Halloween
Halloween is a huge celebration that many companies love to capitalize on in order to drive sales and increase profits. Too many people, how they do this is a complete mystery and is often overlooked in the consumer society on a day-to-day basis. However, in this media diaries I will show how and why I believe the audience are being represented and who the audience actually are in some media products. The media products I am looking at today fit the theme of Halloween (During the time this is written) and include Mars - Milky Way Smart Punkin, Guinness, The true brew of Halloween and finally Asda, Halloween promotional video 2017. I have specifically chosen three varied adverts as they show the difference between how different companies represent and show different audiences in different ways.
Mars - Milky Way Smart Punkin
Mars - Milky Way Smart Punkin advert. Published in 1953 the Smart Punkin advert was a marketing strategy around Halloween time to increase the sales of milky way's chocolate bars. This advert although a very simple design, this advert is marketed towards Halloween time consumers. The cleans and sleek design of the print advert allows the advert to capture a huge market with little reference to their needs and wants apart from chocolate! With this idea in mind, I would make the assumption that this specific advert is targeted to a mainstreamer. I believe this because the mainstreamer is described as someone with a need for routine. This could relate to the celebration of Halloween every year. Halloween is celebrated by multiple nationalities and religions, so the advert does not relate to a specific race, ethnicity or religion. Although this advert could be targeted at the mainstreamers, others could argue that it drifts into the aspirer in young and Rubicon's 4cs. The reasoning behind this was that the color gold of the wrapper could signify wealth and importance in the printed advert. Therefore, the advert may relate to the aspirer. With this advert being produced in the 1950s, the advert could be targeted towards the middle class to upper class as chocolate was considered more as an "upper class" treat. With the advert being created in the 1950s, the advert may also be targeted at the stereotypical family of the time, A working Dad, A stay at Home 'Housewife' and their children. This advert was posted around shopping areas in Canada in 1953 so would be mainly consumed by the mother/ Housewife doing the shopping. Therefore, I would assume that the target audience for this advert would range from 20 - 40, A wife looking to impress their family with a more "upper-class" Treat.
Guinness "The true Brew of Halloween".
The Guinness true brew of Halloween advert was published in Canada in 2011 created to increase the sales of Guinness in the Halloween period. The advert - titled the true brew of Halloween - shows a pint of Guinness in a gloomy punkin field covered in roots of the pumpkins. This advert would be targeted towards the 18+ Demographic. This advert is targeted towards this specific audience as the legal age to consume alcohol is 18. Therefore, this advert is limited to an above age category. The true brew of Halloween adverts I believe for fills the need of the explorer. I believe this as the advert is targeted with the theme of Halloween, A usually children celebrated holiday. Therefore, the advert breaks the accepted norm of society by advertising the beer during a predominantly kid's holiday. I would further reinforce this idea by the fact that the age for drinking is 18+. This reinforces this idea as the consumer may have just turned 18 and may want to try something new (Being the product) This for fills the needs of the explorer who seek new sensations and try new things. This advert also fore fills the phycological needs from Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The need for drink. It also for fills the need for relief from pain as many consumers as alcohol use it as a coping mechanism to shut out society or relive pain or suffering.
Asda's Halloween advert 2017
The Asda Halloween advert. Created in 2017 this advert is used to promote and sell Asda's Halloween specific products. The advert is predominantly children dominated. This perhaps could show how Asda are trying to grab the attention of their younger consumers during the Halloween period. This is reinforced by the Child friendly editing style of the advert. The style of the advert I feel shares resemblances with the well-known Halloween based song Thriller by Michael Jackson which is well known by children across the county for its relatability to the Halloween period. This idea mixed with the upbeat jam of Cameo - Word up. This advert I feel would relate to a target audience of 5 to 10 - which it the prominent ages who celebrate Halloween. I believe this as the advert is trying to sell Halloween costumes target towards this age group (Seen in the small print). I believe that this advert for fills the needs of the mainstreamer as it is targeted as a family advert, where a family is seen celebrating Halloween with what seems to be the child's friends. I further believe this as the advert will have been streamed on the television around the time of Halloween. This advert will have been viewed by family's -in the category of the mainstreamer- all over the county.
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