Surfer - Guinness Advertisement Analysis

1. 1. What is the ad for / what is the message?
  
  The Guinness advertisement is for the promotion of the alcoholic beverage Guinness to sell to protentional buyers that may be interested in buying a pint of Guinness. The message behind the Guinness advertisement is interesting because it could be symbolized in many ways. But for me I believe that this surfer character is waiting for the right moment of the wave which could be symbolized as he is waiting for the perfect moment to enjoy this alcoholic beverage like someone is at the pub because more evidence is giving when they are on beach messing about with each other which could be symbolizing some mate in the pub having a mess about.
2. 2. Who is the target audience?
  
  The target audience for this Guinness beverage is most definitely aimed at the demographic of middle-aged men, for example, a gentleman has just finished his day at work and decides to head to the local pub and have nice cold pint, so the Guinness company would aim to target this demographic of audience for their product. The second demographic that I believe that this advert is trying to aim for I would say is the early years e.g., 18 years old to 26 years old this is done via the advertisement it’s self because of the special effects used because some cool and impressive special effects would most likely grab a person of that age and the advert would have the viewers engagement towards it. The psychographic profiles that would most likely be the target audience for the Guinness advert would be the mainstreamers psychographic this is because it is the ‘norm’ of the population in the UK.
3. 3. When was the advert aired / when would you expect it to be aired?
  The best time that I would expect the Guinness advertisement to be aired would be during and after the 9pm watershed because if it was to be broadcasted before then it could have the problem of influencing children to drink the product. So, I would expect the Guinness advert would be aired after that certain time because the possibly effect it could have on children. Not only should it be only aired after a certain time, but it could also be aired on adult content channels like Dave because it wouldn’t make sense to have it air on CITV where the demographic is children.
  https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/advice-for-consumers/television/what-is-the-watershed
4. 4. What form does the ad take?
  
  The form that the Guinness advertisement takes is a standalone advertisement and does not have another advertisement similar like it from the Guinness company. The type of advertisement that the ‘Surfer’ Guinness ad that in my opinion is a half and half of both an animation and live-action because the animation section would be the giant horses appearing behind and above the waves would the part that I say is the animation section and for the live-action would be the sections that have the surfers and anything else that is considered realist.
5. 5. What style is the ad / what persuasion techniques are used?
  
  The persuasion techniques that are shown within of the Guinness advertisement is surreal because yes because you can surf in real life and the fantasy aspect of the advert would be the giant horses in the waves. But also there is another persuasion technique being used in this Guinness advert which is hidden / overt messaging in the advert because most definitely that there is a hidden message behind the ocean symbolizing a pint of Guinness because it has multiple meanings for example, one meaning of the ocean could be that waves represent some powerful flavors that a pint could offer a consumer not only that but when the surfer was waiting for perfect timing of the wave this also symbolizing what for the perfect pint of Guinness to settle this idea would come from the slogan of the Guinness company ‘Good things come to those who wait’.
6. 6. Does the ad follow AIDA? If so, how?
  Attract Attention: The way that Guinness gathers its attention is from the advertisement that Guinness produces this is done from the CGI used in the advertisement for example, the horses rising from the waves could attract attention because of amazement due to the CGI in the advert.
  Arouse Interest: The way that this Guinness advertisement arouses interest is from the exotic location where this advert was filmed in which it was filmed in Hawaii and because it would gather interest because people may feel like they are in Hawaii surfing if they purchase this product.
  Stimulates Desire: The way that Guinness stimulates desire in this advertisement is by using they slogan ‘Good things come to those who wait’ and by using this slogan it’s basically saying to consumers that if you wait for a pint of Guinness and good things will come to you. For this advert it’s basically saying that if you wait for this Guinness and you will have the best ride of your life this idea comes from the waves and the surfers.
  Promotes Action: When I view the Guinness advert, I don’t really see any promotion of any action, because the advert when you think about its Guinness is promoting their product and saying to potential consumers come and get it when your ready for this, basically making their company’s slogan having more meaning ‘Good things come to those who wait’.
7. 7. Discuss the characteristics of products / services.
  
  Benefits Offered: The benefits that are offered by the Guinness advertisement is that you will have a great time with your friends if you drink our product. By saying this Guinness are basically saying to the consumer if you buy and drink a pint of Guinness then you will have a fantastic time with your friends or family. This is shown by the surfers playing about the beach with each other.
  
  Advantages over similar: The advantages that this Guinness advert has over other alcoholic adverts for example, foster’s Good Call adverts it’s very confusing and chaotic because you have some many things throw at you when you’re watching the advert but when your watching the Guinness advert it sort of straight to the point because it does leave the consumer to made to think about it and the message behind it whilst the Foster’s Good Call it is very confusing and very much in your face when you are viewing the advertisement. So, I would say that Guinness does have the upper hand.
  
  Unique Selling Proposition: The unique selling proposition of the Guinness company is the idea of the consumers waiting for their drinks because if they wait for it then they are a winner because if you don’t wait for a pint of Guinness then you’re basically a loser. This can be referenced to older Guinness USP “Guinness for strength” which basically means if you drink a pint of Guinness you will get strong but people who don’t drink Guinness are weak.
  
  Lifestyle Appeal: Like I said in Unique Selling Proposition the lifestyle appeal of this Guinness advert being that if you wait for the pint of Guinness you become a winner and if don’t drink Guinness you a loser. Because of this everyone wants in their lifestyle to be a winner they would definitely drink Guinness to become a winner.
  
  Brand Identity: The brand identity of the Guinness Company is the gold harp on the label with the black coloring that is the brand identity of Guinness because if you see these elements then it’s easy recognition as well as the drink it’s self and even the gravity glass that holds the stout that is recognizable of being Guinness but most importantly the one thing that is brand identity of Guinness is the foam top of the pint.
8. 8. Who is responsible for regulating this advert (and all advertising) in the UK.
  
  The first organization that regulates advertising in the United Kingdom is the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) and the second organization is Ofcom (The Office Of Communications).