Advertising Analysis Part A

Analyzing Advertising
Braeden Gilmour
VISA 1500-01

In the fall of 2020, London based club Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of Gareth Bale ahead of the 2020/2021 Premier League season, which had been publicized over many football outlets including talkSPORT.com which is where I found this image. Tottenham found that their best way to unveil the superstar to the public was to release a photograph of Bale performing his signature goal celebration. This advertisement gives Spurs supporters excitement for the upcoming season with the return of the clubs greatest ever export, paving the way for a monstrous increase of kit sales with Bale’s name and number on the back.

The photo of Bale itself comes across as a very basic, yet classic, player reveal. With Bale’s heart-shaped hands taking the majority of the foreground of this image, while the rest of the Welsh star takes place as more of the background of this image. This photo is taken in front of a grey backdrop, allowing Bale himself to be the only focal point of this advertisement. Bale is seen in this image smiling while in Tottenham’s latest home kit while forming the shape of a heart in front of the club’s badge which is placed on the left side of his chest. This conveys the impression that Bale is excited to return to Spurs, giving fans hope and optimism heading into the upcoming season. Elements that support this message include Bale’s stance, hand positioning, and positive morale. With the simplistic nature of the advertisement, Tottenham is extremely effective in expressing Bale’s excitement to be back at the club and that Spurs supporters should be as well. This image also leaves players and supporters of rival clubs with a bit of unrest due to Bale’s ability to perform at the highest level.

Tottenham Hotspur has had their own moments of controversy in history. An example of a previous issue took place in 1935 when the English Football Association decided that Tottenham’s home ground at the time would hold a friendly match between England and Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. With Tottenham having a large Jewish following at the time, many fans considered boycotting Spurs home matches, leaving the club divided between its Jewish supporters and many racist English fans. This friendly also led to a swastika flag being flown alongside a union jack above the stadium. In a more recent event in which Tottenham Hotspur fell under criticism. In the spring of this year, club chairman Daniel Levy had received backlash from supporters and politicians due to his use of England’s coronavirus job retention scheme to cover 80 percent of the wages of 550 employees the club was planning to lay off. This criticism fell on Levy and the club’s billionaire owners since the club had made £68.5 million in the previous season. Levy had agreed that this decision was not the right one and the club decided to pay 100 percent of the non-playing staff’s wages during April and May.

Works Cited
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/article-tottenham-hotspur-no-longer-applying-for-uk-government-fund-to-cover/

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/11/nazi-germany-played-england-tottenham-white-hart-lane