Advertising conventions ,

As our group has decided to make an advertising package for an 'Energy' drink, we thought it would make sense to research already existing products and the conventions behind advertising. The website that has been used for this is http://www.asa.org.uk/. According to the advertising standards authority the purpose of advertising has an acronym;

D - differentiate a company’s products from those

of their competitors.

R - reassure and remind consumers of the

benefits of the products or services.

I - inform people about an advertiser’s products,

services or cause.

P – persuade people that they should believe

what they see in the ad and to take action in light

of it.

Adverts should not cause offence in anyway.

There are various reasons why advertisements offend; the

following are just some:

•They refer to sex or show nude bodies

•They use strong language or swear words

•They mock religion or people’s beliefs

•They show people in a demeaning way, offending on the grounds

of gender, race, religion, sexuality, age and disability

•They depict violent situations.

In some cases social responsibility plays a role in the making of adverts according to the ASA.

the ways in which ads can be socially irresponsible are:

•The use of shocking images that could cause undue fear and distress

•The depiction of scenes that could encourage people to behave in an irresponsible

or unsafe way

•The advertising of products, or their consumption, in ways that can be harmful to

health

•Advertising to children that could make them feel inferior, encourage them to pester

their parents, or result in their physical, mental or moral harm

There are a set of rules in the advertising codes that are designed to maintain the standards of social responsibility, the main principles are:

•Ads should not cause serious or widespread offence.

•Ads should not cause undue harm or distress

•Ads should contain nothing that might provoke anti-social or violent

behaviour

•Ads should contain nothing that is likely to result in the physical, mental or

moral harm of children.