Firstly, Lara was popular and current. Video games were still quite a new thing when this advert was created, and Tomb Raider was a very popular game that a lot of people could identify with and relate to. Many knew the game and liked it. This made it a good choice for an advert. One of the people on the team to make this advert said that the key to good advertising was capturing something current to the time, and Lara Croft did this.
Secondly, Lara was seen by some people as an icon or role model. Although the advert was mainly supposed to appeal to men, it did appeal to some women too because a strong, powerful woman who could fight and succeed (even in virtual form) was a good advert for 'girl power', a popular issue of the time. Again, this made the ad relatable and current.
However, this advert was really supposed to appeal to men, as I mentioned earlier, and I think it does this very well. The game Tomb Raider was quite a masculine game (lots of guns, killing, fighting, which all stereotypically appeal to men) and so mostly it would be men that could understand and relate to the ad. Lara was also pretty, something that again would mainly attract the attention of a male audience.
The messages and values of Lucozade also come through in the ad very clearly, because of choosing Lara Croft. Lucozade is a drink that gives you energy, boosts you and keeps you healthy, and at the top of your game. Lara is a symbol of energy and being fit, healthy and strong. She is an obvious representation of everything Lucozade can supposedly do for you, and this is clear in the ad. It creates what one of the team creating the ad called 'mental shorthand' where the brain automatically links one thing (Lucozade) with another (Lara Croft, a strong, healthy individual at the peak of her fitness).
This leads on to synergy, whereby one company 'piggy backs' off the other i.e. they use each other's success to promote their own products. This advert used popular, established game Tomb Raider to promote Lucozade in a new and interesting way. There are lots of less interesting ways to present a product like this, e.g. someone in an office gets tired, has Lucozade, and suddenly does well at work, but these types of ideas have already been done and aren't as interesting as something like a video game, which will appeal to a younger target audience.
The final benefit to choosing Lara Croft to promote Lucozade is that she is an icon who behaves. She is fictional, and entirely controlled by the company who make her, therefore she cannot embarrass or disgrace herself in public as real life celebrities can. She does not have that metaphorical 'shelf life', and will never get old, tired, change in anyway or do anything bad to discredit the ad.
Overall, there are several very justifiable reasons for choosing Lara Croft as Lucozade's icon for their campaign.
Click here for the advert
You demonstrate understanding of both the target audience and how they are addressed by the visual codes of the advertisement.
ReplyDeleteYou give a clear account of the marketing strategy and how Lara was a product of the times.
grade A*