shelter analysis

Shelter is a charity aimed at helping people facing homelessness/ at risk of becoming homeless but unlike The Big Issue is not aimed at those who are already homeless. These adverts followed after a government cut on social housing in 2010. This cut meant that social housing (counsel homes) were cut by 60% which greatly increased the number of people who became homeless. 

The clear message in this advert is for people to seek help from shelter before they lose their homes. For example, it encourages people in debt, people with difficult landlords, and people who have lost their job to reach out and get help. This is shown by the writing under the slogans that say 'losing your job doesn't have to mean losing your home.' , 'as a tenant, it can be hard to know where you stand.' , and ' debt can seem to hard to face, but left alone can threaten your home'. All of these are followed by ' we can help' which encourages people in difficult situations to get help early before it comes to them being homeless. These are all powerful messages that show how desperate the people who need to go to shelter are. 

The use of close-ups helps us see the people's facial expressions of worry and fear. This shows their vulnerability. The use of both male and females that do not have a clear age, class, or ethnicity helps to show that anyone can be affected not just stereotypical homeless people. 

The search bar at the baseline reinforces the idea of searching for help as well as telling people where they should go to get that help. The red colour scheme enforces the idea of fear that people face when homelessness could become an issue in their lives.

Old Spice analysis

Old Spice is an American brand of male grooming products introduced in 1937 that sells deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, and soaps. This advert is for their Bahamas scent antiperspirant. The advert features Isaiah Mustafa an American actor and former football wide receiver.

The advert shows a mid shot of Isaiah with his head edited to be a volcano and his body to be an island. On the island is cartoon like pictures of a man fishing, a woman sunbathing, a man buried in the sand, a man on a boat, and animals such as crabs and a monkey.

This old spice advert is self mocking in many ways. The first way it is self referential is that it acknowledges that adverts lie. This is shown in by the words “old spice Bahamas scent comes from an antiperspirant mine in the Bahamas. This fact has not been fact checked.” this adds humour to the advert as people obviously know there are no such things as ‘antiperspirant mines’

Another way this advert is self mocking is through the use of hyper masculinity through the man (Isaiah Mustafa) in the advert. His facial expression shows confidence however it is clearly in a mocking, non-serious way. This could be enforcing butler's idea of gender performativity. Butler suggests that we learn our gender and act in a way according to what we have learned. Barthes Mythical masculinity is also used in this advert as Isaiah Mustafa is a very 'typical' man in the sense that he is muscular and 'attractive'.The use of exaggerated masculinity in this advert suggests that people know what it is to be masculine and can play on it.  

The advert is also post modern. This is shown through the mix and match aesthetic of a picture of Isaiah Mustafa and the cartoonish pictures. Another postmodern technique is the use of Baudrillard's idea of hyperreality through things such as the man fishing who caught a shark. This is a clear exaggeration of the truth. 

This advert also links to another famous television advert by Old spice. This is because it uses the same concepts of hyper masculinity, self mocking, and exaggerating the truth.

lucozade 'in a different league' analysis

The lucozade 'in a different league' advert features Gareth Bale. Gareth Bale is a Welsh football player who currently plays for Real Madrid.

'In a different league' suggests that the product, lucozade, is above the rest and better than other products on the market. This relates to Gareth Bale who is seen as a good player but is also literally in a different league as he plays in la liga rather than premiere league.

Gareth Bale also has a 'squeaky clean' reputation which is shown in the way he is styled (neat hair and clean shaven). This helps to represent the brand in a positive light.

Mythical masculinity is also portrayed in the advert as Gareth Bale is clearly a typical male. This is shown through the mid shot of Bale. This means we get to see both his facial expression and the upper half of his body. As a football player he has an athletic body and is standing with confidence. Also is facial expression is quite serious. Both of these portray a typically masculine appearance.

The advert also uses the persuasive technique of facts by saying 'scientifically proven' next to a close up of the product. This is backed up by Bales statistics on his performance being in the top corner as it shows that lucozade is 'scientifically proven' to make people better athletes like Bale.

The blue and yellow colour scheme is reinforced in the advert as they represent the product