NAME: Samuel Osagie

COURSE TITLE: Professional Development

COURSE CODE: LMUT008J
ASSIGNMENT: Media Text Research Report
TUTOR: Daniel Vidal

DIRECT MAIL ADVERT FOR TOSHIBA

QOSMIO G50-10H LAPTOP IN
UNITED KINGDOM: The Media Text

By

Samuel Osagie

LIMKOKWING UNIVERSITY, LONDON

7TH OCTOBER, 2008

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NAME: Samuel Osagie
COURSE TITLE: Professional Development
COURSE CODE: LMUT008J
ASSIGNMENT: Media Text Research Report
TUTOR: Daniel Vidal

DIRECT MAIL ADVERT FOR TOSHIBA QOSMIO

G50-10H LAPTOP IN UNITED KINGDOM:
The Media Text

Media texts are fictional or non-fictional texts designed to describe the reality found in films,
televisions, newspapers, magazines, advertisements, posters and leaflets.
A text is any media product we choose to examine, it could be a film, a television programme, a
book, music, poster or latest fashion.
Every media text is aimed to create a style that will suit a particular kind of audience to achieve
a certain purpose. Media texts use style and structure to communicate to an audience.
The style of a media text has two elements: form and content. The form and the content are
combined to create the style. The form and the content create certain effect on the audience
through the structure of the style. Media texts have various purposes, they are created to
entertain, inform, persuade, explain, or advise audience. Media texts are also ideological.
Without media texts there is no advertisement, media text create every advertisement we see
whether in films, televisions, newspapers, magazines, advertisements, posters and leaflets.
. It is used to achieve the primary goal of advertisement, which is to inform and create emotional
link between a consumer product and an attractive lifestyle
(http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/mainguides/nonfiction.htm, accessed 18/9/08). Every kind of
advertisement has a message and a code. This message and code is created by media text.
“The code is the highly persuasive cued idea that triggers thoughts of a desirable lifestyle”
(http://englishbiz.co.uk/mainguidesnonfiction.htm, accessed 20/9/08).
What is direct mail advertising? Direct mail advertising is a marketing tool designed to reach a
particular target audience. Direct mail advertising has various advantages over other types of
advertising methods. Direct mails are given unique designs that suit each a particular target
audience and they can be sent directly into people’s homes or offices, into their hands to get
their focused attention. They can be personalised to individuals or groups, which make them
deliver greater impact. They are also targeted at the relevant audience (e.g. by interest,
behaviour, demographics, purchasing power or profession), thereby reducing wastage (Trapp,

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NAME: Samuel Osagie
COURSE TITLE: Professional Development
COURSE CODE: LMUT008J
ASSIGNMENT: Media Text Research Report
TUTOR: Daniel Vidal
R. 2005). Direct mail advertising also has the advantage of coming in different sizes, shapes,
colours and weights. And they have limitless creative possibilities.

In this report, I will analyse the use of direct mail advertising for Toshiba Qosmio G50-10 H
laptop in the United Kingdom. Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop is an outstanding mobile media
centre with the latest Intel Centrino 2 technology; excellent & huge 18.4 inches full HD screen of
1920 x 1080 resolution; high gloss finish with a sleek attractive design; Quad-core HD video
processor; NVIDIA Geforce 9600M GT 512MB graphic card; built-in gesture control webcam;
and the fantastic Harman Kardon audio speakers (http://uk.computers.toshiba-
europe.com/innovation/product/Qosmio-G50-10H/1056352/toshibaShop/false, accessed
6/10/08).

Figure 1.
Toshiba
Qosmio G50-
10H laptop
(Source: Toshiba
United
Kingdom)

The type of media text that this report researches is direct mail. I will be exploring the following
questions:
• Who are the target audience for this consumer product, Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H
laptop?

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NAME: Samuel Osagie
COURSE TITLE: Professional Development
COURSE CODE: LMUT008J
ASSIGNMENT: Media Text Research Report
TUTOR: Daniel Vidal
• What kind of media text do we use for Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop Direct mail
advert, and why?
• What are the technical codes and narrative codes of the chosen media text?

Before I go further, it is expedient I first of all find out who my target audience are. Who am I
trying to target with this intended advertisement? The target customers for this advertisement
are those who are in the group B (middle management, administrators, and professionals) and
group C1 (junior management, supervisors, and professionals) socio-economic class in United
Kingdom. And why am I targeting the group C? This is because the product I am creating this
advertisement for, is a professional and expensive as well as luxury laptop. This laptop cost
£1,399 in the UK, which make it a product far above the common consumer and a product of
class. It is design for creative professionals and multimedia enthusiast
(http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/innovation/product/Qosmio-G50-
10H/1056352/toshibaShop/false/, accessed 6/10/08). When I say the middle class, I mean
people with annual salary of £30,000 and above.
Having identified who the potential audience of Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H are, the next thing to
begin to look into is ‘what the audience will be looking at for in a cutting edge laptop like Toshiba
Qosmio G50-10H’. What are those features in Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop that will trigger
the audience’s thought of desirable lifestyle? What are those things in Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H
laptop that makes it supersede its rival, and a ‘must buy’? These are those attributes that gives
the product its personality. These attributes will make up the ideology of the media text in the
direct mail advert for Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop. I will like to point out these features, they
are as follows:
• Impressive build quality
• Excellent & huge HD screen
• Quad-core HD video processor
• Powerful performance
• Good battery life
• Fantastic audio quality
• Attractive styling

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NAME: Samuel Osagie
COURSE TITLE: Professional Development
COURSE CODE: LMUT008J
ASSIGNMENT: Media Text Research Report
TUTOR: Daniel Vidal
After defining the target audience of Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop, the next thing to look at
how to design the media text for this advertisement in a way that it will effectively pass the

intended message and code to the audience. The first thing I will do in design the media text for

the direct mail advert for Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop is to decide the page design for the

direct mail. The page design of direct mail advert differs. 100% of direct mail leaflets have a

conventional title page with a form of logo or image. The page design implies how the media

texts will look like on the leaflet. This brings me to the question of the type of page design I am

using to create the direct mail advert for Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop. The page design I am

using for the direct mail advert for Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop, will be composed of a wide

angle photo of Tower Bridge showing Canary Wharf (as shown in Figure 3); a wide-angle

photo of O2 centre (as shown in Figure 4); image of Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop,

Toshiba logo, and Intel Centrino (as shown in Figure 2); scientific jargons in text

characters, and colours.

It is the composition of these elements that will form the message and code of the direct mail
advert for Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop, which the target audience will decode. These

elements will help to create the persuasive appeals and rhetorical features that will enforce the

message and code to the audience. The media texts I will be using in this direct mail advert are

Photographs, Text elements, logos, and colours. What am basically trying to do here is that am

using photographic images combined with IT jargons, product logo and colour to code my

message to my target audience. I am using images that have anchorage, which is used to

attach meaning or connotation to a message, either by matching words to images or juxtaposing

two images to construct a meaning.

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NAME: Samuel Osagie
COURSE TITLE: Professional Development
COURSE CODE: LMUT008J
ASSIGNMENT: Media Text Research Report
TUTOR: Daniel Vidal
“Anchorage is a powerful way to create a preferred reading of a photograph” (Chandler, D.

2002). Unlike many advert that uses only the pictures of their product (e.g. CK ONE perfumes),

which has no anchorage.

Figure 2. Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop

Figure 3. Tower Bridge photo and Canary Wharf in the background.

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NAME: Samuel Osagie
COURSE TITLE: Professional Development
COURSE CODE: LMUT008J
ASSIGNMENT: Media Text Research Report
TUTOR: Daniel Vidal

Figure 4. 02 Centre photo

Why did I choose these photo images and why did I include the product image and logo?

I choose the images of Tower Bridge with Canary Wharf behind and 02 Centre because they
both contain “indexical and cultural codes”, which help trigger the emotion of a desirable
lifestyle in the audience. Tower Bridge with Canary Wharf behind indexically connotes a
new horizon in modern technology. It also connotes an exodus into unlimited creativity.
Using a wide angle shot speaks of a broad horizon. That means Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H
laptop has a broad multifaceted application in businesses and creativity; is a laptop of high

specification and modern cutting edge technology. While the image of 02 Centre indexically
connotes unlimited mobile entertainment and sophistication. By using this image in the
media text, I am trying to let the audience know that Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop is not just
a laptop, but an outstanding mobile multimedia centre with very high technical specifications that
will help broaden their horizons and relish them with the latest in entertainment technology.
“Photographs are evidence not only of what is there, but of what an individual sees…an
evaluation of the world” (Richards, S. 1998). The merge of these two images will create the
Anchorage in this direct mail advert for product, and also act as a persuasive appeal to the
audience. The use of image helps to reinforce the message to the audience, thereby reducing
semantic barriers.

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NAME: Samuel Osagie
COURSE TITLE: Professional Development
COURSE CODE: LMUT008J
ASSIGNMENT: Media Text Research Report
TUTOR: Daniel Vidal

The absence of human image like a male or female gender in this design will signify a product of
generic gender that is, for both male and female, omitting sexy and feminine codes which most
adverts contain.
The blue sky backdrop in both images signifies “Quality & Innovation”, which Toshiba Qosmio
G50-10H laptop has brought to the market.
I will analyse this more as we look at the last question, what will be the technical codes and
narrative codes or cultural codes of the chosen media texts.

The Technical codes of the proposed direct mail advert include the leaflet Size, page design,
background colour, font style, font size, font colour, photograph shot & angle, the way
the images are framed in the pictures, and the backdrop of the pictures in the advert.
• Leaflet Size of this direct mail advert for Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop is 8” x 6”,
because it has to be portable and appealing to the audience.
• Page Design of the direct mail advert implies the content of the direct mail, a media text
that is the composition of the background, images, logo, and text elements. The page
design most be done in such a way that it create positive and persuasive appeal to the
audience. The technical code of page design is a wide angle long shot London Bridge
with Canary Wharf behind, which indexically connotes new horizon in modern
technology and an exodus into unlimited creativity. While the technical code of the

wide angle long shot of 02 Centre indexically connotes unlimited mobile entertainment
and sophistication. The use of Toshiba logo and Intel Centrino 2 logo connotes high
quality, and help to reinforce the message to the audience. The page design is
composed of a promotional slogan and IT jargons. The promotional slogan is “more than
just a laptop, an outstanding mobile media centre”. While the IT jargons will be bullet
texts of Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H attributes: Impressive build quality, Excellent &
huge HD screen, Quad-core HD video processor, Powerful performance, and Good
battery life.

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NAME: Samuel Osagie
COURSE TITLE: Professional Development
COURSE CODE: LMUT008J
ASSIGNMENT: Media Text Research Report
TUTOR: Daniel Vidal
• Background Colour of the direct mail leaflet will be Sky blue colour. Gray colour
signifies potency. That connotes that Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop is a powerful
laptop.
Colour is an important element in advertising, because it can shape human perception and
create different impressions of objects (Cutler, etal. 1992). Colour attracts attention and help in
interpreting attributes of products. Colour also has cultural code. Each part of the has different
connotations to a particular colour. For instance, the colour “RED” in the Eastern part of world
connotes celebration while in the Western world, it connotes danger.
• Font style will be Sans- serif typeface. The Font Size will be 24PX while the Font
Colour is Orange. The Font style, Sans- serif and Orange connote beauty and luxury.
The technical code of the camera angle and shot help to signify a horizon of high
performance and innovation. It helps to enforce the message the direct mail advert is
carrying.
The Narrative codes of the direct mail advert are:
• Toshiba G50-10H laptop is a sophisticated laptop with unlimited mobile entertainment.
• Toshiba G50-10H laptop is a new laptop with modern technology for unlimited creativity.
• Toshiba G50-10H laptop is a business workstation, that is, a replacement for desktop
computer.
• Toshiba G50-10H laptop is an epitome of quality and innovation.

Direct mail helps advertisers to easily convey their messages to their audiences in a coded
manner that triggers their thoughts of a desired lifestyle. Every direct mail has ideological value.
Every direct mail has a code and a message. It is very important that the content of the direct
mail be design in such a way that the audience can get the real message the sender is sending
across. The technical codes and narrative codes should be suitably put in place.
The content and style of this direct mail has been meticulously structured in a way that target
customers can easily decode. The use of images of 02 centre, Tower Bridge, and Canary
Wharf as indexical and cultural codes in the design of the direct mail will help to bring the
message of Toshiba Qosmio G50-10H laptop advertisement to the target customers.
The narrative codes of the chosen background, images, logo, and text elements in the direct
mail are well connected:

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NAME: Samuel Osagie
COURSE TITLE: Professional Development
COURSE CODE: LMUT008J
ASSIGNMENT: Media Text Research Report
TUTOR: Daniel Vidal
• The background connoting potency.
• The image of 02 centre connoting unlimited mobile entertainment; the image of London.
Bridge connoting a new horizon in modern technology and an exodus into unlimited
creativity; and the image of Canary Wharf connoting workstation.
• The logo of Toshiba connoting quality and innovation.
• And the text giving a panoramic interpretation.
These narrative codes serve as a frame of reference to help the audiences understand the
message of the direct mail advert, that this is a product design for customers in the United
Kingdom.

REFERENCES:
1. Branston, G. and Stafford, R. (2006). The Media student’s Book. USA: Routledge, pp.
384- 393.
2. Chandler, D. (2002). Semiotics for Basics. London: Routledge.
3. Cutler, B.D., Javalgi, R. G. & Erramilli, M.K. (1992). The Visual Components of Print
Advertising: A Five-Country Cross-Cultural Analysis. European Journal of Marketing, Vol.
26, No. 4, pp. 7-20.
4. Richards, S. (1998). A Semiotic Analysis of Wallis Adverts.
5. Sut, J. (1990). The code of Advertising. London: Routledge
6. Trapp, R. (2005). Analysis: Why Direct Mail Will Never End Up on the Junk Heap.
Independent on Sunday. Nov. 20th 2005.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is-/ai_n15851554 - accessed 24/9/08

7. http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/mainguides/nonfiction.htm, accessed 18/9/08

8. http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/innovation/product/Qosmio-G50-
10H/1056352/toshibaShop/false, accessed 6/10/08
9. http://chintan-mod6.blogspot.com/2007/12/advert-analysis-2.html, accessed 2/10/08.

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NAME: Samuel Osagie
COURSE TITLE: Professional Development
COURSE CODE: LMUT008J
ASSIGNMENT: Media Text Research Report
TUTOR: Daniel Vidal

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