Advertising Debates

“Audiences are completely free to ignore advertising therefore it cannot brainwash people.”

          I agree with what this quote says, as I think that audiences are active and are able to make their own choices on what they see, as the Uses and Gratifications Theory suggests. Audiences don’t believe everything they are told and have the ability to see false truths or exaggeration, unlike what the Hypodermic Syringe Theory says about people being passive.

In this L’Oreal mascara advert, you can clearly see that this mascara wouldn’t be able to make eyelashes this long without use of other eyelash enhancing products such as false eyelashes. Only a small number of people would be naive enough not to realise this, and to understand that under the tough competition makeup companies face, they will use programs such as photo-shop to emphasise a person’s looks purely for advertising purposes.  They are able to watch this advert and not automatically want to buy the product, even if they’d want to look like the model, because they can distinguish the differences between the result of the product on an advert and reality.

Safe style UK advertised ‘Buy One Get One Free’ for their windows, which is a genuine offer they are giving and isn’t false advertising. But just because an audience watches the advert, doesn’t mean they will be brainwashed into going and buying them. If the advert applies to them, and they are currently looking for windows, then they might show more interest in the advert, but if they aren’t just because a good offer is on doesn’t mean they will show any more interest in the product.

The Disney World advert shows children being told they’re going to Disneyland and asks the question ‘So when are you taking them?’ If an audience was passive, they would automatically order a Disney holiday so they could tell their children about it. But not everyone with children goes on a Disney holiday, proving audiences are active and are able to make their own opinion on an advert, without being completely manipulated.

Media Platforms

Merchandise

Merchandise is used to advertise a film before and after it is released.

This can include;
-Toys
-Clothing
-Soundtracks
-Keyrings
-Cups
-Books

This is used as advertising because other people see others with it, becoming aware of the film. Merchandise is available to people from Disneyland, from Disney stores, and online, making it highly accessible to people worldwide. Disney makes merchandise for their well recognised films, so people who have seen them can buy it. It is effective in raising awareness of a film and of the Disney brand.

Cinema

Disney distributes their films this way to an audience and use it as their first screening for most A films. Cinemas advertise themselves so they gain awareness from them too. They also advertise within a cinema, showing trailers before another perhaps related film, so the targeted audience are watching it, in an environment it’d be shown. Posters, billboards etc are also used within the cinema to advertise the film.

DVD/ BluRay

This way films can be watched at home and made more accessible for people who are unable to leave the house or need assistance watching films such as the use of subtitles. Also extras such as special features make it more appealing to buy, so people who have already been to the cinema will want to buy it and watch it again. BluRay also encourage people to buy it again as its better quality.

Internet

Advertising on the internet is seen by a huge amount of people and a large audience, so is effective to use as advertising. It can be used on websites such as miniclip where their main target audience of children is likely to be on. Youtube offers trailers to watch for free where people can comment and share their views which encourages people to get involved. Facebook pages are also used to advertise, so people can see their friends have liked and enjoyed it. Itunes can be used to distribute it so people can get access to the film without leaving the house.  

Disney’s Film Production – ‘Then and Now’

1.      Describe Disney’s early film production. What innovations did Disney make use of, and were there any drawbacks to early methods of film production?

  Disney’s first film was ‘Alice’s Wonderland’ and was created by animator Walt Disney in 1923. It was black and white as colour was available but very expensive to use. There was no sound so used titles to show speech. It featured a   mix of live action and animation. During early film making they moved to Los Angeles and set up their studio in their uncle’s garage called ‘Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio’. He couldn’t afford to distribute his own films at the time so Universal Pictures distributed his films. This was a drawback for them as they had no control over decisions such as how long the film is in cinemas for and where it is shown, also a large portion of their profits would be lost to Universal Pictures. ‘Snow White’ distributed by RKO Pictures was their first real success which bought them high profits and got them noticed, which allowed them to build a new studio in California. In the 1940s Disney produced classics, but production went down during the war. They used this to their advantage and made propaganda films to contribute with the war effort, increasing their popularity. After the war production resumed and normal and Disney created their first all live action film, ‘Treasure Island’.

2.      Describe Disney’s modern methods of film production. What options are available for Disney when they are making a film? (e.g. animation or live action, 3D). What are the benefits of some of these methods? What are the drawbacks?

       Now in Disney, in their animated films they can use CGI, which is a specialist computer programme to create places, characters, and scenes. It is very expensive and takes up time and needs high skilled employees to use it, but helps to make the animation look more realistic and flow more. It can be mixed with live action, such as in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, to make the film more interesting and exciting.  Pixar created shorts while experimenting with it, so when the two companies merged in 2006 they gained these skills. Also, giving people a choice when it comes to watching in 3D or in blue ray, makes seeing the film more appealing to watch for a larger amount of people, making the film more successful with a larger audience. But also doing this takes more time and money, slowing production down and reducing profits. 

3.      How is technological advancement in film production benefitting audiences of Disney films? (i.e. are films better quality now than they used to be? Is this what audiences want?

       Increasing the quality as time goes on allows Disney to keep up with other film companies such as ‘Dreamworks’. Audiences enjoy the classics but also want modern looking films as we’re used to seeing it and are disappointed with any lower quality. They are better quality now as Disney has a much larger budget to work with to include editing such as CGI. Using 3D gives an audience a completely different experience making it more appealing for them to watch.

4.      Who are Disney’s target audience? (Use your prior target audience profiling knowledge! A, B, C, succeeders, reformers, etc.)

       Disney makes family orientated films that are aimed at the same kind of audience. You can see this in their ideologies of family, love, happiness, and traditional gender roles. Their target audience could be mainly made up of mainstreamers as it appeals to everyone, and aspirers, as their films involve people working for success and aiming high. Any social class can watch a Disney film from A-E, but might aim for the lower end so they have an escape from normal life in the utopian world.

       

5.     Choose THREE Disney films that show Dyer’s Utopian Solutions Theory. Explain how each film demonstrates the theory, and why this will attract audiences.

       SNOWWHITE- Prince saves her at the end of the film, masculine role protecting the woman who is slim pretty and innocent.
CINDERELLA- Nasty stepmother and two ugly sisters are punished in the end, girl who did chores all her life gets rewarded.
MULAN- Men are stronger and more powerful than women, women struggle in a mans world.

Disney Films

	Release Year	Original Story	Awards	Animated/ Live	Production Distribution	Rating
Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs	1937	Willhelm & Jacob Grimm	Honorary award, oscar	Animated	RKO Radio Pictures	7.8/10
Bambi	1942	Felix Salten?	Oscar	Animated	Walt Disney Studios Home	7.5/10
Toy Story	1995	Short Film, Tin Toy.	ASCAP Award	Animated	Walt Disney Pictures	8.2/10
Peter Pan	1953	Play by J.M Barrie	Nominated for  Grand Prize of the Festival	Animated	RKO Radio Pictures	7.3/10
Treasure Island	1950	Robert Louis Stevenson's novel	Nominated TV Land award	Live	Walt Disney Pictures	7/10
101 Dalmations	1961	Novel by Dodie Smith	British academy award	Animated	Walt Disney Studios Home	7.2/10
Mary Poppins	1964	Books by P.L Travers	2 Oscars, bafta	Animated & Live	Walt Disney Studios Home	7.7/10
Jungle Book	1967	Mowgli Stories Rudyard Kipling	Oscar	Animated	Walt Disney Pictures	7.6/10
Bedknobs & Broomsticks	1971	Mary Norton	Oscar	Live	Walt Disney Pictures	6.8/10
Tron	1982	n/a	Nominated Oscar	Live & Animated	Walt Disney Pictures	6.7/10
Beauty & The Beast	1991	Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont	ASCAP award	Animated	Walt Disney Pictures	8/10
Muppet Christmas Carol	1992	Charles Dickens	Best direction	Live	Walt Disney Pictures	7.4/10
Cool Runnings	1993	n/a	BMI Film Music Award	Live		6.6/10
The Lion King	1994	Hamlet, and Kimba the White Lion	Oscar	Animated	Walt Disney Pictures	8.3/10
Pirates Of The Caribbean	2006	n/a	ASCAP award	Live	Walt Disney Pictures	7.3/10