LO1 :Analysed ASOS face + body/Campaign #3

The ASOS face + body advertisement 2012

The adverts I have chosen to analyse are the ASOS face + body campaign, Even though ASOS is known mostly for its clothing range it has recently started to branch out and sell makeup brands such as ; MAC, NARS, NYX. The campaign ASOS have created to promote their makeup brand has been seen as extremely inclusive for every type of religion, skin colour, gender, sexual preference. 

All adverts shown have a running theme and consistency to them all ensuring the audience knows the brand and what their message is. 

The target audience denoted from these adverts are both genders, aged 15-25, and have a moderately high income (C1 and above), However the advert targets every nationality, sexual preference, skin colour and this major inclusivity creates a mass target audience for the brand and the products.

I immediately can denote that unusually for makeup brands they have tried to aim at both genders.

Stereotypically only women can wear makeup however in the recent years the rise of men wearing makeup has increased, the fact that this advert includes men of both heterosexual and homosexual preferences is also very impactful as even more conventionally only homosexual men would wear makeup however in the video advert we see very masculine exuberayting men wearing makeup also this creating the message of everyone is welcome and no one is excluded this once again creating a massive target audience which would create more profit for the company. 

Along with genders the adverts also include models who have a vary of nationality and skin tones, these models have unique appearances and wouldn't be seen as a conventional makeup model however this inclusion of models who embrace new and interesting styles e.g bald women and men with painted fingernails, These very individualistic looks reinforce the message of everyone being welcome and on the digital advert which features two Asian models we see them both celebrate their natural facial features which is a great aspect of the campaign as in a stereotypical advert we would only see caucasian models, the inclusion of different nationalities celebrates difference but allows unity within this aspect of the adverts attract many target audience members who are from many different nationalities and celebrate their differences.

The advert reinforces the message of different is okay also by contrasting the editing and photography used, In both the video and print adverts we see a massive contrast of coloured backgrounds between models, this pop of colour in every shot creates a fun and interesting aspect to the adverts and allows us to connote that the target audience is younger than 30 as older audience members may perceive it as too childish or too bright for their preferences, In the printed advert shown above we see all the models photographed in a portrait mode having them all be shot in a consistent way to make the advert show that even though every model is sporting a completely contrasting look they are all equal.

To engage the audience ASOS has ensured that the strong message of inclusivity is unmissable in the range of adverts distributed but in particular they wanted to ensure their video advert stuck as the advert resembled a spoken word poem, In the poem read as a non diegetic background narrative it includes strong messages of loving yourself along with your uniqueness, this a problem faced by many 15-25 year olds and this powerful message of understanding leaves the advert being very memorable to the audience meaning they are more likely to buy from the company.

The lifestyle of the target audience would be quite varied, e.g some may be at university but some may still be in secondary school however a common link between them being they have a C1 and above income from either parents or themselves, this is indicated by the price and brands sold by ASOS for example the first item you see on the website is  MAC highlighter palate costing £35, this is a very high end product and for target audience members to pay that much they must have a high disposable income, even though the online shop does have more lower branded items such as Maybeline and Barry M which are both well known drugstore brands the audience members could easily go to a drugstore and pick up these items without paying for shipping so this once again shows that if buying off the site you would have a disposable income to spend on the high end products.

The logistics of the campaign would be surrounding the lifestyle and travel patterns of the audience, In sense of print adverts the adverts would need to be placed in environments that the majority of people passing by were an audience of 15-25 year olds this would include bus stops, train stations and on the motorway this would ensure that the maximum coverage of the adverts. With the online video adverts and digital advert this would be placed in between Youtube videos, in between programmes on free view channels such as ITV, All 4 this is due to all these platforms being most frequently visited by people of the age 15-25 and this once again leaving this being the best platforms to target the audiences on.
For the online still advert this would be shown as an advertisement on social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook this would also be accompanied by a link to the website of ASOS makeup and this would be very influential to the company as this would appeal to the digital natives and encourage them to buy the products due to the easy access.

The fact that ASOS have created adverts that can be shown on multiple platforms including both print and digital shows the mass audience they are targeting and highlights the digital native generation they are targeting, the target audience is known to be very active on social media platforms and have a huge presence on sites such as Youtube, ASOS using this to their advantage have chosen these locations to spread their campaign message of inclusivity and celebrating individuality.

In releasing the advert, ASOS needs to consider legal and ethical issues also for example all models before being photographed for the adverts needed to have signed a consent and release form this allows models to know where their images are being distributed and the extent of the usage of their images, without this form the company can be sued and in many cases its for defamation of character.