The Three Little Pigs by The Guardian
The Guardian created the advert ‘Three Little Pigs’ to increase the sales of their newspaper and uses of its other platforms. The Guardian are first referenced as a newspaper but throughout the advert different ways of accessing their information is shown, for example someone accesses the information on an iPad. The Guardian uses the folktale that is famous throughout Western society to portray how they would cover the story. Simulations and questions are shown that would arise if such a story occurred convey the detail and precise information that would be covered, persuading the audience that The Guardian is a reliable and trustworthy company that you should invest in. The advert contains very mild violence and no upsetting scenes allowing it to be shown before and after the watershed to ensure that the maximum number of people view the advert. In the weeks coming up to the advert little teasers were shown to increase the intrigue among the viewers and on Channel 4 the advert was premiered with a special introduction by the channel to attract any of the audiences intrigue that was built up from the teasers.
Different techniques are used to capture the audiences attention and to make every single point that The Guardian have known. There are wide range of representations throughout, such as the use of comments in foreign languages convey that The Guardian don’t just include national readers but go further by including international audiences, this informs the viewers that opinions from anyone is welcome, therefore including the majority of the audience. The extras within the advert go within the concept of verisimilitude, this allows the audience to feel like they can get involved with The Guardian and that it’s not for people who have university degrees, who live in larger houses with a larger amount of income, a same effect is achieved by having different pictures of different people with mis-en-scene similar to a range of peoples personalities, thus portraying that you can be from any background and, due to the wide range of opinions aired during the advert, have to agree on one opinion to read The Guardian. The audience is restricted in a way that any young audience is rejected due to complicated jargon such as “mortgage repayments” this would be completely alien to anyone of this age therefore not understanding the advert. The storyline is around a children’s folktale ‘Three Little Pigs’ which is famous among the Western society this would be recognised by the whole audience but The Guardian has added a dramatic adult spin on the storyline,therefore narrowing the audience, this adds humour, the humour is increased by having famous lines from the folktale said by numerous characters such as a policeman. A policeman has connotations of tough and hard whereas the lines from the folktale are light and sweet, these opposing ideas heighten impact to the audience.
The mixed use of non-diegetic and diegetic sound is important in tampering with the audiences emotions throughout the advert and can be used to convey The Guardian’s many facilities. For example there is a transition of non-diegetic to diegetic sound when the news reporter speaks over the ongoing scenes of the last pigs arrest, this transition immediately informs the audience that The Guardian have video reports so you can hear and see the information rather than read it. Another way The Guardian have achieved this effect is by having lots of people talk at the same time, this is non-diegetic, but conveys that this product has accurate information that is provided from reliable sources as connotations from this effect is that the people talking are experts due to the technical jargon they are quoting. Throughout the advert there is a large amount of diegetic sound effects such as glass smashing which sparks fear among the audience therefore isolating as a significant moment within the advert. Diegetic sounds are also used to set the scene for the audience, for example, telephones ring and typical office noises connotes an office setting, even though the audience don’t actually witness an office itself. A similar technique is used only with non-diegetic sound, at the beginning of the advert there is a high pitched music which has connotations of fairytales and magic which sets the scene as the story of the Three Little Pigs. Both non-diegetic music and sound effects are used to play with the audiences emotions so they react more to the advert, by doing this the advert moves more fluently and smoothly.
Visual effects are used just as much as sound, idents are used constantly throughout the advert to portray personal views, which makes the audience feel more involved if they share the same opinion to the situation on the screen and that the people airing these opinions are infact just like themselves. The idents also convey the format and the hard hitting questions The Guardian investigate without prolonging the advert which would cause the advert to lose valuable attention from the audience and costing The Guardian more to air and to pay the advertising company to produce. By using idents the advert gets the audience actively involved by making them read the text, by getting the audience actively involved it keeps the audiences attention hooked rather than drifting off to another subject. Camera angles are effective as by using sharp and fluent pans and shots it feels like there is more action going on, therefore increasing and attaining the interest from the audience.
The use of a dramatic storyline attracts more of an audience which increases the amount affected by the advert, therefore increasing sales and uses of The Guardian‘s platforms. Theories such as Todorov's narrative and Propp’s character theory are used yet some are not as clear as others. Although there is no equilibrium there is still a disruption and reinstatement of the equilibrium. The Propp’s theory is not quite so obvious as throughout the advert there are only two main characters, the three pigs who act as false hero's and the wolf who is perceived to be the villain but is then revealed to be the hero. There are no damsels or princess but The Guardian acts like the donor or the helper by the way it gives information to the public who voice their opinions to come to the conclusion that the three pigs were freuds.
If you weren’t familiar with the Western society then the advert wouldn’t make much sense as there are numerous habits and references that are well known throughout our society. The plotline would confuse, as the story of the Three Little Pigs isn’t known extremely well outside our society, the use of social networking media such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter could also confuse the audience. Without the basic knowledge that is known throughout Western society the advert would cease to make sense and come across as pointless.
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