MAD (WO)MEN Creative Writing for Film and Television: Creative Advertising

1. MAD (WO)MEN Creative Writing for Film and Television: Creative Advertising Advertising is the greatest art form of the 20th century. - Marshall McLuhan Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/advertising.html#eDFCBZKC0PYagCtP.99

2. How does creative writing fit in with writing advertisements? • What writing skills can we transfer from our fiction unit, to advertising? • Think of one advertisement (any media: print, digital, video) that captured your attention. What was particularly interesting about it?

3. MAD (WO)MEN

4. What is advertising? • Advertising is a form of communication, generally for a fee, with whom you represent a customer, the characteristics of a product/service for commercial purposes. The elements that characterize an advertising campaign can be summarized in three: • it’s a message that is persuasive, for a fee, • is transmitted from a source identified, • has a commercial purpose.

5. How do they do that? Commonly Used Techniques: See Advertising Technique handout

6. Watch the following clips • Which Advertising techniques do they use?

7. AD BAG: Practicing What we’ve learned • From the AD BAG, choose 1 item. • Advertise this item using FOUR different techniques that you have learned in this lesson. • Write these mini-ads on a piece of chart paper and prepare to present them to the class.

8. THE AD BAG

9. Things to consider when creating an advertisement

10. Target Audience • Who is your ad targeting? What segment of the population do you need to inform, persuade and motivate? • The main group of people that the commercial is trying to reach and convince. For example: (1) White women in their 30s (2)Single and divorced males (3) Senior citizens (4) African-American teenagers

11. Target Audience Think: • Age • Gender • Ethnicity • Location (urban, rural, country/continent etc)

13. Message • The central idea that the creators of a commercial want the target audience to believe. • What information do you want your audience to buy into? • What do you want the audience to believe about your product?

14. Message “This face cream will make you look younger and feel more attractive” “If you shop at our supermarket you will save a lot of money”

15. Technique • How are you going to get this message across to your audience? • Which techniques work the best with the message you want to send? • How many techniques do you want to use? • Which media works the best for your message and chosen techniques? • Some may work better in a print ad, while others are better suited for television.

16. Things you should pay attention to: Visual Techniques – • What you see/read in the commercial that helps promote the message and sell the product. • What is in the foreground (at the front) or the background (what is at the back), use of colours, symbols etc) • facial expressions and gestures the actors use, animation (cartoons), logos, written slogans, use of color and light, close-ups of the product, special effects, etc.

20. Things you should pay attention to: Aural Techniques – • What you hear in the commercial that helps promote the message and sell the product. • Examples: dialogue, slogan, jingle, music, testimonial, celebrity endorsement, sound effects, etc. • Top Ten Super Bowl Ads (watch a few)

21. Advertising CAMPAIGNS

22. What is an Advertising Campaign? • A coordinated series of linked advertisements with a single idea or theme. • An advertising campaign is typically broadcast through several media channels (print, commercials, billboards etc). • It may focus on a common theme and one or few brands or products, or be directed at a particular segment of the population. • Successful advertising campaigns achieve far more than the sporadic advertising, and may last from a few weeks and months to years. Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/advertising-campaign.html#ixzz2BITjceLm

23. Inform Persuade Motivate Thus, the goal of advertising is to:

24. Phase of Awareness - target audience becomes aware of the product, its characteristics and strengths Phase of Knowledge - target audience finds product credible and valid. Its purposes and functions are clear and trusted (we believe in the product, but we do not see the NEED of the product) Phase of persuasion - campaign must convince audience that the product is the right choice to them and that other products are lower Phase of the grounds - target audience purchases the product. Campaign provides reasons for purchasing the product. Movement from appreciating the product to desire to own it. Vietillo, Vincenzo.http://inspirationfeed.com/articles/business/rules-and-objectives-of-an-advertising-campaign/ http://inspirationfeed.com/articles/business/rules-and-objectives-of-an-advertising-campaign/ Campaign phases

25. Watch the following clips and complete the chart in your notes

26. Coca-cola, 1978 - “Have a coke and smile” Campaign http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffOCZYX6F8&feature=youtu.be

27. 1980: Coke makes its mark on the Super Bowl with its Mean Joe Greene ad. Part of the “Have a Coke and a Smile” campaign was one famous commercial that featured Pittsburgh Steeler "Mean Joe" Greene. In it, a young boy breaks through the defensive lineman’s tough shell by offering him a Coke. The spot, shown during Super Bowl XIV, has won several awards and critical recognition for its creative brilliance, and was even made into a TV movie. It was also successful in reinforcing the positive feelings of the Coke brand. The message was simple: drink Coke, be happy. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-great-ads-made-coca-cola-the-world-champion-of-soft-drinks-2011-2?op=1#ixzz2BIcSYmGJ

28. McDonald’s “I’m Loving It” Campaign - 2003 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI-xHMM8wXE

29. In 2003 - McDonald’s debut its “I’m Loving It” campaign in Munich, Germany. It is now the company's most successful and longest-running campaign, surpassing the iconic "You deserve a break today," and "Food, Folks and Fun," both in longevity and sales gains. Looking at the images of both the PRINT and VIDEO aspects of the campaign, how was McDonald’s aiming to re-brand its product with “I’m loving It”

30. Absolut Vodka - “The Absolut Bottle” - Still running : )

31. Absolut made their very boring, basic bottle the most recognizable bottle in the world. It was so successful they didn’t stop running it for 25 years, is still the longest uninterrupted ad campaign ever, and comprises over 1500 separate ads. When the campaign started, Absolut had a measly 2.5% of the vodka market; when the campaign ended in the late 2000s, they were importing 4.5 million cases, or half of all imported vodka in the US according to d. drew design. The lesson? No matter how boring your product looks, it doesn’t mean you can’t tell your story in an interesting way. Absolut created 1500 ads of one bottle. Be determined and differentiate your product in the same way! Read more: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32763/The-10-Greatest-Marketing-Campaigns-of-All-Time.aspx#ixzz2BIn4jmmj

32. To create a successful Campaigns: • Keep ad campaigns small and simple; • Choose a specific consumer group to target; • Do not use ads to promote personal, religious, or political agendas unless that is your business' mission; • Choose a specific product, product line or service to promote; • Use advertising techniques