Reception Theory in practice

Flora Advert



This text is an advertisement for Flora; it is intended to entice the audience into buying the product. The target audience are mothers who are still married and with children, they are working class and are between the ages of 25 and 35. The product is for the mainstream as it is a familiar brand which tries to appeal to as many people as possible.

The preferred reading of the text is that it wants to joke at all the little mishaps in our family life and we shouldn’t take them too seriously, we simply laugh about them and enjoy our lives to the fullest. It believes that family is important and that it is important to be close to your family as much as possible, this is shown through how the family presented in the text appear to be happy living together. It also believes that the world is simpler through the nativity of a child, this is shown through the joke presented near the end of the advert that children would not understand but adults would. The art style of the text also reinforces this idea of the naivety of a child as it looks like a children’s TV show and uses a child to narrate the advert. The underlining message of the text is that family life doesn't always go well, but it is best to simply life at those moments and simply enjoy family life while it lasts.
 

Some may have an oppositional reading of the text, for example they may deem that the 'wrestling' joke slightly inappropriate or may think that it is a bit lewd. They may be concerned about this joke as the text appears to be aiming at children as their target audience, this could lead to difficult conversations with their children and this is something they would rather not have to experience. Considering that the text appears to be aimed at adults it comes across as very childish, from the art style to the narration which could put off some people. Some may think that the text does not give enough information about the product, as it only says that it is great for families and that it great without going into greater detail. This may lead to some misreading the text and make them feel like they do not have enough information on the product before they purchase. Others may not have grown in a loving family and the message that the text is trying to get across may be missed by those people. The idea of a nuclear family being the norm presented in this text may not reflect the realities of family life in Britain and thus the message will be missed entirely.

Some people may be having difficulties with their families and are living away from their families, the message of family life being important presented in the text may not only upset but offend them as it may make them think of their family life before their difficulties. Those that had recently lost a loved one would feel more pain from the message of family life as it would remind them of the times that the person they lost was around, making the emotional wounds greater. These factors may lead to them taking a negotiated reading as while they may understand that while the text isn't taking their experiences into account which would cause them to disagree with their message of family, they know that the message is meant to be a positive one and that it isn't intended for them.Some while finding the 'wresting' joke to be inappropriate could like the positive message the text is trying to reinforce.