TV Advertisement Analysis

When you hear the word “text”, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? –Probably letter, number, or a symbol. What about text in Media? Ahhhmmm… What? –Yes, as in Media text!

Wait. Aren’t they just the same?

Sort of! But Media Text is not just limited to letters, numbers, or symbols as you could read in the newspapers, magazines, billboards, etc. Media Text is very broad that it also covers even Televisions, Radios, World Wide Web, Photography, or any constructed media product that are used as forms of communication.

Media text captures almost all the areas of our lives. Advertisement, for example is one of the most commonly used medium for communication. From TV commercial breaks, to radio, Sari-sari store or in marketplace, public vehicles, gigantic billboards along the highways, at malls, schools, in social media—well, everywhere! Just name it. Advertisements are powerful that they persuade the audience to think what they want them to think or believe what they want them to believe.

TV commercials nowadays have greatly evolved. Have you ever watched an advertisement as if you were watching a short film? At first, you would thought it's really a short film or perhaps a short documentary, but at the end, a name of a specific product will appear, then you will realize it is an advertisement strategy. Just like this 5-minute commercial video:

Let us have an analysis with this TV Ad by Breeze Philippines called "The Good Experiment." In analyzing a Media Text, there is what they call The "Media Triangle" (see image below). Any form of Media has to be analyzed in 3 levels: (1) Media Text, (2) Audience, and (3) Production which help us to understand the key concepts of a Media text.

Image: themedialiterateteacher.weebly.com

MEDIA TEXT: What meaning is being conveyed?

This Commercial Video gave us a different taste unlike the typical ones that focus mainly on their product and usually short. But this one is lengthy and their product wasn't highlighted very much that it just appeared very quick at the end. Rather, they highlighted the incorporated values in the entire video. In the video, Breeze detergent did an experiment showing mothers' reaction seeing their children all dirty with mud after school. As expected, most of the mothers were unhappy and shocked. Until a video was presented congratulating their kids helping an old gardener at school bring some plants and pots. After that, it seemed the mommies had a change of heart, and turned out to get proud with their kids' act of kindness without minding consequences of getting dirty or even get nagged by their moms.

   

AUDIENCE: To whom is the meaning being conveyed? 

Obviously, the commercial mainly targeted moms as their consumers. In case their kids get dirty, they have trusted companion in washing. The first time I watched this video on TV, I got confused, without knowing it is just an advertisement. At the end, I was touched. It made me realized that parents should not get too harsh and judgmental with their kids whenever they commit mistakes. You might not know, maybe they just helped someone or what.  

MEDIA TEXT: How and why is the meaning being conveyed? 

Compare to other TV ads, who hire popular celebrities and endorsers for their product, Breeze uses hidden camera instead, showing random mommies and kids for the experiment video. This strategy might be less expensive in the aspects of production. However, I must say this kind is very simple yet it catches the viewer's attention and it is very influential to public. Whether the acting is 'scripted' or not, I give it a big Like for a job well done!