Codes and Conventions of Radio Adverts

• The  average duration of any form of radio advert is 40 seconds. However, it is permitted for them to be as short as 15 or as long as 60 seconds. 
• The content of radio adverts is appropriately chosen towards to suit the needs of their audience and make them more appealing. For example, on the rock genre based radio station 'Real XS', there is no target audience, although there is a majority audience of male with an age range of 35-64 years old; many of them are from a working class background. Therefore, there are many adverts for local scrap metal dealerships, second hand cars and music shops because these are things which they are likely to be interested in. 
• In radio advertisements for documentaries which are due to be shown on television, the same narrator from the documentary itself is used for the voice over. This is to help anchor meaning to the audience. 
• Many documentary adverts are edited to include audio clips from the program. This helps convey the relationship between the radio advert and television documentary.
• Radio adverts are usually short, simple and always include the scheduling information, who is broadcasting the program and a strap line so listeners have a way of being able to associate the essential details with the program. 
• It is common to hear a music bed in radio advertisements to make it memorable for listeners. When radio advertisements have no music bed, they can sometimes be perceived as boring and therefore do not maximise their full potential in terms of reaching a large target audience. 
• The voice over and music used is often easy to understand, upbeat and clear so listeners are more likely to be persuaded into watching the program.
• The language used is aimed to suit the demographic
• They generally use the qualities of the product (in our case, the documentary) to give listeners an incentive to tune in and watch it when is being broadcasted.