Best & Worst Advert of 2015

  

  

Figure One: 2015 Budweiser Super Bowl Commercial

Source: Budweiser. (2015).

Figure one shows a marketing campaign that was produced for Budweiser that was within the super bowl adverts. Budweiser is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev and is a pale ale that generates millions of pounds revenue each year.

Within the United Kingdom the consumption of alcoholic beverages including ales is seen as a socially acceptable, often done when meeting up with friends either in the comfort of your own home or at an event. This array of social situations where alcohol is consumed displays how large the industry is within the UK.  

Figure Two: Average weekly consumption of alcoholic drinks by gender and age within the UK

Source: Institute of Alcohol Studies. (2013).

Figure two indicates that within the United Kingdom the main target market for beer drinkers is males between the ages of 25-44, another high target market is between the ages of 16-24. These age ranges statistically are Budweiser’s core target market, as the units undertaken by females is considerably lower, meaning that Budweiser would potentially maximize their revenues by aiming their marketing campaigns at men between these age groups.

The advertisement aforementioned features a small dog that climbs into a lorry and begins its adventure to get back home. Meanwhile the animal’s owner is beside himself worrying and putting up leaflets for his lost puppy. It then goes on to depict a wolf cornering the puppy, and a final climax of the horses breaking out of the barn to save the puppy from danger.   

This advert could be argued to show a theme of togetherness through a variety of underlying messages and techniques. Togetherness is symbolised in two different ways; the first being that the horses, fellow animals, came to the rescue of the puppy connoting a spirit of connection in the animal kingdom in which all animals have a protective attribute, similar to human nature. This feeling of belonging and having a friend to protect you is parallel to the social event of drinking that is typically done in a group, surrounded by friends whom would protect another if needed. Another subtle technique is the choice of the animal being a dog, often referred to as mans best friend, when the dog is returned to his worried owner there is a sense of relief in finding what he has been looking for. To some degree I believe that this dog is a metaphor for the product Budweiser, therefore attaching this sense of relief and togetherness with the beverage.

This is my chosen advert for the worst advert of 2015 so far due to a number of reasons. As previously stated Budweiser’s’ core target market is men aged between 16 and 44, yet in this advert there is an emotional and empathetic view required to fully appreciate the theme of togetherness. I do believe this advert to be more so befitting of the female target market with the use of a small, Labrador puppy and sad storyline. Also misrepresentation can be seen in this advert as the ale does in fact not feature anywhere in the advert. If a person was unfamiliar with this brand and what they produced it would be hard to infer from the storyline what the product was. Budweiser does not feature their product once within this advertising campaign, which is another reason why I believe it to not be a successful advertising campaign.  

Figure Three: This Girl Can Advertisement

Source: This Girl Can. (2015).

The second advert shown in figure three was created by sport England, it is extremely uplifting and very powerful. It was created to enhance the number of women taking part in regular exercise within the United Kingdom.

Figure Four: Participation In Moderate Intensity Sport

(Source: Zhang, D. (2014)

Figure four indicates that within the United Kingdom participation in sport has increased over the years, however according to Parker, O. (2015). 2 million fewer women are regularly participating in sport or exercise than men, despite 75 per cent of women aged 14 to 40 saying they’d like to do more. Therefore this advert is used to promote physical activity in women in the UK, and provide inspiration and motivation.

The second advertisement features an array of women from diverse backgrounds, showing a variety of ages, different body types and limitation being overcome by women through sport, such as disabilities. All of the individuals are taking part in some form of sporting activity.

Admap. (2003). Notes that music's main contribution to an ad is to increase interest and enjoyment. This reference indicates how important the choice of music within an advertisement can be, and within this advertisement I believe that the song choice is a vital part in its aims. The song chosen is upbeat and loud, suiting the topic perfectly. Another reason for this advert being the best within 2015 is because it is a socially effective advertisement, which can be used as a tool to motivate women of all sizes, ages and backgrounds to participate in sport. For an advertisement to feature a spectrum of different females or males is extremely rare, and undoubtedly powerful within this advert, as it promotes all women coming together to push themselves and most of all enjoy themselves. A message of anyone reaching a goal if they put their mind to it is present also. The utilisation of bold and empowering words during the clip is also poignant when discussing the strengths of this advertisement, the hard hitting lines are chosen to boost women’s confidence in taking part within sport. The truest positive regarding this advert is that it confidently opposes the idyllic image of women worshipped within the media. It focuses on real women with real aspirations whom participate in sport and feel good about it. This promotes the real meaning behind the advert that is to increase the numbers of participation in sport within females.

References

Admap. (2003). Best Practice: Music in advertising. Admap, 438 (1), 12-13.

Porteous, S.D. (2001). Counterfeiting MENACE. World trade. 14 (11), 28.

Budweiser. (2015). 2015 Budweiser Super Bowl Commercial “Lost Dog”. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAsjRRMMg_Q. Last accessed 1st May 2015.

Institute of Alcohol Studies. (2013). Alcohol consumption Factsheet. Available: http://www.ias.org.uk/uploads/pdf/Consumption%20docs/Alcohol%20consumption%20factsheet%20August%202013.pdf. Last accessed 1st May 2015.

Parker, O. (2015). This Girl Can advert: Scared of working out?. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11334935/This-Girl-Can-advert-Scared-of-working-out-Watch-this.html. Last accessed 1st May 2015.

This Girl Can. (2015). This Girl Can. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN7lt0CYwHg. Last accessed 1st May 2015.

Zhang, D. (2014). Sports and Energy Drinks. Available: http://academic.mintel.com/display/710555/. Last accessed 29th Oct 2014.