PRODUCT CONTEXT
- The advertisement Super. Human. was created
to promote the 2020 Paralympic Games
by Bradford Young, the Oscar nominated
cinematographer and the first African American
cinematographer to be nominated for an award
in 2017 for his work on the film Arrival. - It was devised and created by Channel 4’s inhouse creative agency 4Creative and produced
by Serial Pictures and Somesuch, a global
production company. The trailer is the third
campaign for the Paralympics undertaken by
Channel 4, who were broadcasting the event,
and was part of a bigger campaign including
posters and social media. - The advertisement explores the sacrifices made
and the trials endured by Paralympic athletes
in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic
Games.
audio codes
- The producers of this sub-genre of
advertisements are very aware of compassion
fatigue and so will often aim to make
advertisements that offer a different perspective
on the issue or event, usually one that is more
positive and upbeat. This approach is evident
in Super. Human. with the use of audio codes.
The choice of the soundtrack of So You Want
to be a Boxer from Bugsy Malone effectively
communicates the struggles of the disabled
athletes whilst giving the advertisement a
positive feel. The more typical conventions,
for example a voice-over and dramatic music,
appear at the start of the advertisement, but
rapidly change to the alarm and the realities of
daily life. Sound effects underscore the music,
emphasising the battle of training including
grunts, groans and tape being applied.
technical
codes
- Advertisements have a limited amount of time to
convey their message and so rely on technical
codes and editing to do this rapidly. This
advertisement uses close-up shots of expressions
to engage the audience and to portray aspects of
disability in a non-victim way, emphasising that
this is part of their lives. For example, a range
of shots are used to convey the strength and
determination of the swimmer Ellie Simmonds,
cutting between an establishing shot showing her
alone in the pool, a close-up of her putting on
her swimming goggles, a low angle shot creating
power and an extreme close-up of her eyes
connoting concentration. Slow motion is also
used to show the cycling track crash combined
with muting the sound for a more dramatic
effect
Visual codes
also communicate meanings.
The iconography and settings are related to
the athlete and the sport, for example Ellie
Simmonds putting on her goggles in the pool,
or training in the gym, but these settings are
juxtaposed with domestic scenes of everyday life
as a disabled person, suggesting the normality
of their situation. Gestures communicate
frustration, competition and celebration, visually highlighting the result of the hard work.
narrative
The narrative follows the lives of the
Paralympians and their battles through training.
The sequence where the athlete is trying to sing
‘Happy Birthday’ to his daughter on a mobile
phone whilst training on a bike reinforces the
clash between the sport and the family and
further establishes the athletes as real people.
humour
The advert also uses humour to convey
information, for example, the image of the
hamster on the wheel and the ‘puke bucket’ are
recognisable visual signifiers of struggle. The
animated sequences also insert aspects of the
comic into what is a gruelling regime.
Semiotics
– Roland Barthes
- As advertisements have to communicate
meaning rapidly, they use recognisable codes
and conventions that signify messages for
audiences to decode. In this advertisement,
consider the connotations of the signs used.
Clothing is used to rapidly place the athletes
within their sport, for example, the track cyclist’s
clothing or the swimming costumes contrast
with the athletes in their everyday life, such as
the hospital clothing when the woman is giving
birth or casual clothing when the wheelchair
user tries to access the café. These signs serve to
illustrate aspects of the lives of the people and
creates realism.
Structuralism – Claude Lévi-Strauss
The images of gruelling training
regimes are contrasted with the celebratory
images at the end of the advertisement when
success is achieved.
- A further visual binary opposition is created
between the dreamlike sequences with dramatic
images, music and the rich colour palette, and
the reality conveyed though ambient lighting and
the strident sound of the alarm clock. - Animated and archive footage are included
in opposition to real-life actions to introduce
humour and reinforce the narrative. - The on-screen graphic ‘To be a Paralympian
there’s got to be something wrong with you’
creates a conceptual binary opposition
between audience perception of Paralympic
athletes and the reality. It challenges how
language is used set against the reality of the
positive images in the advertisement. It is this
opposition that the audience is encouraged to
reflect upon. ‘The juxtaposition between being
a Paralympic athlete at the peak of your powers
and being unable to get in a cafe for a drink is
pretty shocking. And tells the story in a very
simple way.’
Product context:
Super. Human. is the third of Channel 4’s advertising
campaigns for the Paralympic Games. It will be
useful to look at the other two campaigns and
consider the different approaches that have been
taken by the channel in their representation of
disability.
Launching the campaign, Lynsey Atkin, 4Creative’s
Executive Creative Director, said: ‘Following the
last two Paralympics adverts was no small task –
they exploded attitudes around disability …..Yet we
spotted an opportunity to present Paralympians in a
way they hadn’t been shown before – by pointing a
camera at the realities of their lives, and, as with any
elite athlete, the sacrifices they make in pursuit of
greatness….. collectively these choices paint a story
of mental determination, not of disability.’
The decision was therefore made to change the focus
of a previous campaign ‘Meet the Superhumans’
and instead in the 2020 campaign to emphasise the
‘Human’ rather than the ‘Super’ and to juxtapose
the images of the training regime with those of the
everyday lives of the athletes, with the intention of
making them relatable to audiences.
social
groups may be under-represented or
misrepresented.
- Dominant groups in society largely control what
is produced and as a result, minority groups tend
to be marginalised, creating an unrealistic view
of the contemporary world. This advertisement
attempts to address the marginalisation of
certain social groups, in this case, those with
disabilities. Its aim, reflecting the ideology and
ethos of Channel 4, is to give a voice to those
who are not usually represented positively in
other areas of the media. - The positive representation of disability in the
advertisement and the coverage of the games
changed attitudes. According to YouGov
research, 65% of viewers felt that the coverage
of the Paralympics had a positive impact on their
perceptions of disabled people. 82% of viewers
agreed disabled athletes were as talented as
able-bodied athletes
processes of selection
and combination:
- Choices have been made by the producers of
the advertisement to create representations that
challenge accepted ideas regarding disability and
disabled athletes in particular. - The advertisement actively avoids negative
stereotypical representations of Paralympians as
victims to be pitied, or heroes, ‘superhumans’,
to be viewed in awe. Instead, the representations
create a realistic, ‘blood and guts’ feel to the
advertisement. The representations cover both
genders and give a different view of the world
of disability to that of ‘having something wrong
with you’. - The narratives are centred around real people,
but through re-presentation, a representation of
reality is constructed focusing specifically on
the challenges that the athletes face. The filming,
editing and audio codes combine to construct
a representation of this social group, raising
awareness and creating positive representations
of the Paralympians as athletes first, rather than
disabled people ‘doing their best’. - In constructing the representations as they have
in Super. Human., the producers have aimed
to avoid the stereotypes of disabled athletes as
having to ‘overcome’ their disability in order
to achieve success, instead celebrating them as
high-performance athletes in their own right. - Consider how the representations are constructed
through media language. Close-up shots of the
athletes and their challenges during training and
their home lives create positive representations
of ordinary people who eat their breakfast,
give birth, and play the drums, with whom the
audience can positively associate. The fastpaced editing enables the advertisement to
highlight a range of narratives and athletes with
different disabilities, disciplines, and challenges.
Hall’s theory of representation
According to Hall, meanings are communicated
through signs. This is very true of the advertising
form where easily recognisable signs rapidly
communicate meaning to an audience in a short
space of time. For example, expressions of endurance
and struggle are easily recognisable and understood.
This advertisement goes some way to address Hall’s
assertions that stereotyping occurs when there are
inequalities of power, and that excluded groups,
such as the disabled, are constructed as different.
In the advertisement, the focus is on the athletes as
ordinary sports men and women striving to achieve a
goal. The athletes are three dimensional and distinct
from each other; therefore, the advertisement avoids
simplifying their representations.
David Gauntlett’s theory of identity
In addressing an under-represented social group,
the advertisement gives visible recognition to those
with disabilities and allows disabled people to see
themselves represented positively in the media.
Super. Human. offers audiences a more diverse and
inclusive range of identities and broadens general
understanding of what it means to be disabled as an
athlete and in everyday life.
However, many would argue that the Paralympics in
itself is not enough to redress the balance and indeed,
many disabilities are not featured in the games.
Audiences
The target audience for this advertisement is a
relatively broad demographic, including Channel 4
viewers who largely fall into the 16–34 age 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’
Consider how the advertisement targets,
reaches and addresses its audience.
- The use of personalisation will reach the
audience. Super.Human. deals with real, human
stories focusing on the day-to-day struggles
of being an athlete in training and disabled.
The individual narratives are constructed to
encourage the audience to identify with the
athletes and their lives. - The technical codes include a lot of closeup shots, some of which are uncomfortable,
for example, the popping of the blister. It also
gives the audience access to views with which
they may be unfamiliar, such as the attaching
of a prosthetic blade, all of which hold their
attention. The editing cuts between the athletes’
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’s attention with its
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 everyday life, such as a woman in childbirth and
a baby crying. - The unique selling point is the ‘showing’ of
the athletes’ 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 the lives of disabled
athletes. The audience are left towards the end
of the advertisement with the words ‘To be a
Paralympian there’s got to be something wrong
with you’, encouraging them to examine their
own misconceptions of disability in the light of
what they have just viewed. - The advertisement was successful in reaching
its audience. Channel 4’s Paralympic coverage
was viewed by 20 million people, a third of the
UK 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 4 weekly share of TV viewing
since 2016 and the largest daytime share since
2012
Consider how audiences may interpret this
advertisement in different ways.
- The Super. Human. advertisement sets out to
challenge audiences’ perceptions of disability. - Regular audiences of Channel 4 may be familiar
with the approach taken by the broadcaster when
promoting the Paralympics as the other two
campaigns were successes in their own right.
Alex Brooker, co-presenter of The Last Leg, who
has disabilities himself, said: “For me, waiting
for the Channel 4 Paralympics advert every
four years is like waiting for the John Lewis
Christmas advert.” - Audiences would expect the advertisement to
raise the 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 an afterthought of the Olympics.
It was the first time that any broadcaster was
making a meaningful attempt to elevate 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 differently.’ - The advertisement may make some audiences
feel uncomfortable as it uses shock tactics to
make audiences aware of the issues facing
disabled people in their sport as well as in
their everyday lives. 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 café as her wheelchair cannot
get over the step. - The advertisement also challenged audiences to
examine how they may use outdated language
to categorise disabled people by the on-screen
slogan at the end of the advertisement ‘To be a
Paralympian there’s got to be something wrong
with you’. The aim of this is to encourage
audiences to see this as something positive and
that being a Paralympian is something of which
to be proud.
Social and Cultural
- Advertising campaigns, whether for consumable
products, events or charities, reflect the concerns
and issues of the society that produces them.
In promoting the Paralympics and creating
the trailer, Channel 4 is seeking to address the
under-representation or misrepresentation of a
particular social group. - The advertisement seeks to focus on 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 athletes neither as victims
or as heroes, but just ordinary sports men and women facing extraordinary challenges. This
constructs a more compelling social narrative
reflecting the appetite of the time for success
stories that are accessible. This is evident at
the beginning of the advert when the dream
sequence is shattered, and real life begins.
Consider theoretical perspectives: Reception
theory – Stuart Hall
- The upbeat soundtrack, use of personalisation
and positive representations of the event and
the athletes as both ‘Super’ and ‘Human’,
encourages an audience to accept the ideologies
and intended meaning of Channel 4, the
encoder, in creating the advertisement. The use
of real people creates a preferred reading that
the audience should invest in their narratives and
subsequently watch the Paralympic Games. - Some audiences may adopt a negotiated
position, acknowledging the legitimacy of the
encoder’s 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 advertisement and examine their
misconceptions about disabled people and their
lives more generally. - Oppositional responses may come from those
who are not supporters of Channel 4 and its
ethos of giving voice to those who are underrepresented. They may be older, not regular
viewers of Channel 4 or not interested in sport of
any kind.
Cultivation theory – George Gerbner
- This theory suggests that audiences may have
become used to the conventions of this subgenre of advertising which raises awareness of a
particular social group. Due to the repetition of
certain codes and conventions, for example, the
focus on the specific disability accompanied by
a voice-over with serious mode of address, they
may accept this view of the world and perhaps be
somewhat ‘immune’ to their purpose. - Alternatively, this advertisement can also be
said to challenge Gerbner’s assertions. As a
result of viewing advertisements whose aim is to
raise awareness and give a voice to previously
under-represented groups, audiences may question their assumptions and be more open
to the representations in advertisements like
Super. Human., which offers a refreshing and
more realistic perception of what it means to
be disabled and one that challenges common
preconceptions and mainstream values
