MEDIA: Task 2 - Primary Research 1

I analysed the TV advert for Starbucks new Frappuccino released in 2011.There is no real narrative to the advert, but it promotes the new launch of their signature Frappuccino, a cold ice and milk drink made with or without coffee and other flavours chosen by the customer in store. The editing is extremely fast with quick cuts and short close up shots all edited together to make an almost collage of words, sounds and pictures to advertise the product. The cinematography is very creative with all these different elements presented on a white background with a mixture of slow motion and fast forward techniques used on objects, people and animated effects. The Mise-en-scene includes blenders, ice, chocolate, milk and other components of the drink along with the Starbucks logo and people of all races. The advert represents the actors/actresses as men and women of a student age, the type of ordinary everyday people that would have time to go to Starbucks with their friends between lectures. I believe this is how they target their audience who are of a similar age and class as those in the advert. The sound is made up of effects and words that are carefully structured to make an almost spoken soundtrack to the advert, rather than any music. They use onomatopoeia and words that are as satisfying to hear as say which are compound, key words such as “Bliss” keeping the attention span of the audience as the scenes change so quickly. The genre of the advert is very stylistic and artistic and different from anything else around in the drink market at the time. There a few ideologies used within this ad, theories such as Avante Garde, USP and subliminal messages. The use of Avant Garde not only puts the product ahead of others but also itself, as it’s promoted as better than their own original Frappuccino. “The new however you like it Frappuccino”, suggesting that they have improved their method of making the drink beyond anyone else and their selves is a unique selling point. In between the fast cuts are almost random images such as remote control flipping dogs and piñatas. These are subliminal messages harking back to the fun times of childhood that Frappuccino supposedly brings back into your life. There are also a lot of aesthetic references to things exploding, bursting or smashing for example a firework. These are obviously relating to the explosion of flavours that you taste when drinking Frappuccinos, a clever and almost subliminal method of describing their product. I believe that this advert campaign is very successful as its striking when first viewed, different from others in the market and has appeared in cinema screenings, a strong force of advertising.