This is an advertisement for Money Supermarket, a price comparison website, that was released in 2014. The product is a website that allows users to compare the prices for insurance, energy, and financial services with different companies to determine which will be cheaper. The overall goal is to save the user the most money. The message of the advert is that customers can save so much money with the site that they will feel 'epic' and start to behave outrageously.
Media Language
Typical adverts for this kind of product have been quite boring and often feature lots of jargon and legal language that informs the viewer. While this language is helpful, it can be very overwhelming and confusing. The advert for Money Supermarket has subverted this, it uses comedy as a hook to grab the viewers attention. At the end it directs people to their website where they will be given all of the boring details. The ads purpose is to separate it from its competitors. The lack of technical language might make it more appealing to its intended target audience, which I think is young men aged 16-40.
Representation
The advertisement plays on black culture and subverts it with the introduction of Phil, a caucasian male. The intro to the ad is almost like the opening of a Hip Hop music video, featuring similar setting, characters, and music. The two actors in the car look cool and at ease in the surroundings. The twist comes when Phil arrives and is a complete juxtaposition to the other characters. He is what we would call a stereotypical nerd, with thick glasses, goofy hair and an arrogant look on his face. One of the binary opposites at play here is black culture vs white culture, here it is used for comedic effect as we would not expect to see the character of Bill in that neighbourhood. At the end of the advert we see Bill snap out of his day dream and return to his normal life, set in a posher part of town, shopping with his wife.
Audience
The audience can make the connection from what the voiceover says that Phil is so happy/confident that he has saved money on the site that he would like to show it off in a way that is counter to our expectations. The ad appears to play on the gratification of personal identity; using this product will give the customer untold confidence and will make you be admired by not only your own peers, but people from all social groups. This has been done in a very exaggerated way here, but I think the message is still clear. Another way that the ad appeals to its audience is through star appeal. The ad features a voiceover, music, and even an appearance by the American Hip Hop artist Snoop Dogg. He has a very large fan base consisting of mostly men, also the fact that Snoop Dogg was popular in the 90s means that some older people who were interested in his music a long time ago might find in appealing that he is in this ad.
Industry
The advert has been made possible through some limited visual effects (Phil driving the invisible car). The effect is quite simple and might even be a pastiche to The Flinstones, a cartoon in which the characters drive around using their feet. The introduction of the internet has made it possible for advertisements to use their expensive ad slots not to waffle on about their product, but instead do something eye catching to grab the viewers attention. The only thing their ad needs to feature is a website and a catchy slogan. If the ad is appealing enough, then the viewer can visit the site for the details.
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