Introduction to advertising

 

Create a new blog post called 'Advertising: Introduction to advertising blog tasks'. Read ‘Marketing Marmite in the Postmodern age’ in MM54  (p62). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. You may also want to re-watch the Marmite Gene Project advert above.

Answer the following questions on your blog:

1) How does the Marmite Gene Project advert use narrative? Apply some narrative theories here.

The advert creates contrast between people who hate and the people who love marmite.This is binary opposition (Levi Strauss) and the audience then purchases the item to place themselves on a side. 

2) What persuasive techniques are used by the Marmite advert?

It has an emotional appeal, its advert is different from other advertisement as it acknowledges that people hate it. It shows that they are aware of their product not being for everyone and uses this knowledge to make the audience want to find out if they are a hater or a lover.

3) Focusing specifically on the Media Magazine article, what does John Berger suggest about advertising in ‘Ways of Seeing’?

Advertising's aims are to make us dissatisfied with our current selves and lives so they promote the idea that we can buy our way to a better life with their product.

4) What is it psychologists refer to as referencing? Which persuasive techniques could you link this idea to?

We fall into lifestyles, (subconsciously or consiously) that adverts/ television influences us as it presents it as an ideal life. We could link this to 'expert opinions' as the ideology that experts have it all figured out or know whats best is in the audience heads so whatever "they" suggest would influence our purchases subconciously even if people know its a marketing technique.

5) How has Marmite marketing used intertextuality? Which of the persuasive techniques we’ve learned can this be linked to?

Zippy from the children’s television programme Rainbow is a good example. In 2007 an 18-month, £3m campaign featured the 1970s cartoon character Paddington Bear.

6) What is the difference between popular culture and high culture? How does Marmite play on this?

High culture is royalty, opera and high class paintings whilst popular cultureis more maintsream trends and music.

The strapline ‘By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen’ alongside the royal crest. Unilever has spoofed this approach, with the Ma’amite series of advertisements, typifying the irreverent nature of their product – breadsticks form a crown and the Queen’s corgi dogs replace the lion and unicorn.

7) Why does Marmite position the audience as ‘enlightened, superior, knowing insiders’?

It makes the audience feel special and then this makes themliking marmite become apart of them and their image.

8) What examples does the writer provide of why Marmite advertising is a good example of postmodernism?

Mr. Marmite. Love him or hate him; you can’t ignore him’. Since the 1990s, Unilever’s campaigns admit that not everyone will want to buy their product. Companies normally try to maximise their potential consumer-audiences, so to admit that this is a targeted niche product might seem to be against conventional advertising wisdom. Ultimately, the evidence for the success of these postmodern

ads remains sales of the product.

A/A* extension task

Read the marketing blog linked above on narrative in advertising. Which campaigns are particularly impressive in your opinion? How do they use narrative to connect with their audience?

The airbnb advert was quiet interesting. They caught the audience into a story line in order to see how the dad is going to overcome his burden of being on the west side and not he east as well as forgiving the east. They used an emotional appeal to gather an older  audience who would know more about the cold war and thus placing them self as an inclusive service that allows everyone to feel welcomed. It was clever but only would make sense to people that are of knowlegde and/or experience of the cold war.