LO1 - Analysis of an Audio Visual Advertisement

A). This advertising campaign was created  to advertise the film "Suicide Squad" and various pieces of merchandise associated with it.


B). The film will be aiming of a target audience of teenagers aged around 15 - 18, these people might not have a large spending power and so would only be able to afford to attend the cinema rarely and most likely choose to see the big blockbusters, these are the people that fit the lifestyle of C1, C2 and B, this is because of how the film tries to appeal to the widest audience as possible, as opposed to a small niche crowd.


C). The advertising for this product is often very colourful and tries to incorporate humour into it, this is partly due to the product being an adaptation of  comic book series and so this style makes sense for the product, however it could also be related to how the previous film in the franchise that was released by the studio was criticized for having an overly serious tone; therefore the studio wanted to make audiences believe that this film wouldn't have that problem. The film also tries to show off the cast it has as much as possible, giving as it is an ensemble film about a team, the film created many posters for individual characters which are all variations on the same art style. The film also released with alongside an album which featured original songs by famous artists, this would be to create a new line of revenue whilst also offer advertising in different ways, as each artist would be advertising the film to their fans, thereby attracting a wider audience.Will Smith and Margot Robbie’s characters were represented as the protagonists of the film in all of the marketing, this could have been the help DC seem ahead of Marvel in terms of diversity, as the MCU doesn’t yet have a black leading character in any of their films and won’t do until Black Panther in 2017 and won’t have a film being led by a female character until 2019.


D). The advertising campaign uses mainly posters and billboards. But unlike other campaigns where there would only be a few different types of these, Suicide squad features an extremely large variety of poster designs, this can be credited to the large cast of the film, as well as the cartoony art style of the posters, which would allow graphic designers more freedom to create a larger amount of images that all fit the same style, without getting repetitive.

E). This TV advert was created to advertise the film suicide squad, and try and tell the widest possible audience to pay to watch the film in the cinema. This advert comprises of 8 seconds of titles cut with 22 seconds of footage. Most cuts in the trailer are quick and shots (particularly after the music has kicked in) last about a second. This advert was created to promote the film Suicide Squad, the trailer is aimed towards a teenage audience and appeals to this market by using lots of bright neon colours and fonts, the trailer also advertises the films as different and rebellious; the tagline "Worst heroes ever" contrasting most modern superhero films and drawing in audiences who may be becoming tired with an overabundance of superhero films; most of the campaign message for Suicide Squad is to convince audiences that this isn't a conventional superhero film and has fixed all of the problems that people have had with previous DCEU films.  The longest shot in the trailer which lasts for around 3.5 seconds is of the Joker. This may be due to the fact that he was the character from the film that was causing the most controversy between fans, so by showing him that much in the trailer it is more likely to get people talking about him and draw more attention to the film. The joker also serves as a form of iconography with his abnormal costume design making him one of the most visually dynamic characters of the year, to the point that even people who haven't seen the film would easily recognise him if they'd seen any advertisement for the film. Two shots of Will Smith are also used in the trailer, this is so that the more famous members of the cast are shown off, which gives the film an extra level of credibility. The trailer will have been checked and authorised by the ASA before it could distributed on TV, this means that any issues that there might have been with the trailer would have been dealt with, before the trailer was released.

F). One of the main issues with the campaign comes for the title of the film: the use of the word suicide in a film that is being marketed so widely and will have an effect on children could cause anger from parents and people who don't see it as an appropriate title. However, seeing as the film is being adapted from material of the same name, any issues would have been dealt with during the comics run, which started decades before pre production on the film had even started. Any issues with copyright for properties like music, used as part of the campaign will have been dealt with by Warner Bros before the distribution of any adverts.

G). The ASA (advertising standards agency) will have reviewed all of the advertisements before they ill be released so that they follow the rules that make them suitable for the public, however this will only be applicable to great Britain, whilst the film's wide international audience, will mean that some different types of adverts will be released in some countries that weren't allowed here (and vice-versa).

H).
Print based - Many print based adverts were created by Warners bros, this is because of how largely they can be distributed and the large amount of variety that could be made with them. It is also cheaper to make these as they can be done with some pre-taken pictures and a single graphic designer, whereas videos require editors and may cost extra if music is needed.
AudioVisual - Audiovisual advertising techniques can grab people's attention more easy, plus they can be advertised using platforms like youtube and instagram, which are both used by millions of people a day.  It also allows to show off things like narrative and direction more easily, conveying the artistic style of the film.