"John Lewis Home Insurance Advert (2015) - Tiny Dancer" Analysis

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Over the previous few years, "John Lewis" have become renowned for their poignant, heart warming adverts. Their newest is no exclusion to their familiar structure.

For starters, similarly to the rest of John Lewis' catalog of television adverts, the lack of diegetic sound and dialogue paired with the use of non-diegetic music is apparent within this advertisement. The use of the upbeat music creates a positive atmosphere. Furthermore, the song used - "Tiny Dancer", by Elton John - is already a well-known song, enforcing the familiar mood. Using already renowned songs within their advertisements is something that John Lewis is notorious for as many of the songs and covers of existing songs used within their adverts reenter the UK music charts due to the popularity of the adverts. Likewise, John Lewis' adverts also mostly contain the use of bright colours and this is not made an exception within their latest Home Insurance Advert where the colours adopt a warm tone. The main character is also dressed in brighter colours than her surroundings which makes her the focal point.

The bright blue grabs the audiences attentions in contrast to the warmer yet less saturated tones of the surroundings.

The cinematography contains an array of shots but most of the camera work tracks the character using a mid-shot. This successfully ensures that the character is continuously the focus of the advert and that her expression is able to be seen. However, a variety of other camera angles and shots ensure that the advertisement does not grow visually tedious. For example, the use of a long shot breaks up the fluidity of the advertisement, causing the audience to stay alert. This also links into Todorov's theory of equilibrium where a narrative starts off with a familiar and comfortable setting and is disturbed - this is disequilibrium - before returning to the familiar state of equilibrium.

Long-shot

As for the content of the advertisement, the family represented is  white and middle classed. From the presence of the father, son, daughter, dog, cat, and pictures of the mother, we can assume that it is also a nuclear family. Notably, the actors within the other John Lewis adverts portray the same white, middle class attributes. This links to the fact that John Lewis target a middle class audience, however this also shows that the company sorely under-represents other ethnicity, races, and cultures.

As a whole piece, the advertisement is carefully considered and uses various visual, technical and audio codes to successfully attract and enthrall the intended audience, conveying the appropriate marketing message. 


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1 comments

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