Radio adverts

For one of our subsidiary tasks, we had to create a local radio advert to help promote 'The Portishead Beacon' newspaper. Before attempting to write and record our own advert, we analysed genuine radio adverts that either had been played in the past, or were being played regularly on local radio stations, in order to gain some inspiration. Here are a few examples:

http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/operations_and_initiatives/relentless/radio_ads.aspx

http://www.186media.com/media/miscellaneous/Write%20Kit%20sample%20radio%20script.pdf

Having read the adverts listed above and listened to local radio adverts, we discovered that few radio stations promoted a local newspaper. Additionally, we found out that several common conventions existed within most radio adverts. These were as follows:

• they were generally very 'cheesy' and cheap, thus making the advert recognisable
• a tagline was employed to distinguish the product/ company/ message from other competitors
• the company/ product/ message, its telephone number, its features and its e-mail address were repeated constantly
• various sound effects were used and reflected the mood and/or subject
• conversations were fast paced

Having analysed the radio adverts listed above, we set to work on creating our subsidiary task. We began by brainstorming plot ideas. Several ideas were thought of, for example a conversation between a mother and daughter, whom the little girl tries to persuade her mother to buy her 'The Portishead Beacon,' having failed to persuade her to buy her chocolate and a 'gossip' magazine, but ultimately, we decided to use a conversation between a captain and a lighthouse keeper as our radio advert plot. In the radio advert, the captain asks for a news update around the Portishead area, to which the lighthouse keeper replies that the latest edition of 'The Portishead Beacon' has been printed. He highly recommends that the captain should buy his copy as soon as possible and following on from this, the pair discuss the content of the newspaper e.g. local heroes. Towards the end of the radio advert, the captain is so excited about buying his edition of 'The Portishead Beacon,' that he sails off course right in the direction of large rocks.

Below is the transcript for our radio advert:

Captain: Ahoy there lighthouse keeper, what's the news in Portishead today?

Lighthouse keeper: Well captain, the new Portishead Beacon, it's just been published and I reckon you should get your ands on one immediately!

Captain: Aye, what's in this Portishead Beacon then?

Lighthouse keeper: Well, we got all the latest news; sports reports on all the local teams, upcoming events in the Portishead area ... oh, and you can find out about all the local heroes

Captain: local heroes, what's that all about then?

Lighthouse keeper: Its a regular feature on all those good folk that make Posset such a gurt lush place to live.

Captain: Shiver me timbers!; I'll buy one of these Beacons as soon as I moor up.

Lighthouse keeper- Hold on there matey, watch out for them rocks!!

Captain: Why you scurvey dogs, we be hold below thw waterline! Abandon ships, every man for himself!

Boat going aground, sound effects etc.

Tag line: The Portishead Beacon- shining a light on you.

We recorded the radio advert using an iMac computer application (Garageband). The software allowed us to record multiple tracks and interesting sounds. We began by recording the voices of the captain and lighthouse keeper. The voices were recorded from a distance to achieve a long distanced conversation sound, using the iMac's in built microphone. The voices were then manipulated to further achieve the sound of a long distance conversation i.e. 'large arena' master track. The sounds of a fierce storm and a washing/ swashing sea were recorded using the 'nature sounds' facility on garageband (no effects were added). The sound of the captain's ship going aground was recorded live from a sound effects website; exactly the same process was followed when we recorded the fog horn effect.

We attempted to emphasise the locality of 'The Portishead Beacon' in several ways. For example, the Somerset accent is sounded during the characters speech, which is a stereotypical convention amongst the population of Portishead. Also, the word 'Posset' is spoken in the radio advert, which is a local slang term for Portishead, again demonstrating that our newspaper is a local publication.

Of course, the radio advert had to be adjusted and changed throughout the production process. Initially, the gaps between speech were too long, but we decided that quick transitions between the captain's and the lighthouse keeper's speech would match the pace of a genuine radio advert.

Audience feedback- we asked three members of the Portishead public to comment on the radio advert. We asked them to discuss with one another some key points:

• whether the advert was informative- we asked this question to find out whether the radio advert achieved its main goal or not (informing people of the 'Portishead Beacon' and its conent).
• what they thought of the West country accents being portrayed- some people may be insulted by the steretypical West country/ Somerset accents; we would not want the advert to be offensive in any way- it is purely to promote the Portishead Beacon.
• whether they thought it was memorable- If people remember the advert, then the stronger the likelihood of them remembering the 'Portishead Beacon' and wanting to buy it.
  
  

Overall, the feedback was very positive. Firstly, no person in the group was concerned about the stereotypical West country/Somerset (In fact, some embraced it as comedic!!). This shows that in some cases, residents of the Portishead area accept that many people are stereotyped to talk in this way and would be happy for this generalisation to be broadcasted (pride?). The ultimate goal of our radio advert was to promote the newspaper. Our test confirms that this was aim achieved, as all three agreed it was informative and told the audience what the 'Portishead Beacon' strives for and encompasses. Finally, all three agreed the advert was memorable, which increases the chances of peopple wanting to buy the newspaper. Through this test, we discovered the importance of audience feedback.