The first show of the advert is the logo for the Nintendo Switch with the right joy con raised and then clicking into place. This immediately establishes what the advert is for, and who the product was made by. Three jump cuts follow this, showing brief gameplay clips from Animal Crossing, Zelda Breath of The Wild and Pokémon, three very recognisable games, especially in 2021 when this advert was made. This appeals to the mainstreamer, who look for familiarity, in this instance in brands and franchises, as Nintendo is a household name that has been making games and consoles since the early 1980’s.
After this the triplet “Play the games you want, wherever you are, however you like” is shown, directly addressing the audience as a group, switching between shots of different people using a switch. This can make the audience feel included and forced them to think of the product in relation to their own lives. It also appeals to the aspirer, who looks for media products to fit in with other people.
Another way it appeals to the aspirer is later in the advert, where it talks about the feature to “share your favourite gaming moments on your social media channels”, promising social interaction and acceptance through the product. However, this also appeals to the audience’s need for attention and need for autonomy – this product will give you something interesting to show other people. In some way, the whole advert has been trying to appeal to the need for autonomy, repeatedly addressing the audience as “you”, trying to make them feel that is product is for them specifically, not just anyone.
The next section of the advert talks about using a switch with friends and family, appealing to the audience’s Love and Belonging need to be part of a group and for companionship and affiliation need. It also appeals to the audience’s want for successful romance, showing two people on a date, using their switches to bond.
I think the demographic for this advert is American 23-year-old women who are lower class (as it isn’t just an advert for the switch, but for the less expensive version – the switch lite, and for a modern gaming console the switch is quite cheap) and who have a mild interest in gaming but mainly enjoy social interaction.
The main appeal of the product is sex appeal, which the advert uses to target the succeeder as many people view having a beautiful girlfriend/wife as necessary for being successful in life. This also uses appeal for beautiful women and successful romance. Another way in which the advert appeals to the succeeders is by using a mainly black and white colour scheme, which implies class and being sophisticated.
The advert also implies that consumers of the product have rich, luxurious lifestyles with both models being well dressed in what seems like expensive clothing. The whole ad tries to appeal to a sense of self-importance and pride, pushing the idea that you deserve the beautiful women, successful love life and rich lifestyle that is synonymous with this perfume. This also appeals to people’s dreams and fantasies.
I think this advert has one demographic in mind, but with two sub-demographics. It appeals to people who either are rich, and wish to maintain their status, or want to be, and wish to give off the illusion of status. It targets single people in their 20’s, who have an ambitious outlook of what they can get from life, targeting Americans by playing into “The American Dream”. I think the main way in which the demographic of this advert splits is gender – it appeals to men by showing them what they could have and appeals to women by showing them what they could be wanted by, so while most of the appeals are for men they can still target women.
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