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Research blog: Commercial Conventions

 I am creating a Pentel commercial. A common activity in these is someone writing, drawing, or erasing words. 

Many of the things I saw were people writing and running their fingers over the ink immediately in order to show how quickly the pens dry, usually being accompanied by a left-handed person writing or text that emphasizes that the pens would be safe for left-handed people to use. I also saw a lot of comparisons between the drying times of Pentel pens and other leading pens side by side. Both pens would be used by the same person, write the same thing, and given the same time to dry, showing the audience what advantage they would get with using a Pentel pen.

Props included papers, sticky notes, erasers, highlighters. Moreover, different styles of the pens were showcased, showing the wide variety of pens Pentel offers.

Since we are only able to see the hand of a person writing, there aren't any clothes shown. However, all the hands look clean and well taken care of. Moreover, left-handed writers are also prominently featured, again emphasizing the ability of left-handed people to write with ease.

Conventions and codes:

Every time a pen is shown, it is always angled to show off the red Pentel logo on it. This allows the audience to connect that the better and more useful pen is from Pentel. The logo also makes it easy for the audience to look up what kind of pen it is since it's the company name. Pentel always ends their commercials by showing off their logo again, to further highlight the company name.

The company name is even a code, being the words "pen" and "tell" combined. This accentuates the fact that their pens will tell a better story and allow the user to convey their messages better. They have had several slogans, but all of them really show the quality of Pentel in a few short words. The current slogan "Discover the best" creates the feeling that Pentel pens are the best, and their wide assortment of pens will allow consumers to find the one best fit for their needs.


Until next time, Danniella Miller signing off :)

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