Creative Approach

Approach - Dramatization

The First Step radio ad uses a dramatization approach with a dialogue format to tell a story and hook the audience in quickly. The beginning starts with background noises of a lively bar scene, with the intention of drawing in the target market instantly. The target audience of the advertisement is young men in a college town, so noises of a lively bar scene would grab this audience in and get consumers to tune in. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, rates of heavy drinking are higher in males than females (2021). The conflict arises when the male in the ad begins to stress about his girlfriend and decides not to stay. The resolution that the commercial provides is seeking help through First Step’s hotline. 

The use of tone, sound effects, and music also emphasized that First Step is the solution to the dramatization approach used. In the beginning, the use of a heartbeat sound effect is utilized to emphasize the feeling of anxiety and fear that commonly accompanies emotions when facing abuse. Then soft piano music comes in to make a switch in emotion to soothing and calming. This was used to show that peace and help can be found at First Step and that letting go of that fear happens when the audience seeks help. The first voice, Man 1, is a 20-year-old male that uses a happy casual voice who is meant to act as the friend of Man 2, the victim. This was used to emphasize to the audience that there is no intent for the friend of the victim to inflict anxiety with the question, showing that many victims typically do not share what they are experiencing. The next voice, Man 2, the victim, is also 20 years old but has a scared, worried tone because it transitions into the internal monologue of Man 2. It is evident that the question from Man 1 sent Man 2 into an internal spiral of worry with the use of a scared tone. Then Man 2 switches to a sad tone when denying Man 1’s request to stay. The voice of the narrator is a 20-year-old woman using a soothing tone because First Step is women-led, and the woman being a similar age will create a personal feeling to the advertisement while also providing the audience with an idea of what to expect at First Step. The woman uses a soft tone to provide a sense of ease to the consumers when dealing with such a heavy topic. This commercial will be produced due to the use of sound effects as it is the best way to ensure that the effects are seamlessly entered into the advertisement.