Unit 20, P1: Describe an existing media advertising campaign (Sky UK - "Addictively Good")

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.