Audiences

• The target audience is a relatively broad demographic including channel 4 viewers who largely fall into the 16-34 bracket, fans of sport and those who desire to see more inclusive representations of social groups of which they may be a member
• From a channel whose remit states that it appeals to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society
• The use of personalisation will reach the audience. Super-human deals with real, human stories focusing on the day-day struggles of being in an althete and disabled
• The individual narratives are constructed to encourage the encourage to identify with the althetes and their lives
• Technical codes include a lot of close up shots some of which are uncomfortable for example the popping of the blister
• It also gives the audience access to views which they may be unfamiliar such as the attaching of a prosthetic blade all of which hold their attention
• The editing cuts between the althetes gruelling routines and clips of cartoon moments lightening the mood and engaging the audience through humour
• The audio codes address the audience. The soundtrack is a recognisable song from the musical bugsy malone so you want to be a boxer
• The choice of this upbeat, stirring tune grabs the audience attention with the connotations of struggle and hard work paying off
• Older audiences will be familiar with the film from which it is taken
• Other audio codes suggest struggle, heavy-breathing and grunting and these are juxtaposed with sounds from paralympic on an equal footing
• And the only way of doing it was to land it in public consciousness through something that would make you sit up and think differently
• The ad may make some audiences feel uncomfortable as it uses shock tactics to make audiences aware of issues facing disabled people in their sport as well as their everyday life
• For example time lapse photography is used to show a bruise developing and there is a close-up shot of a blister being popped
• Audiences may also be affected by seeing disabled rugby player Kylie grimes unable to enter a cafe as her wheelchair cannot get over the step
• The unique selling point is the showing of the althetes stories. There is no voice over and no graphics moralising on the plight of the disabled. Instead there is an attempt to give a realistic portrayal of lives of disabled althetes
• The audience are left towards the end of the ad with the words 'to be a paralympian there's got to be something wrong with you. Encourages them to examine common misconceptions of disability in light of what they just viewed
• The ad was successful in reaching its audience. Channel 4s paralympic coverage was viewed by 20 million people, 1/3 of the uks population, 22% of whom were 16-34 years of age
• The marketing campaign reached 81% of the UK population
• The paralympic games attracted 2.6 million viewers accounting for the biggest channel weekly share of tv since 2016 and the largest daytime share since 2012
• The super. Human ad sets out to challenge audience perceptions of disabled althetes
• Regular audiences of channel 4 may be familiar with the approach taken by the broadcaster when promoting the paralympic as the other two campaigns were successes in their own right
• Alex brooker co-presenter of the last leg who had disabilities himself said " for me waiting for the channel 4 paralympic advert every four years is like waiting for the John Lewis Christmas advert
• Audiences would expect the ad to raise profile of the event.
• Zaid-Al qassab chief marketing officer of channel 4 said of the thinking behind the campaign. The paralympics has always been thought of as an afterthought of the olympics
• It was the first time that any broadcaster was making a meaningful attempt to alevate the paralympics on an equal footing
• And the only way of doing that was to land it in public consciousness through something that would make you sit up and think totally different
• Advertising campaigns whether for consumable, products, events or charities reflects the concerns and issues of the society that produce them
• In promoting the paralympics and seeking the trailer, channel 4 is seeking to address the under-representation of misrepresentation of a particular social group
• The ad seeks to focus on that the fact that these are real people 'human' rather than 'super' which makes them more accessible to the audience
• The representation of disability in this advertisement is affected by social and cultural circumstances.
• Channel 4 has taken the active decision to present the althetes neither as victim or hereos but just ordinary sports men or women facing extraordinary challenges
• This constructs a more compelling social narrative reflect appetite of the time for success stories that are accessible. This is evident at the beginning of the ad when the dream sequence is shattered and real life begins
• The upbeat soundtrack, use of personalisation and positive representations of the event and the althetes as both super and human encourages an audience to accept the ideologies and intended meaning of channel 4 the encoder in creating the ad
• The upbeat soundtrack, use of personalisation and positive representations of the event and the althetes as both super and human encourages an audience to accept the ideologies and intended meaning of channel 4 the encoder in creating the ad
• The use of real people creates a preffered reading that the audience should invest in their narratives and subsequently watch the paralympic games
• Some audiences may adopt a Negioated position, acknowledging the legitimacy of the encoders position but may feel more distanced from the sporting theme of the event
• However this audience may be more open to the positive approach of the ad and examine their misconceptions about disabled people and their lives more generally
• Oppositional responses may come from those who aren't supporters of channel 4 and ethos of giving voice to those who are under-represented. They may be older not regular viewers of channel 4 of not interested in sport of any kind
• This theory suggests that audiences may have become used to the conventions of the sub-genre of advertising which raises awareness of a particular social group