Radio Advertisement (Ancillary Task)

This is the finished radio advertisement for my Local Newspaper.

The creation of the task was more difficult because it was hard to find examples of a newspaper radio advertisement, national or local. I felt that the best way to approach the task would be persuasive language techniques, which are used constantly in the media to promote selling points to audience.

I created the advert in Audacity:

 

 

I recorded the script in 4 parts, so if need be I could just re-record a certain section if I wasn't happy rather than begin from scratch. The actual piecing together of the tracks was simple enough, it was choosing the right music that was the most time consuming part of the task. The music for the advert has to compliment the product, and in conjunction with my billboard advert which is based on my newspaper being a way to start the day, I needed something that in terms of tone was bright, aiming more towards easy listening.

 

http://www.audionautix.com/index.php - This was the website I used to obtain my soundtrack (royalty free).

 

I needed the music to be clear, but quiet enough so that it didn't drown out the speech. I feel that I achieved the right balance between the volume of both the music and the narration.

The key aspect is to keep it simple (http://culturca.narod.ru/radio.htm) because radio stations run a tight schedule to avoid "dead air", so there is only a short amount of time to keep it succinct and still get the message across.

I used a few different techniques because they all have different functions:

• Direct Address: "Brighten up your day?",  "you should really try...". This lets the audience know that they are being spoken to and makes it feel a little bit more friendly/personal.
• Alliteration : "budget busting 48p". This adds emphasis to the words and makes it sound catchier, so it sticks in the audience's mind.
• Assertion: "We cover what matters to you". The wording makes it sound like a fact when in reality it is actually an opinion. This is a subtle way of getting the audience to share the same opinion as the narrator.
• Repetition: "Day after day". Like alliteration, it adds emphasis and makes the audience think about what they have been reading, so the advert is in a position to change their mind.