Adverts Comparison

Sainsbury’s Christmas Advert 2017:

This advert is not your typical advert, as it is in the style of a song and not story based. It is also longer than most adverts as it is 1:49 instead of the average 1:00. There are shorter versions of the advert, so the audience do not get bored because of the length as well. The whole video is showing what a stereotypical British Christmas is like, and what events and items are involved.

Denotation: The slogan means that they are showing what Christmas is.

Connotation: Christmas is for spending time with families.

The first thing I noticed was the orange, bold font used throughout the video. This font stood out to me because I know it as being the font Sainsbury’s uses on all of their products and shops. It is also their logo, so the audience know that it is their advert thought the whole video, as this font is shown the whole time. The orange font can be seen as a good marketing technique, as we are constantly reminded that we are looking at Sainsbury’s products. The fact that the majority of the videos are in black and white makes the text stand out even more as orange is the only colour we see. Orange is a representation of Sainsbury’s, because it is the colour they use on everything and the audience relates orange to them. This text is also used as anchorage to hear what the people are saying and help explain what they mean.

The slogan “Every bit of this” is repeated multiple times throughout the video. This could denote that the videos are showing every part of Christmas, whilst the connotation of the videos together is that Christmas is for spending time with families and friends and having fun. They also repeat the slogan multiple times to get it into our heads, and so we remember the advert more. The slogan is memorable and catchy, and as it is in a song it gets stuck in people’s heads, which is yet another good marketing trick.

Sainsbury’s also used this advert to advertise some of their food. These short clips of food on a white background stand out because it is in full colour, unlike the majority of the video which is in black and white. This obviously makes the audience want to buy their food, which is why they would have included these shots. The foods that they are advertising are Christmas-related, as Sainsbury’s are trying to get the viewers to shop in Sainsbury’s at Christmas.

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2017:

This advert is also long (2:10) like the Sainsbury’s advert. It is another Christmas advert, but it is very story based in comparison to Sainsbury’s. It has no dialogue and is in full colour, bringing our attentions to the visual side instead of the audio. The video contains mostly sound effects, which makes the video more interesting with a fitting song over it.

The colours in this advert contrast to the bold white font that John Lewis uses. The font stands out so that it is noticeable to the audience, furthermore why it is placed in the middle of the video. The colours are bright and make the video visually appealing, as this advert is much more focussed visually than in sounds. The text also uses the word “brighten”, which is anchorage to show that the advert is trying to be as bright and colourful as possible. The fact that it says “their” makes it involve the audience as it is a personal pronoun meaning that it is relatable to them and their families. This marketing technique makes the audience think that shopping at John Lewis will affect them and their families personally, so it creates a bigger audience of people who want to shop there.

The trending hashtag “#MozTheMonster” makes it more appealing towards a newer modern audience, as hashtags have become increasing popular over the past few years. It also makes the advert more popular because it will get trending on social media and therefore the audience will grow. It is also alliteration, which is a simple literacy technique that they have used to make the advert more memorable. This trending hashtag is similar to the marketing technique used in the Sainsbury’s advert with “Every bit of this”. The more the audience read the hashtag the more they will be tempted to watch the advert, and therefore wanting to shop at John Lewis.

John Lewis was supposedly advertising children’s gifts in this advert, although personally I feel like this is unclear. Unlike the Sainsbury’s advert, I think that they failed to create an advert that was clear and that contrasted to most other adverts. It was unoriginal in this sense and the fact that not many people knew what they were selling completely disregarded any advertising involved in their story. I also feel that visually they did a better job than Sainsbury’s, with more effective shot types and colours, although the overall affect lacked originality.