The Guardian Analysis

Codes & Conventions: What techniques does the ad use to persuade the audience to consume the Guardian?

This advert is used to promote the Guardian's new 'whole picture' campaign where they are making the audience aware of their philosophies such as open journalism. The story that they are using for this is 'the three little pigs', a story which many have heard during their childhood, therefore people will be able to relate as they have heard the story before.

The story normally portrays the wolf as the antagonist, however the Guardian have used this to their advantage and shown the wold’s side of the story and why he blew the houses of the three little pigs down.  During the advert, there are many countries shown that have received the news, therefore this makes this story seem highly popular and the Guardian seems to have full coverage of the story and could possibly attract audiences to consume the Guardian. The Guardian has a website where people from around the world can view the news and comment on stories that have been published. Furthermore, twitter and Facebook allow the Guardian to increase this interactivity with their audience and this meets the audiences needs as if fits into the uses and gratifications theory which Abraham Maslow suggested was an extension of the needs and motivational theory which states that members of audiences want to be valued and recognised. They want their needs to be fulfilled and by giving them the news of the world, the Guardian may be succeeding with some of these needs. The audience could also identify with the different races and ethnicities that are presented to them that are reading about the news and are getting involved through social networking. This makes others want to get involved if they see others that could possibly be like them getting involved as well.

Representation: How is the news represented in the ad?

The news is represented as global and viral as it spreads extremely quickly over the internet. It makes a small story into something big, where they bring in a mortgaging problem, and then add murder to the crimes that the pigs have committed. This shows how sometimes, during a news story, there are more details that we are aware of they are investigated properly and by the right people. The Guardian is trying to subliminally imply that they are a brand that looks into stories in-depth and try to look at the whole picture rather than one aspect. This allows the news to be represented as good and true to their word therefore this can also attract audiences.

The news could also be represented a negative because of all the negativity that is shown through the duration of the advert. For example, there are riots that are shown and these riots are taking place as a result of the news that the Guardian have distributed. This could lead us, as the audience, to possibly assume that all the news that the Guardian portrays, will have some negative spin on it and could lead to dangerous events like riots.

Media Institution: What issues of new technology does this ad raise and what does it tell us about the values of The Guardian?

The Guardian has stated they are a brand that is able to harness and use 21^st century media to their advantage. This can link in with how the internet has impacted a lot of businesses not only the Guardian and how they have to adapt to meet their audience’s needs. The news that the Guardian produces is available on all media platforms for consumers to access however, e-media is the most dominant platform by far as it is easily accessible 24x7. 82.5% of the UK’s populations have access to the internet therefore the Guardian makes itself available to more than 50 million users in the UK by having a website that is continuously updated.

The fact that the Guardian displays various luxurious items such as iPhones and iPads, could possibly lead us to assume that they support values where they believe they are the most noble because of their wealth. This could encourage audiences that fit into the aspirers segment of the market who hope to join the ranks of the upper class but could also discourage some members of the audience who may believe that the Guardian is produced for them therefore they should not consume it.

Audience: On the basis of this ad, who does the Guardian brand appeal to?

At the end of the advert the Guardian states that they are ‘web, print and tablet mobile’, which allows us to identify the Guardian as a brand that has shifted into convergence where its consumers can access the news from various sources and again meets the needs of the audiences such as the uses and gratifications theory. If the audience was segmented through psychographics, then this ad would appeal to upper class individuals because of the luxurious items that are shown during the ad. For example, there is Apple products that are shown which can display the news for the audiences and as these are not cheap items, they are items that these succeeders can afford.

The most literate generation in technology is the younger ones therefore this could allow them to be more involved with news and social networking that relates to the news around the world. Silver surfers that use the internet could also be attracted to consume the Guardian as they may have an interest in global issues and the spread of technology will allow them to become more advanced with it.