Task 2 :Textual Analysis of Nationwide Advert

Textual Analysis of Nationwide's Boy Advert

Nationwide's advert was designed to raise awareness of preventable childhood death and save lives (selling insurance).

Persuasive Techniques

One of the persuasive techniques used in this advert is pathos as the audience feel an emotional attachment to the boy.  

The first shot signifies a boy riding his bike trying his best to keep up with the older kids as he still has his training wheels on, so he cannot go as fast as them. This signified him feeling very sad that he could not keep up, which is why we see him put his head on the bike. He then is sitting on a school bus which represents his childhood and is surprised with a kiss from a girl. He thinks he will get "cooties" as he wipes the kiss away from his cheek and a little animated creatures flies off his face, and flies onto of the seat in front of him, we see them dancing, sticking their tongue out as if they are making fun of him. There is a wide shot of the sky as we see him flying, and then a close up is used of the boy smiling, which reminds the audience of his innocence. A wide shot is used yet again so they can set the scene.  He, this time is shown on a boat in the river which looks very adventurous, a close up is used of him with his young goofy smile. We see him sailing on the boat with a dog. In the next shot we see him in a black suit in a setting which looks to be a wedding. Throughout this whole advert the boy is dictating the things he would never do -Things he would never do ...... because he died from an accident!  The next thing, we as the audience view, is a bath overflowing and text that has been added in which states the number one cause of childhood deaths are preventable accidents, as the shot zooms in. Then we see another way an accident could occur; this being a chemical cupboard left in open reach of children and in the next shot we see a living room with their tv on the floor. Afterwards we see a close up of another child's face this time a little red haired girl who is being carried out by her mother and the child places her head on her mother's shoulder. In the next shot we see Nationwide's logo on a white background with the slogan make safe happen which is the anchorage within the advert.

This advert  included both wide shots and close ups.  It started with wide shots in every scene zooming in to get close ups.

Sounds

This advert had diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.  An example of its diegetic sound would be how the boy exclaimed "wait" when he was riding his bike following the older boys.  An example of non-diegetic sound is the guitar stringing music playing in the background.

Mise en scene

The recognisable attributes would be reliant on completely different settings which creates both a sense of place and a mood and it may also reflect a character’s emotional state of mind. Which are displayed in his various scenes.