferred channels chosen by my audience, to get an idea of
their specific market appeal and genre. By gaining this research I could direct
my advert to be fitting to this style. E4 sales described that they are an
‘entertainment destination for a cutting edge young audience’ their audience is
‘very strong for 16-34s’ particularly women and ABC1 groups. Below, I have
attached a screenshot from my initial advertisement pitch, of which my specific
audience profile ‘Joanna’ fits this description very well. What’s more, E4
describes ‘E4 viewers are predominately young and upmarket, but they’re also
fashion conscious, sociable, connected, heavy internet users, they love going
out and tend to use advertising as one of their many information sources’ By
looking into the market of a well-established TV channel, of which my research
displayed is very popular for my TMA, I was able to gear my advert to becoming
relevant and applicable to that of my desired broadcasting channel.
When I gathered my feedback from my survey
regarding the scheduling of my advert, I asked ‘what channel would you expect
to see this advert on?’ The most popular choice by far on the survey was E4
(70.37%).
Also within that small research questionnaire I
discovered that my target audience preferred adverts which go by the form of
‘colourful and lively’ and ‘informative and relatable’. I also took this into
account within the production of my ad. I learnt that adverts which took to a
style of ‘dramatic and passionate’ were more appealing to the higher age
brackets, so I was to veer away from this form of persuasion.
My final was into the product and brand itself. I
investigated Jelly Belly’s brand identity in depth and produced an 18 slide
presentation pitch based on this research. In terms of existing ads, they were
very limited within the jelly belly company, with 5 small 11 second ads which
consisted of not much more than a small animation. This raised questions as to
why they hadn’t established a strong use of advertisement for such a big
company. The reason for this may be because it is so well established and
popular, it does not need advertisement to boost sales. . I learnt that the
brand is extremely popular in many countries and perhaps this was the reason
why they did not have many adverts. However, I planned to embrace this
popularity and portray the colourful style of their website and brand identity
in my advert.
I had freedom of creation and could develop my
ideas based on what I had gathered from researching the company. Their website
is bright and colourful, with a large array of visually appetising options. It
included the history of the product, the flavours, ingredients, values and
product extensions of the brand. I was able to gather a clear grasp of the
brand identity via its website.
Something I discovered from the website was ‘Jelly
Belly art’. This is artwork totally made out of jelly beans. I found these
creations very aesthetically pleasing. After researching this type of brand
extension, I knew that I wanted to include this style of art in my advert. I
transferred this idea into a stock motion animation, as I did not feel I had
the skill or patience to create a complete masterpiece out of jelly beans. Instead,
I used the jelly beans to create shapes via a stock motion animation, of which
I feel this was one of the strengths of my advert. (See below for jelly belly
art research (left) and my adaption (right)) I felt it was a strength because
it was cutting-edge and fresh, of which I knew would be appealing to my TMA. It
also allowed me to develop a new skill of animation, of which I can develop and
use in the future.
The research technique I found most useful was the
analysis of existing ads, especially the Sharwood’s advert. By gaining an in
depth understanding of a similar advert to that of what I hoped to produce
meant that I was confident in what techniques to use in my production (camera
angles, editing styles, etc.) and also what persuasive techniques are effective
and relevant to the style. This is reflected in the fast-paced editing of my
final production and the use of a catchy soundtrack and bright colours.
Production:
Before creating the advert, our class conducted
mini ‘demo’ adverts, to get an insight into what we were to expect. This was a
useful exercise and I can definitely see how my skills have improved since
then. Mostly with editing and creativity aspects, I was not very creative in
terms of ideas for the production of my demo; we simply constructed a basic
narrative of a boy studying and the product 9energy drink) helping him do so.
Also, the editing and camera techniques were not up to industry standard, especially
in terms of lighting and camera angles. For example, we were filming in a
classroom with artificial lighting which produced a yellow tone. I had not had
much practise with editing for a while so I had to refresh my skills in that
field. But it was important to get an insight into the production processes of
filming and editing of which I were to expect.
I aimed to include as much of my initial concepts
presented in my pitch and storyboard into my advert, as from what I had gained
from my research, I was confident of the basic structure and style I wanted to
create. A lot of what I’d hoped to achieve was successful, but I had to change
a few things along the way. For example, with no budget, I was unable to fund
enough jelly beans to fit a glass jar, a scene on my storyboard where my second
actor, Tom, takes the beans from. Therefore, I changed that scene to fit the
circumstance- instead; he was shot with a hand already full of jelly beans.
Another
challenge I faced was reliability with my second actor.
It was rather last minute when he had a spare chance to shoot. We ended up
filming during a lunch time, and it a little rushed and unorganised. Although I
managed to overcome this difficulty by sticking to my storyboard to cut out
time and get the desired shots, I learnt that taking time to book actors at a
time that fits you both is extremely important. It’s vital to leave some extra
time to re-shoot if necessary. I also learnt that you must always have a clear
vision in your head of what you want to film, so that if it is last minute, you
are ready to set up the camera and shoot.
Even though it was shot in the same location as my
other actor Leona, it was later in the day and the lighting was not as bright
and clear. I tried to overcome this problem via post production editing but I
found it impossible to reach the tone of high-key natural light like that of my
first actor. Although I was able to develop my skills in colour correction in
the post production process, I learnt that it is important to schedule shoots
which rely on natural light at similar times of the day to gain an effect of
continuity editing.
Another aspect of my production I feel is weak is
the ‘Taste the Fun’ signs. Due to the last minute availability of Tom, I rushed
to print them off. I feel as though use of a different font and more time and
effort would’ve meant they were created to a higher professional standard. I
now know its integral when you’re unsure of shooting schedules to have props
ready. In the client feedback I received from Bill Smith he said ‘I don't like
the holding up bits of paper... it's a cliché!!’ If I were to create the ad again, I would
definitely improve these scenes with Tom, by improving or perhaps abolishing
the paper signs.
In order to create the animation, I faced a new
technique when creating my advert. I decided to use the stop motion animation
software ‘DragonFrame’ to produce the clips where the jelly beans were creating
shapes via a variety of sequences. I was grateful to learn a new skill, because
it meant that I was able to develop my abilities as a film maker. At first it
proved difficult to understand the software, but via a process of self-teaching
and finding my way around the programme, I was able to create a successful
animation which replicated that of my storyboard. Using the programme saved a
lot of time and as this software is used in the industry, it made the animation
seem like it was made to a professional standard. It was great to use this new
skill in the production of my advert. I was happy with the outcome of the
stock-motion animation, and luckily did not face any major problems. This was
because of my strict attention to the placement of the jelly beans, as any
minor movement could affect the animation. I have learnt that dealing with
‘products’ or any form of animation is very reliable as opposed to relying on
people and places. The reason for this is because I was able to strictly control
the direction of these shots in accordance to how I had desired.
I felt that another strength of my advert was the
idea of the changing lip colour. This is because the final edited sequence
reflected the ideas I had displayed in my storyboard. When editing, I spent a
lot of time lining up the position of the lips so that it didn’t seem jumpy and
continuity editing was achieved.
However, there was some confusion with the shooting
of these scenes - primarily, I had bought some cheap face paints which did not
work on my actors lips. So we had to re-schedule for the following week, after
I had purchased some better, oil-based paints. During this second filming, we
over ran by a few minutes and unfortunately disrupted the start of my class. I
had lacked organisation of time-keeping, as I had not expected the need to
re-shoot. I realised I should’ve tested the paints first to see if they were
appropriate prior to the first shoot, as it would’ve saved a lot of time and
hassle for both me and my actor. As she is a close friend of mine, I was very
lucky that my actor was quite flexible and able to accustom to the
difficulties. But in an industry environment, I perhaps would’ve have had this
space to make mistakes.
The effects and transitions between scenes worked
really well to show the fun, almost cheesy style of my advert. I really like
the part where the sun animation of jelly beans comes onto the screen, because
it highlights the importance of the shape (the sun) which has connotations to
happiness and light. The overlapping, wipe transition and fade of the jelly
bean logo made the fast paced editing easier for the audience to process,
because it meant it was not just a variety of cut together shots, but a flowing
advert. I also developed my techniques on adobe premiere pro, as I discovered a
variety of new transitions. E4 typically shows sit-coms such as Malcom in the
middle and friends, whereby they often use a ‘wipe’ to show a cut between
scenes. By using such effects in my ad meant that it would resonate with my
audience.
I had kept the consistency of the theme through the
ad; my persuasive techniques of repetition and brand exposure were definitely
brought in to the editing of the video. I repeated the same animation with the
dancing jelly bean man at the start and end of the advert, and although I did
not adopt a narrative structure, I feel as though it brought a nice ending to
the film. Furthermore, the audience would feel a sense of recognition which
would hopefully mean they consequently buy the product- brand recognition being
essential to the advertisement industry. I had found out my audience ‘relies on
advertising as one of their many sources of information’ and by constantly
being exposed to the logo meant that they could link this brand with
connotations of happiness and joy, through the use of the smile scenes and all
the persuasive techniques I had used in my advert. (High key lighting, happy
music, bright colours) In terms of high key lighting, during the animation I achieved
this by using a light box underneath the white paper. This meant the jelly
beans had no shadows, shadows often connoted with darker tones, of which I wished
to eliminate from my advert.
Feedback
I was grateful to receive a large array of feedback
from classmates, focus group, questionnaire and advertising professionals.
The first bit of feedback I received was from my
classmates. We all showed each other our ads in class (although they were not
all finished at this point). We were given evaluation sheets regarding
aesthetic, technical and creative qualities, narrative and overall success. As
our ads were not quite finished, it meant that we had space to improve but it
also meant that we were evaluating what was essentially a work in progress, so
the feedback was not quite credible as they may have not gained the full
picture of what were we hoping to display. Also, I felt that any comments on
editing techniques were not quite credible because I was yet to polish up
transitions.
We had to identify what persuasive techniques were
used, identify brand identity, target audience and scheduling. We also picked
out any strengths or weaknesses of each other’s adverts. Overall, I gained good
feedback from my peers, with the ranking of creative and technical qualities consistently
gaining 8-10 marks out of 10. However, I felt that by ranking such qualities
out of 10 was not valuable for me, as it meant I did not have a basis on what
to improve on.
What I found much more helpful was the section
where we had to write the strengths and weaknesses of each other’s adverts-
here I received suggestions of including a voice over and logo, something which
I definitely took on board throughout the rest of my editing. I took it on
board because brand demonstration and a call of action are essential to all
adverts, something of which my fellow media classmates are very knowledgeable
about. Although the ranking aspect of this feedback wasn’t extremely useful,
the positive comments such as ‘you have really demonstrated the product in a
fun and lively way’ helped to both boost my confidence, and the calls for improvement
helped me construct my ideas.
I conducted a small focus group of 5 people (Aydin
Herron, male, age 18, Chantelle Parkin, female, age 17, Dexter Roskilly, male,
age 19, Kyle Strong, male, age 18, Elena Cooke, female, age 18).
After I showed them the finished advert, they all
commented on the success of the ad immediately afterwards, which was nice to
hear. The first thing I asked my focus group was ‘what is your initial reaction
after watching the video?’ One individual said ‘very creative’ and another explained
‘it’s really fun and catchy’. They said the reason for this was because of the
colours and sound – someone saying ‘It’s a nice jingle’. It was important to me
that I gained this comment because in the professional production of adverts, a
soundtrack is key for assuring that the audience remembers the product.
Two people later commented ‘It makes me want to eat
one’ I feel as though I achieved this through my persuasive technique of brand
demonstration. As the ultimate aim of any ad is that the audience will go out
and buy the product, this piece of feedback was very assuring.
Other comments included ‘It seems legit’ and ‘the
white background makes it seem professional’. Someone also said ‘It’s like a
proper ad mate’ I was glad to hear that my production replicated that of professional
standards. However, important to understand that the focus group all know me as
a friend and were probably less likely to criticise. They were not industry
professionals so in terms of technical conventions they were unable to comment
in a knowledgeable manner. Nevertheless they are part of my focus group so any
feedback is still credible.
In terms of
improvements, the comment ‘I can imagine it being great for younger kids’ is
important to bear in mind, regarding that my focus group is of the higher age
bracket. But as I mentioned that they are not industry professionals, I feel as
though I achieved a brand identity with my TMA through my use of social media
promotion.
Another area
of improvement mentioned was that of the font, something which I completely
agreed with. If I were to make this advert again, I would definitely change the
font. The reason for this is because I used a well- known, mainstream font and
it seems childish and boring. I would perhaps create my own font which would be
unique and eye-catching. However it was difficult to do so after receiving my
feedback because the font was included in shots where my actor is holding the
paper saying ‘taste the fun’, and it would’ve been hard to re-shoot. I reluctantly
kept the same font in the last too, because I wanted to keep the consistency.
This
process really helped me understand the importance of primary, audience
specific research.
I published the advert to YouTube and created a
survey monkey questionnaire to gain feedback from the wider public. The survey
consisted of 10 different questions, and I got 29 responses. Firstly, I asked
age and gender. 82.76% of my survey responses were within the age bracket
16-24, I also had a fair range within gender; however there were noticeably
more females. As I specified in my pre-production that it would be aimed
further towards the female market, and towards those aged between 16-24, I was
happy with the age and gender range of my responses.
I created a multiple choice answer question of
which each respondent were to rate the advert under 7 headings from ‘terrible’
to ‘excellent’. This included them rating the production in terms of aesthetic qualities,
narrative, camera technique and more. (see below) 
Although it was helpful to get an idea of the
stronger and weaker points of my advert, receiving this information in the
format I had portrayed was not too helpful. The reason for this is because I have
no idea why specific respondents answered ‘poor’ ‘good’ or ‘excellent’. There
was no constructive commenting on these qualities, of which I could gain
specific, detailed feedback of what I excelled in and what I needed to improve.
But in terms of getting an idea of the general response of certain qualities,
this question proved helpful. I found out that the editing and creative
qualities were those of which scored the highest weighted average. This was
good because I had focussed on such qualities during the production process- I wanted
to demonstrate a creative flair to capture my audience’s attention, and editing
was vital for my advert to demonstrate fast paced, upbeat conventions.
I understood the lower ratings of feedback for
narrative, as my advert did not in fact even have one! I realised that I perhaps
shouldn’t have included this question because it was not relevant to my
production.
My questionnaire respondents weren’t industry
professionals so similarly to my focus groups, although the feedback wasn’t perhaps
credible to industry standards, it was vital to gain an idea of what my target
market thought of the production.
It was interesting when I asked what time of day my
audience would expect to see the advert, when the overwhelming response was
‘Daytime- between 12-4'o clock’
This was interesting because a lot of my TMA
wouldn’t be typically watching TV at these hours. I think this was a popular
answer because of the upbeat, happy style of the ad, and this can be related to
sunshine and daytime. But as these are typically working hours of which a lot
of 16-24 year olds would be at college or university, it demonstrated the lack
of industry knowledge as they probably didn’t take into account their own
personal TV watching habits when answering the survey.
I gained some professional client feedback from a
family friend who is head of advertising at EE, and he completed a thorough
evaluation of my ad, especially in the ‘what would you improve?’ and ‘general
successes’ aspects. These were the aspects of which the survey respondents were
able to write constructive comments, something which I found much more helpful
when I gathered my feedback. He commented on the success of the visual
branding, and the stop motion animation. Aspects of which I have spoken about
in this evaluation and also feel as though are strengths of my advert. I
definitely listened to his feedback on the lack of call of action at the end of
the video. This pushed me to include links to Facebook, twitter and Instagram,
and to include a voiceover. I feel as though the links to social media not only
creates a call of action but also resonates with my target audience. Although I
know him, he gave me professional and legitimate feedback as if I were an
industry professional, which was brilliant. It pushed me to fit to industry
standards by including his suggestions for improvements.
Another improvement I gathered from conducting my
survey was regarding the length of the advert. Halfway through my editing, I
had decided to change my idea into two 30 second ads, which were more catchy
and relevant to the fast paced editing technique and form of my advert.
However, I felt that this would stray quite far away from my initial plan and
storyboard, meaning I was underprepared to create a brand new second ad. I
decided to pursue the minute long ad, but was mindful to keep the audience's
attention. The way I overcame this was by adding some extra features such as
the jelly beans changing colours above toms head whilst he was eating them. I
liked this additional aspect and it stretched my editing technique and added some
originality to the second half of my video.
Finally, I received some more client feedback from
latest TV’s Bill Smith. His email feedback was as follows:
Cool ad!!
I love the beginning and first 25 secs are really fab...
love close
ups and fast cut but I think the second half slows
it down! I don't
like the holding up bits of paper... it's a
cliche!!
Your start is great! Just speed up cut after 25
secs and ad should be
about 40 secs. You need a wilder ending! Think
wild!!!
But you have the basic idea for a fab ad.
All best
Bill
I generally felt positive about his response,
especially the use of exclamation marks meant that he was excited and
enthusiastic about my ad! I was in total agreement with his recommendations,
and the improvements he suggested were aspects I was aware of myself, having
already mentioned the length and paper signs as aspects for improvement. It was
positive that I agreed with the client feedback recommendations, as it shows
that I am aware of industry standards.
I definitely put a lot of time and effort into the
production of the advert, and although I recognise areas for improvement for
next time, because of the large array of positive market research, I am
confident that the hard work paid off. I feel as though I’ve created a near-professional
ad, and that I have grown a lot of new skills and techniques as a result of the
whole production process.
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