Print Adverts and Radio Advert Codes and Conventions

Print adverts
I analysed a number of print adverts and in doing this I managed to find that there were several explicit codes and conventions which are present in all of the adverts. I am aware that not all of the adverts below are for documentaries, however it was difficult to find documentary print adverts. I have chosen the ones below because they clearly show the codes and conventions of print adverts.

The adverts contain only one image which takes up the whole advert and this image has had little or no manipulation done on it, in most cases. This can be seen in the advert below.

There is also an ident used on the print advert which is the channel the programme is on, this is usually found in the bottom right of the screen. This can also be seen in the advert above.

The title is usually present on the bottom left of the poster and along with the title there is a date, website and a tag line which is sometimes used.

The graphics which are used are simple and are only used to give the information which is needed and don't distract you from the main image.

There is also a limited amount of colour which is used, This can be seen in the image above as it only uses three different colours.



A convention which can be seen in all of the images is that there is a limited amount of colour which is used and this does not ditract the viewers attention from the image.


Radio adverts
It was difficult to find examples of radio adverts so below I have shown examples of documentary adverts which have pictures to them. The real radio adverts to these documentaries would not be much different as they share a lot of the conventions from radio adverts.

Radio trailers usually feature a constant music bed throughout and this music is relevant to the subject.

They also feature the information about the programme like the channel name and the time of programme. Also it can feature something related to the programme like the BBC's jingle.

Another convention of radio trailers is that it uses exstracts from the original programme, these extracts are usualy a key part of the programme.

The same voiceover is used as in the documentary, this parrallels the two together and links them. The voiceover uses some rhetorical questions and puns to draw the audience in and to make it interesting.

It has to be played at appropriate times, like a teen drama would not be advertised in school hours, as they would not be able to hear it.