Direct Line- Inform, Persuade

Direct Line

For my final story I have chosen to analysis Direct Line which is an insurance company for cars.

As the advert begins we can here two gentlemen who sound mid40/50’s having a conversation about an insurance company. This tells us straight away that this advert will be a conversational one. The two are talking in third person as if they are talking about you which intrigue you as an audience.  It also sounds as if they are talking in private but making it obvious that they are talking about you so you feel like you need to listen. The first man we hear sounds late 40s while the second man sounds like he’s in his 50’s which suggest that this insurance company is for older drivers more than young drivers.Their age is also suggest through the use of sound which is used e.g. the banging of cups and spoons clearly telling the audience that these two people are having a drink of tea together which is mostly associated with the older generation.  When the first man says “I can see them now sat with their prawn sandwiches checking out the best car insurance deals online” we instantly know that this advert is going to try and persuade you to buy can insurance with them.  This tells us that this advert’s main purpose to persuade which is found in a lot of adverts over the radio. 

The advert also uses a lot of facts and numbers which also makes the advert a factual one. The facts tell us things about the insurance company e.g. you get 12 months free cover which is one of the main selling points of the advert because its information a lot of people will find interesting.  One man says that we won’t be able to find them on price comparison websites suggesting to us that this insurance company find them better than all the rest that they have their own website. It also suggest that they feel like they don’t need to be compared to any other insurance company because they are the best so there’s no need.  The fact the company has its own website suggest that their target audience are middle class people of the older generation which is why they are spate from the rest of the insurance companies.

Humour is also thrown into the advert at the very end by a funny voice talking very fast and in a high pitched tone. The voice sounds very silly and out of character for the advert which would make the older generation of people laugh due to it not being something they would expect.  As the ad finishes one of the gentlemen start talking to the audience directly informing them if they can’t find the insurance company either ring them or visit them on their website www.directline.com which also suggest that this insurance company is very handy to find because they have so many media outlets you can contact them on.

When we look on the RACC we can see that there are rules that insurance company’s need to follow in order to get their advert broadcasted. If we look under Identification of Advertising/Advertisers we can see that advertisements of any kind need to make it clear what they are trying to sell and make sure that listeners can understand the message.

Overall  I think the advert does a very good job giving people enough information to tempt them to look at the website. I also think that their target audience is clearly stated in the voice actors used which helps people distinguish the right insurance company for them.