GUINNESS TV ADVERT ANALYSIS The advert has been created to advertise a brand of beer called Guinness. Their specific message is “Good things come to those who wait”. This refers to the famous 'two-part' pour recommended for serving Guinness where the drink is poured in two stages allowing time for the drink to settle in between. The message is shown throughout the advert in a variety of ways, such as the main male character waiting at the start of the advert for the waves, and him waiting for the horses to come past before being triumphant. A primary target audience consists of those who receive the marketing messages directly, whereas a secondary target audience are those who indirectly receive the marketing message. Their primary target audience for their product is young adults with a high focus on maturity. Beer is the preferred alcoholic beverage of 69% of men aged 18 to 29, 65% of men aged 30 to 49, 52% of men aged 50 to 64, meaning this is where most of their market is catered towards. (younger-males-drink-most-sometimes-too-much, 2022) As this is their target audience, they have created the advert to appeal to young adults; they’ve done this by having young men in the advert so that the audience can relate to the advert and therefore it appeals to them. Their secondary target audience will vary depending on what time of day the advert is shown, for example showing it on CBBC at lunchtime will attract children, whereas having the advert in a commercial break between Coronation Street and the News will attract an older, more mature audience. Psychographics is a term that describes consumers or audience members based on psychological characteristics such as: • Personality, • Lifestyle, • Interests, • Opinions/attitudes/beliefs, • Values,
The advert was first aired Wednesday 17th March 1999, (Surfer, 2022), it would have been shown during the late afternoon and evening, as this is when most people come home from work and want to relax by turning the TV on. The advert was shown at this time instead of in the morning as beer is not usually drunk in the morning. The adverts could not be shown on the 2 most popular channels (BBC1 and BBC2) because the BBC is state-run and does not show adverts. The advert would therefore have been shown on commercial channels such as ITV, Channel 4 or Channel 5. It is likely the advert would have been shown between 5.30 pm to midnight. According to the TV and radio database, there were 6 shows between this time, which all had TV commercial breaks between them where the ad could have been aired. Unfortunately, there is no record of every show that was broadcast on ITV on the 17th, but an episode of Coronation Street was released on that date at 7 pm, which was prime time TV and gained 15,750,000 viewers. (Episode 4578 (17th March 1999), 2022). The episode was aired an hour earlier than usual to allow for coverage of UEFA Champions League football. This would have also been prime time/peak time TV. In the UK, prime time runs from 7pm to 11pm. (Prime Time - United Kingdom, 2022). This meant more people would be watching the channel, and therefore watch the advert when the TV breaks come on. As the advert was shown in the evening, it would make people want to go out and get some to drink while they watch the football. Guinness would want the advert broadcast at this prime time as the campaign cost $6 Million and they would want to return a profit by getting the maximum number of viewers. Daytime slots on ITV are around £3,500 to £4,500, and peak time slots can cost from £10,000 to £33,000. Daytime slots on Channel 5 can cost between £1,000 to £2,000, and peak time slots cost about £10,000 to £20,000. (TV Advertising Costs in the UK, 2022) There are many forms of ads, such as stand-alone, mini-series, mini-drama, documentary, animated, live-action and talking heads. A stand-alone advert is an advert that is not part of a mini-series. The Guinness advert is a good example of this as there are no other adverts that directly follow the same theme. The advert is also live action as it is quicker to produce and film a live-action TV commercial. The advert is also a mini-drama as it tells a story in a dramatic twist that impacts the viewer in a realistic sense. There are also many styles and persuasion techniques shown in adverts, such as:
• Humorous, • Serious, • Dramatic, • Shocking, • Fear, • Surreal, • Parody/intertextual references, • Nostalgic, • A solution to a problem, • Hidden or overt messaging, • Self-perception / envy and emulation, • Celebrity endorsement, The style of the advert is serious, fear and dramatic. The seriousness is shown through the silence at the beginning of the advert and the actors’ facial expressions. Fear is also shown through the main actors’ facial expressions, his fear of not winning is shown by him waiting for the horses to come over, fear is also shown by the other actors; when they see the horses, they become fearful of losing. As their target audience is mainly young men, they would not want to lose due to their fragile masculinity. Fear is also implied through their slogan “Good things come to those who wait.”, as it makes the viewer want to wait and feel fearful of what would happen if they don’t wait. The style of the advert is also dramatic. A dramatic advert is an advert that keeps the viewer on edge and makes them unsure of what to expect. This is achieved using silence, then booming music and the horses riding through the waves, barely missing the other surfers. There are several persuasion techniques that the advert uses, such as hidden messaging and envy. An example of hidden messaging is the music, meaning that whenever the viewer will associate the beer or Guinness brand with that song, even if it is just played on the radio. Other hidden messages include him waiting for the wave, as you should wait for Guinness, the silence of him waiting at the beginning of the advert is a hidden message to wait for Guinness, “Good things come to those who wait.” The idea for their slogan came from the negative consumer idea that Guinness takes too long to pour. (On average 119 seconds), so the slogan was created to turn the negative customer review as well as encourage bartenders to take the time to do so. (Good things come to those who wait (Guinness), 2022) AIDA stands for: • A – ATTENTION (how does it attract the potential consumer) • I – INTEREST ('low price', 'exotic location', 'recommended by experts', etc) • D – DESIRE (how does the advert convince the consumer that they want/need it?) • A – ACTION (how are the consumers guided to take action? Advert might say things like 'Hurry, act now', 'limited time offer')
The advert successfully follows AIDA, it attracts attention through its use of sound and miseen-scene. It attracts a potential customer through the crescendo of a repetitive boom, which sticks in the viewers head for hours after. There is no diegetic sound throughout the piece, just the music slowly becoming louder and faster, the beat sounds like a heartbeat that speeds up as the excitement rises. It also attracts potential customers by showing the brand’s advantages and benefits. Another way it attracts a potential customer is through the lack of colour; in 1999, it was odd for adverts to be in black and white, so this stylistic choice would catch a viewer’s attention. The advert also follows the I in AIDA, it arouses interest through the Narrative and through the tagline shown at the end of the advert “Good things come to those who wait.” The advert also follows the D in AIDA as it convinces the customer they need the project to overcome the waves and win. It also convinces people they need the project through fear. By not waiting, they may be capsized by the horses and waves. The advert also follows the final A in AIDA, it promotes action by convincing people that their beer is worth waiting for. They convince their customers to buy their beer by promoting the beers strengths and benefits. This appeals to their young male target audience as they all want to make themselves the best they can be, and stereotypically want to compare themselves to their friends; by drinking the beer they will gain the benefits. By promoting the strengths and benefits, it appeals to those wanting to achieve that kind of lifestyle. There is a main psychographics target audience too, as the ad appeals to those who want that lifestyle of waiting and winning, or to younger people wanting to be older and drink beer. Their personality is also the main psychographics target audience, appealing to people with a more extroverted personality. This is shown in the advert through the group of young men joshing around at the end, laughing and being loud which is a direct comparison to the silence at the start of the video. (Psychographics in marketting, 2022) Another psychological characteristic that has been created to appeal to the target audience is interests. If someone who enjoys surfing sees the advert, then they will indirectly and subconsciously think of the advert every time they go surfing. Their main audience classification is a C2 grade, with most beer drinkers being in the skilled working class. Their advert has also been specifically created to show the beers best qualities and what advantages the viewer can get from drinking Guinness. Their message also implies benefits, such as strength and friendship. This is shown by the group of friends together having fun,
which parallels a drunken group of men, this clever marketing subconsciously sells the idea of a good time with friends. The benefit of strength is shown through the horses, crashing through the waves and the main male staying on his board while his fiends all fall behind and are weak. This is also a lifestyle appeal, as people watching the advert aspire to be fit and healthy like the men shown in the ad, as well as wanting a lifestyle where they can josh about with friends and wait for what’s good. The Irish connection is a unique selling point for the Guinness brand. Ireland is incredibly well known for its beer, but the Unique Selling Point for Guinness is its breweries that have stood since 1759. Another Unique Selling Point is the time it takes to pour the beer, hence the slogan. “Good things come to those who wait.” The average time to pour a Guinness beer is 119 seconds. This slogan comes from the brand as you are supposed to pour half the beer, wait for the head to bubble up, then pour the rest of the drink, hence the slogan. Their brand identity is the harp, which dates to 1862 and it has continuously been featured on all their branding for over 150 years. The Guinness harp was originally based on the legendary 'Brian Boru harp', a powerful symbol of Ireland's national identity and heritage. (Guinness, 2022) Two organisations regulate advertising in the UK. They are the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) and CAP (Committee of Advertising Practice). The ASA responds to concerns and complaints from consumers and businesses and takes action to ban ads that are misleading, harmful, offensive or irresponsible. As well as responding to complaints they monitor ads to check they’re following the rules. They are responsible for ensuring that all adverts are not harmful or offensive. The work they do is self-regulatory, meaning that the work they do is funded by the advertising industry. The CAP is the sister organisation of the ASA that is responsible for writing the Advertising Codes. Advertising codes are created to ensure that every ad is legal, decent, honest and truthful and respect the principles of fair competition so that the public can have confidence in advertising. CAP and the ASA work to support the industry to help them get their ads right before they are published. The two are linked together as the ASA must clear the advert using CAP’s advertising codes before they can be publicly shown. (About the ASA and CAP, 2022) Mise-en-scene & iconography Iconography is the use of images and symbols to portray a subject, movement or idea. There are a few examples within the advert, such as a Western Iconography, the beginning of the
adverts shows the main actors face, an extreme close-up on his face, which is typically shown in a Mexican standoff. This idea is backed up by the horses throughout the advert, which are also typically in cowboy Western films. The way they come through the waves could also symbolise tumbleweed, which stereotypically appears in Cowboy Western films. Mise-en-scene is the organisation of everything in front of the camera, such as actors, costumes, props and settings. For the first 23 seconds of the advert, there is only one actor on the screen. This is to back up the slogan of “Good things come to those who wait.” After 23 seconds have passed, 4 male actors are shown in the middle of the screen, picking up their prop surfboard. All actors are shown wearing swim trunks. They are all by the sea, being towered by clicks and rocks. This is done to make the actors seem small and imply that they will not win. The setting then changes to the actors in the sea, surfing. Instead of holding their props, they are now using them and surfing on them. Throughout the rest of the advert, the setting flips between the actors swimming and on the beach celebrating. Their costumes and props stay the same throughout. Shot types, framing & composition Close-up Shot. A close-up show has been used to show one of the actors falling into the water. This shot type has been chosen as it successfully shows their face and body language. This, and the positioning of the camera, makes the viewer empathise with them as they feel as if they have fallen with him. The benefit of using a close-up is that it gives a more detailed and intimate look that we might normally miss. This shot has been
framed with the water, making the actor the main vocal point of the shot. Mid-shot. A mid-shot has been chosen as it shows the actors body language from the waist up. His legs are not important for this shot. It is also used to draw attention to the actor and his surroundings. This shot has used Rule of Thirds, where if the screen was split evenly into 9 blocks, then there is a main vocal point on one of those lines. This shot has the character in the foreground on the right line, and a character in the background on the left line. They are looking to the left into the distance, this makes the audience suspenseful of what they would be looking at. Extreme Close up. An extreme close-up shot has been used to allow the viewer to enter the characters personal space, which reveals the actor’s emotions to a heightened degree. The actor was chosen as he did not look like a stereotypical model, when creating the advert Carry said, “they didn’t want the perfect face, but instead someone who looked like they would genuinely wait for this extraordinary wave.” This would help appeal to the target audience, as it would mean the middle-aged men who the ad is directed at could relate to this “average man” who was not extraordinarily model like. (Guinness, 2022)
Establishing shot. An establishing shot has been used to introduce the setting to the viewer. It lets them know who’s on screen and where the action is happening. The framing for this piece is simple, the screen is filled with the actor’s face with little unused space in the background. As his face has been lit up, it contrasts with the dark blurred background. Long shot. A long shot has been used to show how far away the actors are, this emphasis distance and their location. It also connotes the idea that they have swum too far. The framing for this piece is has almost symmetry. The dark black background of the hills conveys the idea that something bad it about to happen and is leaning over them. As they are slightly off centre conveys a sense of unity through the repetition of the background.
Wide shot. A wide shot has been used to show the viewer who is in the scene. This wide shot shows the horses (the subject of this scene) coming over the waves, and the actors surfing in front of them. This shot was heavily inspired by Walter Crane's 1892 painting Neptune's Horses. This shot has been inspired by the painting as the God of the sea Neptune whose sea-born transport was drawn by white horses. By using the horses and the corresponding shot, it implies that it is Neptune’s horses who are beating the men. The main character who does not fall off his board because he waited is implied to be stronger than God. This is subliminal marketing, making the viewer think that by waiting and drinking Guinness, they will be stronger than God, which is a similar feeling to being drunk.
Camera Angles: High angle. A high angle is a filming technique where the camera looks down at the subject from above. It is used to convey information and elicit an emotional response from the viewer as it makes it look as if someone is looking down on the actor, with can make the subject seem small or imply failure or is of lower status than something or someone around them. This idea is contrasting to him winning at the end of the advert. This helps back up Guinness’s benefits of waiting. Low angle. Low angle shots are a technique where the camera is positioned below the eye level. It is used to show helplessness, this elicits an emotional response from the viewer and makes them empathise for those who are helpless. Birds eye. Birds eye angles are usually taken from a 40- degree to 90-degree angle and looks directly down on the subject of the piece. It is used to give an establishing shot of the waves, as well as making the viewer feel powerful as they are taller than the waves themselves. It helps emphasise how small the actors are and implies their failure. POV shot. A POV shot is used to show the actor’s perspective of what is happening. It helps the audience empathise and connect with the characters as they feel as if they are in the actor’s shoes. It also helps establish a narrative. Camera movement Zoom. A zoom shot has been used to show a change from a wide shot to a medium shot. It gives the viewer one thing to focus on.
Pan. A pan shot has been used to show the characters getting their props and running into the sea. It captures the image of a moving subject and is used to sense motion. Editing Black and white editing has been added to the advert, with a slight olive tint. (Guinness, 2022) It provides a stark contrast and a dreamlike view of the world. The black and white editing provides a hidden message. As the water now becomes a dark colour instead of blue, and the froth of the sea becomes white, it connotes the idea that they are “waiting” to dive into the waves, which is Guinness. This idea also connotes a ‘wave of flavour’. Another editing technique that has been used is cutting the shots. As the anticipation builds and the advert reaches its climax, the shots are cut quicker together, which emphasises the characters panic as the horse runs over them. Lighting There are two types of lighting used in the advert. These are natural lighting – which comes from the sun ad they are outside. Throughout the advert, but especially at the first 23 seconds, there is more lowkey lighting. This has been used to emphasise the contrast and make the audience feel curious as to what the actor is looking at. The other type of lighting used is Low Key lighting. This is predominantly used in the first shot and other extreme close-up shots. It is used to emphasise dark tones and shadows, which is ideal for a Black and White filming piece. This type of lighting created an ominous and suspenseful mood. Soundtrack (music, sound fx & dialogue) Narration has been used throughout the advert to help tell the audience specific plot points and helps to convey a narrative. As the advert reaches its climax and becomes the most dramatic, the narrator’s voice becomes louder, as if he is trying to talk over the waves, despite there being no diegetic sound. The music also gets louder as the advert progresses. The music sounds like a heart beating and becomes quicker and louder towards the end, which alerts viewers. No sound effects are used in the advert. The silence at the beginning of the advert also alerts the viewer, as the silence is almost awkward, lasting for almost 20 seconds. The first noise is narrative, saying, “He waits. It’s what he does.” Which immediately makes the viewer realise the advert is about Guinness. The last line was inspired by James Joyce, author of Ulysses, the story of an Irish
Revolutionary. This links back to their USP of being an Irish brewed and made beer. “I don’t care who you are, here’s to your dream.” Is a direct quote from the book Moby Dick, which is a book about defeating a giant sea monster. This helps back up the idea that the horses that emerge from the sea convey the idea of strength. Graphics The only graphics used throughout the entire advert is at the end. That is the text saying, “Good things come to those who…” Graphics are used in adverts to communicate the message or brand ideas to their target audience. The slogan isn’t even finished, as they assume a viewer would finish of the slogan while reading it, which shows a successful marketing campaign. Special FX The only special effects used in the advert are the CGI created horses. They have created these horses from CGI as it would have been too dangerous to use real horses. The horses are realistic to fit in with the actors and the real environment and setting. If a cartoon horse was used, it would have looked out of place and jarred the viewer. For 1999, these special effects where incredible, meaning that people spoke about their realism for weeks. The advert also won lots of awards for this. Bibliography About the ASA and CAP. (2022, January 24). Retrieved from ASA: https://www.asa.org.uk/about-asaand-cap/about-regulation/about-the-asa-andcap.html#:~:text=The%20Advertising%20Standards%20Authority%20(ASA,for%20writing%2 0the%20Advertising%20Codes.
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