4. What I have learnt about the content and appeal of television adverts and how I intend to demonstrate this knowledge and understanding in my production in order to communicate successfully with the target audience

The use of content and appeal in adverts is probably the most important in terms of selling the product, as without appealing content in the advert, people will not actually want to buy the product. Therefore, researching the content and appeal of deodorant adverts is vital in making my advert successful.
The uses and gratifications theory breaks down appeal into four different sections, and suggests that the audience's active consumption of the media is to fulfill their own gratifications.

The first part of the theory is the media providing information and education, which provides the audience information that they didn't previously have, thus appealing to them. The dove men advert above provides information to the audience about their moisturiser technology, that they previously would not have known about. This new information will fulfil their need to be better educated on the subject, and therefore will appeal to them. This may persuade them to purchase the deodorant. I intend to fulfil the need for education, but in a slightly different sense. I intend to educate the audience on what they can do, for example what hobbies they can do, which they previously may not have known they could've done. This would link to my idea of the deodorant helping to break social stereotypes.

 The second part of the theory is that the audience interacts with the media to escape from everyday life. This makes it appealing to them, as it allows them to leave the stressful real world, even if only for 30 seconds. The Old Spice advert above uses humour to provide this escapism, as the audience may get lost in the laughter and forget about everyday life. For example, the scenes of Terry Crews shouting provide some humourous moments that provide escapism. I intend to us this in my advert as well, as there will be humour between the voiceover and the character involved, as well as humour through the scenarios played out in the ad.

Personal identity is the third part of the theory. It suggests that the media source will appeal to the audience by being relatable. This can be seen in the Secret advert, which will be relatable to people who are transgender. As this group isn't often portrayed in the media, and so the fact that they relate to the character will mean that they will be appealed to, and therefore would be more likely to purchase the product. This will be the another appeal point of my adverts, as it will contain people who are trying to break stereotypes, and therefore will be relatable to people who don't feel they fit in with societal norms. These people are my target audience, and therefore my adverts will appeal to them.

The final part of the theory is that the media provides social interaction, which means that it appeals to the audience as it provides a topic of conversation with them and their peers. This can be seen in any advert pretty much, as they all provide a talking point that allows for interaction. For example, the Lynx advert on the left provides a talking point, e.g. 'have you ever tasted wasabi?'. My advert will provide a talking point, as it will allow people to talk with eachother about breaking societal norms.

Overall, the use of the uses and gratifications theory provides a good way to break down appeal and therefore use it in my advert. If the advert is not appealing, then people will not buy the product.