These tasks are for potential A-level media studies students to complete BEFORE starting the first year of their course! Please read these instructions carefully, and remember: this is your opportunity to impress us right from the start!
Task one – Analysing an advert
You will be analysing an advert for a perfume/fragrance. This advert can be aimed at male audiences, female audiences, or both. You can find an image in a magazine, newspaper, or even print out an online image.
You are going to analyse the image and suggest what meanings it creates for its audience. This is called textual analysis, and it’s something you will be doing a lot of in Media Studies!
You will label the image explaining how the advert attracts its target audience. You may wish to stick the image to a larger piece of paper or card to make this possible. You can use the following terms:
• Target audience – Who is this advert aimed at? How old are the audience? What gender are they? Are they gay or straight? What kind of job do they work in?
• Audience appeal – What specifically might interest the audience or give the audience pleasure? How is the target audience attracted?
• Lexis – What language does the advert use? Why has the producer of the advert picked these words in particular?
• Colour – What colours have been chosen, and why? What mood or atmosphere does the selection of colours create?
• Unique selling point – What is the most striking thing about this advert, the thing that makes it stand out from every other fragrance?
• Slogan – Does the advert use a slogan or catchphrase?
• Font – What font is used in the advert, and why has this font been used instead of any others?
Task two – Creating an advert
Draft an advert for a fragrance that appeals to a specific audience. We would like to display this work, so please make it as large (suggested size A3) and as colourful as possible. Remember to include everything that you explored in the textual analysis task. You can create your draft advert in any way that you choose, for example
• In pencil and pen
• As a collage of images found in magazines
• Using software such as Photoshop, Gimp or MS Paint
• Any combination of the above!
This work is to be submitted to your Media teacher in your first lesson. You are free to type or handwrite this work, but please submit something physical. This means that we can put it up as a display!
Top tips
- Like most of the work we complete in media studies, you have a LOT of scope for how to complete the summer work!
- We are assessing your EFFORT, not your ABILITY (you haven’t even started the course yet!). So submit something that looks cool and interesting and we’ll be very happy indeed!