Lucozade

Lucozade as an energy drink

Lucozade is a drink containing 62g of sugar per 500ml bottle; it is a glucose-water solution. The purpose of Lucozade is to provide calories and energy and it does this from sugar. Lucozade replaces lost energy when exercising.

Release date, price, target audience

Lucozade was released in 1927 as the product Glucozade as a source of energy to those who are ill by a pharmacist named William Owen. However, since 1983 the drink has been sold as an energy drink with a target audience of males aged 18-30; it is currently sold at 10p per 100ml.

Market share

In 2003 the energy drink sector was worth £940 million according to the Mintel Energy & Stimulant drinks Market Report August 2003. This market for energy drinks continues to grow every year. According to Superbrands case study, Lucozade has been the leading energy drink since its release with a market share of just under 60% in 2004.

Analysis of TV ad

The Lucozade Energy advert named Find your flow opened with a wide shot of an airport where the window cleaner in the background is in focus as he cleans the windows at a much greater pace than the speed of the people walking along past. This draws our attention to this man’s skill in his every day job. The background music has a fast rhythm containing lots of drum beats, making it have a clear and rapid rhythm. The advert consists of multiple scenarios of people doing superhuman activities or normal activities in an extravagant way. Most of the main characters are males and only 3 of the scenarios feature a woman as the main character. One of those women is fixing a car (stereotypically a manly thing to do) and another the lady has a man’s voice. The deep, slow, manly voice suggests the target audience and fluidity, despite the fact that we find out that the voice belongs to a woman at the end. Although they used female characters (who are not part of the target audience) they haven’t used characters much outside of the target age range (males aged 18-30). The product is advertised to those of all social classes and professions with people who work in a kebab van and people who work in an office which is seen by society as a higher up job.

Codes and Conventions of energy drink adverts

Energy drink adverts often contain the use of vibrant colours which stand out to put emphasis on the drink, and draw our attention to it. The bright colours also indicate the energy; you wouldn't be likely to buy a dull grey energy drink as it wouldn't look very fitting to the product. They also often contain people doing exercise/physical activity, because that's when energy drinks are designed to be consumed. They contain pictures of the energy drink often a close up at the end of the advert to show the audience what it looks like, so that they can buy the product. The music in energy drink adverts tends to be quite upbeat and have a clear rhythm to them to advertise the energy the drink will give them. Often, the main characters used in energy drink adverts are males, as they are the target audience.