OUGD401 - Study Task 5, Research

Contextual Research:

Project Background and Client:
There is a growing industry in sports and nutrition supplements and they have become widely available online and in shops on the high street. Although they are made and advertised as a way to improve health and help with muscle growth, slimming, toning etc, some are being made and sold illegally and can cause a lot of harm. The research that I have done so far for this brief highlights the affect that the media and advertising is having on men as I have realised that this is something that can be overlooked. I want my advertising campaign to raise an awareness of the repercussions of taking extreme measures to try and get the perfect body. This is the reason that my chosen client is the NHS as I think that by use of them as the client that message that I am trying to get across will be taken as a more serious warning.

Protein powders, available as shakes, bars and capsules, are one of the most popular muscle-building supplements. Many body builders and people aiming to improve their bodies replace protein in food with the supplements. However the supplements do not contain the vitamins and nutrients that a balanced meal does meaning that by using these supplements in the wrong way it can result in not getting the correct intake in your diet. 
There is also evidence that, in the long term, consuming too much protein can lead to an increased risk of osteoporosis and can also worsen existing kidney problems. The Department of Health advises adults to avoid consuming more than twice the recommended daily intake of protein (55.5g for men and 45g for women).

UK drug regulator the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has warned people to be wary of buying illegal sports supplements, because they might contain dangerous ingredients that could cause kidney failure, seizures and heart problems. I want my campaign which is mainly aimed at young males to create an awareness of these statistics in the hopes to help prevent further fatalities caused by abusing these supplements in the aim for the 'perfect body'.

There have been many cases of young males in particular buying illegal gym supplements resulting in sometimes extreme consequences. One case study which I have looked into is the case of Oli Cooney who died at the age of 20 due to steroid misuse. The misuse of the class C drugs led to him having a heart attack and three strokes and he was killed by a second heart attack at the age of 20 in September 2013.

Target Audience Research:

Geographic: These posters will be aimed at English speaking young men of any country but mostly the UK.

Demographic: Although this campaign can be aimed at any men who are over working in the gym and body conscious, it is mainly aimed at young men between the ages of 16 and 30 as I feel that this is the age range that is mostly affected. I decided on men as they are the people who seem to be under more pressure in the present day to have a muscular body and I feel that this pressure is overlooked.

Psychographic: The campaign must be eye-catching and interesting in order to catch the attention of my target audience. It needs to be clear and easy to understand straight away what is being discussed.

Relevant and related visual images:

The images that I have chosen as a helpful visual aid for my design treatment are existing posters that have been designed for different campaigns that have been run by the NHS.

I have looked at a mixture of posters that use imagery and typography. I like the use of photography in the posters as I think that it this is something that I want to experiment with in my own work. I think that the use of strong imagery helps to make a lasting impression on the people viewing the posters.

Figure 1

Figure 1 is one of the NHS posters from the smokefree campaign. I think that this is a really powerful poster as the use of imagery is quite hard hitting. This particular poster is aimed at parents as it uses the phrase 'your child' but I do feel that almost anyone can understand the message being portrayed here. This use of powerful imagery is something that I'd be interested in experimenting with in my own work in order to help make my posters eye catch and leave the viewer thinking.

Figure 2

Figure 2 is part of the NHS mental health awareness campaign and talks about the steps to take if you are suffering from a mental illness. This design uses a lot of typography which I think definitely works well for this type of campaign as it is the things that people need to know and understand.

Figure 3

Figure 3 is an NHS poster for spreading awareness of meningitis. I like the use of a simple illustration in this design as I think it helps to make the poster quite eye catching. This also can appeal to a wide variety of people as I think that the design is quite universal.

Figure 4

Figure 4 is another NHS poster for mental health. This one is more specific to suicidal cases. I think that the imagery here is a lot more powerful than the first mental health poster and therefore would make a bigger impact on the viewer.