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Sunday 13 March 2011

News Trailer Analysis - John Selby

I have chosen to analyse a BBC World News brand campaign. This advert does contain visuals but as ours is a radio based advert then I am to only analyse the audio of the advert. I have had to do this as I've had no luck finding such radio news trailer online.




The advert begins with a harp like string instrument playing slow, soft almost mystic music which is abruptly interrupted by an inaudible muffled sound which represents the news and how it's in every one's lives and effects everyone. This is soon followed by the sound of crowds shouting, screaming, whistling and chanting whilst dogs bark simultaneously. This is then followed by two Chinese men arguing. This is continued throughout the advert with many different news stories such as bullet noises to represent war and explosions to represent terrorism. All these noises add a sense of intensity and seriousness to the advert. As well as this it gives a sense of emotion and even political movement giving which shows the listener that this kind of news can not be missed and the fact that it is the most important global stories being covered by the station.

Whilst the background noises are being heard there is an overlaying louder voice-over which dominates the audio with a strong stern voice orating powerful dialogue which further enthralls the listener. "No radicals, no communists, no liberals, no leaders, no followers, no forces, no one can stop your instinctive desire for knowledge." These powerful words are timed in conjunction to the background noise such as when "no communists" is said the voice of Chinese police officers can be heard and when "no forces" is said a police charge can be heard. All of this outlines what kind of stories the news station are to focus on and just how powerful and moving those stories can be. The voice over then goes on to say "As long as you keep questioning, so will we". This shows the listener that the news is entirely based on the demand of the listener and also gives a sense of reliability by stating that as long as the listener continues to want the news it will be broadcast. The voice-over then finishes with the tag line "BBC world news, never stop asking". This tag line finishes the advert by implying that the listener will always have a thirst for knowledge and will never stop asking questions whilst also re-enforcing the sense of reliability by stating that the BBC world news team will also never stop asking questions as well as providing answers.

Throughout the advert the soft harp music plays quietly in the background giving the advert a serious, professional feel showing how these stories aren't any trivial stories. These are global, life changing stories which can not be ignored and need to be seen. The music also has another more subconscious effect on the advert though. The calm, soft and tranquil music may also represent the lives of the listener. It shows how although your life may be comfortable and safe, this is not the case all over the world and that wars, terror, political movements and demonstrations are occurring in the world on a daily basis and to ignore these conflicts would be foolish. This gives the listener a sense of urgency to hear the news whilst giving only one answer, BBC world news, their station.

The music, sound effects and voice-over combine together well in this advert to give the advert the professional, serious, important and emphatic feel to fully engross the listener to maximum effect.

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