Super. Human. Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Advert

• The "Super. Human. Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games" audio-visual advert was created in 2020
• The advert promotes the 2020 Paralympic Games
• Bradford Young, an Oscar-nominated cinematographer, collaborated on the advertisement
• Channel 4's in-house agency, 4Creative, devised and created the advert
• Serial Pictures and Somesuch, a global production company, produced the advert
• It is Channel 4’s third campaign for the Paralympics
• It includes posters and social media
• It explores the sacrifices made and trials endured by Paralympic athletes

Media Language

• Advertisements employ recognizable elements and conventions
• Charity and awareness ads aim for immediate audience impact
• Advertisements in this sub-genre must be memorable and hard-hitting
• Producers aim to make the advertisements offer a different perspective and be more positive and upbeat
• The soundtrack, "So You Want to be a Boxer," effectively communicates the athletes' struggles with a positive feel
• Sound effects emphasize the battle of training
• Advertisements use technical codes and editing to convey messages rapidly due to limited time
• Close-up shots engage the audience and portray aspects of disability in a non-victim way
• Shots convey the strength and determination of swimmer Ellie Simmonds
• Slow motion and muting enhance dramatic effect
• Visual codes communicate meanings
• Iconography and settings relate to the athlete and the sport
• Settings are juxtaposed with domestic scenes suggesting normality
• Gestures show frustration, competition, and celebration
• Highlight the effort
• The narrative follows the lives and battles through training of the athletes
• Sequences reinforce the clash between sport and family
• Stylized sequences convey meaning
• Humour conveys information (hamster on a wheel)

Semiotics - Roland Barthes

• Advertisements must communicate meaning rapidly
• Recognizable codes and conventions signify messages for interpretation
• Clothing rapidly places athletes within their sport
• Clothing contrasts with their everyday life
• These signs illustrate aspects of the lives of people and create realism
• Signs and codes challenge myths around disability

Structuralism - Claude Lévi-Strauss

• Texts are constructed using binary oppositions
• Gruelling training images contrast with celebratory images after success

Representation

• The campaign shifted focus that emphasized the "Human" element and everyday lives of athletes instead of "Super"

Under-representation & Misrepresentation

• Dominant groups control what is produced
• Minority groups tend to be marginalized
• The advertisement attempts to address marginalization and give a voice to those not usually represented positively
• Positive disability representation in the advertisement and games coverage changed attitudes
• Choices create representations that challenge accepted ideas of disability
• It avoids negative stereotypes
• The representations create a realistic feel
• Representations cover genders and provide a different world of disability to that of having "something wrong"

Narratives

• Narratives are centered around real people focusing on athletes' challenges
• Filming, editing, and audio codes construct awareness and positive representation of Paralympians
• Producers aimed to avoid disabled athlete stereotypes, celebrating them as high-performance athletes

Media Language

• Close-up shots of challenges and home lives create positive representations
• The fast-paced editing highlights narratives and athletes with different disabilities

Stuart Hall's Theory of Representation

• Meanings are communicated through signs
• Expressions of endurance and struggle are recognizable and understood
• The advertisement addresses stereotyping by focusing on athletes achieving goals, avoiding simplification

David Gauntlett's Theory of Identity

• The advertisement gives recognition to those with disabilities allowing disabled people to see themselves represented in the media
• It offers 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
• Many argue the Paralympics is not enough to redress balance and many disabilities are not featured

Audiences

• The advertisement's target audience includes Channel 4 viewers (16-34 age bracket), sports fans, and those desiring inclusive representations
• Channel 4's remit states that it appeals to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society
• Personalization, technical codes, and audio codes target and engage the audience

Advertisement Reaches Audiences

• Real and human stories focus on the day-to-day struggles of being an athlete in training and disabled
• Personalization will reach the audience
• Narratives encourage audience to identify with the athletes and their lives
• Close-up shots are uncomfortable
• The editing cuts between the athlete's routines and clips of cartoon moments
• The music grabs attention with the connotations of struggle, hard work, and older audiences are familiar with the film

Unique Selling Point

• The "showing" of the athletes' stories with no voice-over or moralizing graphics, portrays disabled athlete's lives realistically encouraging the audience to examine their own misconceptions
• it reached 20 million people, and they were encourage to examine their misconceptions

Advertisements

• The advertisements are intended to raise the profile of the event
• Can make some audiences feel uncomfortable by using shock tactics to make audiences aware of some challenges
• They challenged audiences to consider how they use outdated language to categorise people

Social and Cultural Context

• Advertising campaigns reflect societal concerns
• Channel 4 seeks to address the under-representation of a particular social group
• The advertisement focuses on real people making them more audience accessible
• The active decision was to not show the athletes as victims or heros

Theory of Hall

• The use of music and positive representations encourage ideologies
• Creates a preferred idea to give a chance to invest time and watch the games

Negotiated Audience Position

• May acknowledge the position
• may be more open minded

Oppositional Responses

• May come from those who do not support channel 4

Cultivation Theory – George Gerbner

• suggests that audiences may have become used to the advertisement
• Advertisements challenge these suggestions
• By raising awareness

An audio-visual advert created in 2020 to promote the 2020 Paralympic Games. The advertisement highlights the sacrifices and trials endured by Paralympic athletes. It aims to be memorable, hard-hitting, and offer a positive perspective.