LESSON 11: REACHING THE AUDIENCE

Objective [1] To deepen understanding of how semiotics works
Objective [2] To apply theoretical knowledge covered to the idea of conventions
Objective [3] To consider deeper implications for how media products work on audiences - the unconventional impulse

con·ven·tion·al adj. : following accepted customs and proprieties; represented in simplified or symbolic form; in accord with or being a tradition or practice accepted from the past; "a conventional church wedding with the bride in traditional white" conforming with accepted standards; "a conventional view of the world" 

Conventions are accepted ways of doing something - shaking hands when we meet someone is an accepted convention.

Media producers utilize conventions in their products to enable a speedy communication of ideas and understanding.

Advertisers value conventions as - like anchorage of polysemic images - they direct audiences to a preferred reading of the media product.

The PowerPoint will take you through a variety of approaches to demonstrate the conventions and then the adverts that exploit the unconventional to make a point.

Some adverts are unconventional as they seek to stand out, to be memorable and to create a sense of uniqueness for their product or to make their brand seem 'edgy' or 'cool'.

We will be exploring this through adverts for beer and the way in which the tobacco industry have marketed their brands over the decades as they attempt to find innovative ways around legislation and changing public attitudes