Radio Advert Evaluation

Jordan Nettley

our original plan was to create a welcoming feel in the narrators voice and also the script had to be detailed of what the product provides and what the customer can get out of the product.We failed to do this initially in our first piece of work. The narrators voice was bleak and dull and didn’t seem to fit of what the product was trying to advertise. There wasn’t any relative music playing underneath and hardly any ambience also playing with the narrator – this didn’t give the radio advert a welcoming feel. We then changed it all in the second radio advert, changing the narrator, which worked and gave ‘flare’ to the piece, the narrator also sounded welcoming when playing it back. It then grew from there when adding a bed underneath to give it a café/restaurant feel and adding encouraging and supporting dialogue underneath to give the product its unique selling point.

What creative decisions did you have to make to solve problems and how did this depart from your original plan?

Both individually and working with others how did you work and what challenges did you face?

Initially we created a first piece of work, where we were getting to grips of the program and voice effects, we decided that it wasn’t good, from the feedback from the pair next to us. We decided to create another piece (our final advert) which we included as much as we can, without spoiling the piece. We think we have created a good piece overall.

Regrettably we didn’t save our first piece, which we should have done as we could see our flaws and mistakes and what improvement we could use in the second piece.

What advertising techniques did you use to hook your intended target audience?

When the narrator reads the script, there's parts in their where the speech reaches out to you. Such as a line: A sandwich YOU’LL remember. ‘You’ll’ strikes the audience, aswell as the statement suggests the sandwich will be one that lasts in your mind.

The voices that play’s underneath, dialogue such as ‘This Sandwich is great!’ – This can emphasise and create an image in the audiences head that the sandwiches are special and well made to their specification

How did technology enable the creative process? Was it difficult to use any of the equipment and did you learn any skills?

I'm used to using this program, as I used this software for the past year creating my GCSE media piece.

I used the atmospheric sounds and layers of short dialogue underneath my Radio Advert, but changing the volumes and placing it all carefully together to make sure the Advert doesn’t sound as though its all squashed together in the 30 seconds required.

There were two techniques I’ve never used before, which is Splitting up dialogue into separate speeches and changing the volume in specific areas to give a different effect. I then used crossfades to put together the dialogue, this makes it a smooth when joining together.

For example in this dialogue: “ To have a sandwich you’ll remember” you’ll has been underlined where the volume has been altered so that it sounds if its directly speaking to an individual.

What conventions of radio adverts have you used or not used and why?

Atmospheric Background – I have ‘people talking’ in the background, like you would here in restaurants and cafes – I used this to imply that Sit ‘N’ Snack is a welcoming place to chat to people.

Crossfades– This helps to keep the speech flowing, where one speech ends and the next one starts. Instead of it just ending, it doesn’t sound right without it.

Dialogue – I have used different voices in this piece, representing different people, giving encouraging words about the sandwich, aswell as promoting the sandwich shop.

What or who are you representing in your advert and how? We are trying to represent a welcoming sandwich bar, where

its aimed at anyone who appreciates a good meal for lunch. Our TA could be: Families, Teenagers, Adults and the older

generation. Gender most likely male (55% male/ 45% female) Our stereotype used is that the males like their sandwich, a

common line heard today ‘go make me a sandwich!’ – something to relate to this stereotype.

We used this narrator so we can give the audience that this is a ‘kind’ and a ‘re-assuring’ place to be, instead of being a rip off or low quality food sandwich bar.

The atmospheric background music playing underneath the narrator saying short dialogue can also give a sense of re-assurance, by the customers giving what they think about their sandwich.

What feedback did you get and did this help you realise anything about your product? 1

Initially I created a first piece, it finished at the time,

To be honest Reece’s response, he didn’t seem satisfied by my work and just laughed and said that the narrator voice seemed dull compared to what the advert was promoting!

Dani’s feedback was to take another look at my beds, aswell as suggesting that I should move a couple of voices to a different place or change the narrator voice all together.

What feedback did you get and did this help you realise anything about your product? 2

On my completed second Radio Advert, I changed many things based on the feedback I got on my first piece.

I changed the narrators voice, to a more upbeat and a enthusiastic voice, I included a atmospheric bed (the bed is a café/ restaurant feel, where people are happily chatting away) that continuously plays underneath, I included many short dialogues which are based around “This sandwich is delicious!” and “This sandwich is great!” which is greatly promoting the product. These played underneath the narrator when he asked a rhetorical question with a short pause to the audience or there was a gap before his next speech.

Improvements to Sit ‘N’ Snack Include a musical bed. Shorten the atmospheric background (not a

continuous piece) to fit in a musical bed. More SFX (e.g. Someone taking a bite into a

sandwich, Sandwich shop door opens – a door bell rings to symbolise someone walking into the shop), not just layers of relative dialogue.

The dialogue “this sandwich is great”! Is good to include, perhaps have less of them, so I can include SFX.