"Make Google Do It" was a campaign run by Google in 2018 promoting the new Google Assistant. It ran across TV and online using a video advert and also across billboards and newspapers in the form of print.
Consistency of message
The key message/slogan throughout the adverts is "Make Google Do It". In the video advert, it features many clips of actors stating what they need "To Do", and then displays white text saying "Make Google Do It". These things are relatable thoughts to what most people would have on a daily basis such as "Did I leave the heating on?" etc. This message is also used in the print ads, where it states all the things the assistant can do such as "Skip It", "Play it", with the text at the end stating "Make Google Do It". So the same message is displayed across the different advertising mediums - making the consumer aware of different everyday tasks that the Google assistant can do for you.
The font is the same font used throughout all the marketing and a colour theme of Black and White is always used. In the advert the overlay text is white, but the end card has black text with a white background. The print advert has the slogan in black text on a white ground. Showing the theme running across the campaign.
Link from the TV to print ads
The message of the advert flows between the two mediums by the use of the same slogan and the use of repetition. Both types of advert use repetition of all the things the product can do with the slogan bookending these. This repetition will help the user remember it as they hear it over and over.
Also, the use of the white background with black text and the recognisable "Product Sans" font is always used. This font is used across all Google products not just through the advertising and the company specifically designed the font for themselves. This has now become recognisable as "The Google Font" which many people will associate the company and its products with.
The same Colours are used throughout Google advertising. In both the TV ad and the print ads the Google Black, grey, white, red, yellow and blue colours are used. For the same reason as the font, we now recognise this combination as "Google", therefore making the products identifiable immediately to the consumer.
Google advertising is also always "Bold". The TV advert has the slogan in huge text flashing up on the screen at multiple issues. Meaning its going to have an impact on the viewer no matter what size display they are viewing it on - it cannot be missed. The same applies to the print advert. The text takes up the majority of the ad space, making it stand out and unmissable - almost forcing people to read it without them even realising it. Pictures and other graphics almost take a back seat with the focus being on the text.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of this adverts is to make people aware of a service Sky UK offer through the TV service called "box sets". The TV advert suggests that people can 'binge' lots of episodes all at once. Idris Elba features in the TV advert (an actor who appears in many of the box sets on Sky) - this makes it almost 'feel like' the actor in the programme is telling you to 'watch more'!
The objective of the advertising campaign is to get people to ad the box sets bundle onto their Sky package or even sign up to Sky and ad the box sets bundle. It's all about getting more customers to pay for more services. On the billboard adverts, a selection of the programmes on offer is displayed - this is showing what kind of content is on offer - making people more likely to sign up if they see something they want to watch.
Target Audience
The target market for this campaign is most likely young professional adverts (aged 20-40, A, B, C1). In the advert, we see a man on the sofa dressed in a shirt and tie which has been undone. This suggests this man has been working a professional job and is relaxing after work. He also appears to be in quite a nice environment which is well furnished and quite roomy. This would not be possible without earning a reasonable sum of money. This suggests he is working in a well-paid job. The actor in the add is also a little older with some subtle facial hair and older appearance. At no point in either the billboard ads or the TV ad is the price of the products shown - this suggests that this isn't the main draw factor but instead the product is more important. For many young people, the price is key, suggested this product is targeted at someone older.
Representation In the billboard adverts, no people have showcased just the content on offer, it is just a white background with text and images of the content. This means no image about who this is for is in the users head meaning they probably link it to themselves. The way the phrase states "5 hours is plenty" is almost fighting your own thoughts straight away. Like you are doing something 'naughty' or something that you really 'shouldn't do' but Sky is saying its ok - immediately creating a connection with you personally.
However, the TV advert seems to target a more specific audience. The man is dressed in a suit and is sitting in what appears to be a well furnished and tidy apartment that looks 'expensive'. The suit may suggest that this man is a businessman which means he is probably on a higher income than your average person, the fact that he is wearing a tie also may suggest he is in a managerial or higher importance role because the formal attire is not normally worn by your average office worker (typically they may wear a shirt with no tie or a specific uniform). The apartment is very clean and tidy which we could cynically infer that this person has a cleaner etc. All of this may suggest that Sky is targeting people who fall into the A (Chief Executives, bankers) or B social grade (managers and other professionals) because of the representation in the advertising campaign.
Key Message
The key message from this campaign appears to be that 'bingeing TV' is good and that by using Sky Box Sets you will get nothing but "addictively good" content. It suggests that watching TV into the night is ok and as little as 5 hours sleep is ok. This is clearly stated in bold text on the billboards and actor Idris Elba hints at this is the TV ad.
Choice of Media
A white background is used which makes the objects on the background stand out - they are bold and obvious to see. The text is yellow, red and purple with shine too it. This makes it appear 'warm' and appealing to the observer.
The advert features one of the countries most loved actors - Idris Elba - plus another actor who is relatble to the target viewer (especially through the way they are sat viewing and what they do - almost comical relation). The same banner is used at the end of the TV commercial as is used on the billboard, having the same effect.
Overall, the way these ads have been put together is to make the product seem appealing through warm colours and relatable aspects that make the user go away with positive thoughts about what has been promoted - making them more likely to purchase?
Legal and Ethical
Images of box sets are used in the billboard ads - permission from the creators of the programs will of had to of been gained to use these images within the ad before they were used to avoid copyright infringement.
Within the advert the music will of had to of been licensed to be used throughout and all graphics created or licensed by Sky in order to avoid copyright infringement.
Both actors will of had to of signed release forms to grant Sky permission to use them within there advert, also if the location is owned by third party permission would also have to be granted for this.
There is also an ethical question with this advert - is it ok to say that '5 hours sleep is plenty'. Sky is promoting something here that most Doctors would state is unhealthy for any normal human and it could affect their daily lives if they went by what this advert says - misleading the consumer. There is a question whether Sky should ethically state this?
Regulatory Bodies
The billboard advert will be regulated by the Advertsing Standards Authority (ASA). They will lay out rules that Sky will have to follow before creating and publishing this advert. If the ASA receives complaints from anyone about the ad the regulator could investigate this - if they find the ad inappropriate they maybe take action against Sky in the form of fines and likely banning the advert.
Ofcom will also regulate the TV commercial alongside the ASA. Ofcom has similar powers to the ASA.
Call to Action
Sky use emotional language and appeal as there call to action. Using phrases such as 'addictively good' makes the viewer think that by ignoring this, they may be missing out on something.
Supporting Document: Episode 1, Scene 1 Screenplay - click here.
Self Evaluation:
I think my presentation style could be improved, although I think I appeared quite confident with what I was doing I feel like my tone and body language could be improved. Instead of being leant against a table and reading from a sheet (with some additional comments) I feel I should but some more energy into my presenting. I need to practice the presentation some more so I don't need to refer to the notes as much but also stand up and show my excitement for the product more. Not only will this make the presentation more interesting but could also hopefully make the idea more appealing to executives.
I thought the presentation itself was good. The titles throughout were themed with the programme and I tried to not include minimal writing so I wasn't just saying what was said on the screen - I used a combination of videos, images, diagrams and small amounts of text to support my speech. I believe this worked well and makes the pitch more engaging (as people have to actually concentrate on what is happening to mean they are more likely to remember). I believe the presentation could be made more visually appealing in parts - to do this I plan on making some more themed graphics in Illustrator and including images that feature symbols from throughout the programme.
My pitch did include the title of the production, an executive summary, statement of need (through links to the BBC mission statement). I feel like the budget was well stated and supported with research conducted by myself, however, I believe I could have discussed in more detail about specific production companies I could use and why. This can be done by researching production companies the BBC regularly uses and see if these would be appropriate. this will be added for the final pitch. In the presentation notes, I did write about style but forget to mention this when I was presenting the pitch, I will ensure to mention this next time as I believe this is one of the USPs of my production.
My supporting documents are attached and were complete by the time of the pitch but I was unable to print them in time for the presentation so the audience members were unable to see them - I have since printed them so they will be ready for future presentations.
Questions Asked:
How would you fairly represent all cultures and viewpoints in the film? How are you going to research this?
How could it be developed into a second series?
What is the aim of the product? Political?
Would you portray pro-refugee and anti-refugee views or just one side?
Quite expensive to film? How are you going to film border control scenes and channel crossing scenes?
How does the pilot episode end?
How will you find a Syrian Actor?
What language is the Syrian Character's speaking?
How will it fit into the BBC Three catalogue? How are you going to be the final piece of the jigsaw?
How can you be more specific about the target audience? Other than age? Survey? Focus Group?
The questions asked by the audience were very useful. I will use this to help me improve my proposal for the final presentation. I will start my presentation talking about BBC Three as a platform and discuss how I think my programme will fit into there catalogue. I will then move on to discuss my programme specifically, with a brief overview of the plot followed by specifics on the pilot episode and how it can be made serial. I could even discuss how the programme could be 'binged' rather than released weekly. I also want to detail some potential actors I could use and also what production company. I will need to do further research to do this. Before the final presentation, I also want to conduct a survey which I can then use data from within my proposal to support my ideas.
