Charity Adverts

 "Rain For Good" Advert

The target audience

In the water Aid "Rain for Good" advert the target audience is aimed at middle class and privileged people that are able to help them during their time of need and donate money. This is hinted to the audience from the beginning when the camera shot shows a middle class home.  

 Representation of the landscape of Africa in the advert

The landscape of Africa is represented quite stereotypically as a country that is lacking and one that is filled with poverty. It is shown to be a dry and a brittle landscape which is suggested through the the use of technical codes such as colour. In the beginning we see very dismal colours which could portray her internal sadness that the girl feels because her country is unable to provide for her and doesn't have the essentials that she needs. However, gradually as the advert goes on brighter colours are used when the girl comes into the frame and sees the water and can finally have access to it. We then see that she is smiling and filled with happiness which portrays how much having water means to her which subconsciously has an effect on the audience by making them realise how lucky they are to have water and evokes emotion towards the advert and characters. Despite the advert having a few stereotypical camera shots of Africa, it breaks the convention by showing the brighter side of of Africa at the end with the sun shining behind the villagers and vivid bright colours that normally wouldn't be shown in Africa.

 The UK represented in the advert 

Compared to Africa the UK is represented as a privileged country as its so easy to get a bottle of water from a local shop but in Africa you could have to walk miles and miles just for a bucket of water. UK people stay in their homes when it's raining and see it as a dismal time whilst people in Africa see it as a golden opportunity to gather water around the village. 

People in Africa represented in the advert 

People in Africa are represented as grateful and always appreciative of what they have and try to make the best of a hard situation which we see despite the girl having to walk miles for water she is staying strong and singing. Although it is a difficult time she is represented as hopeful and uplifting when we see her smiling this connotes a positive and optimistic perspective. 

In this shot taken from the advert, it allows the producer to emphasise to the audience the togetherness of the villagers and the close up of the village tap expresses how the people in Africa are represented as very unified and is one big community. 

The central message of the advert and how it achieves this 

The central message of this advert is to raise awareness of how some people in Africa are living and how they need some support from the world. Also, how we should realise how lucky we are to have access to water and should be thankful for what we have. This advert also gives a message to the audience that even if we are going through a hard time to never give up and be defeated but to have hope. This message of having hope was achieved by the gleam of sunshine we see towards the end of the Water Aid charity advert which could symbolise hope. 

This charity advert subverts the stereotypical adverts of Africa because usually adverts of Africa show starving children and the negative side of Africa and how much they're struggling to find food or water, whilst in this advert it subverts the expectations of what a donation advert is usually like. This is achieved because it shows the brighter side of Africa and the community working together and staying hopeful. The music/singing represents how at peace she feels even with the current situation and how she doesn't let it get her down. The camera shots/angles are mostly of her, the other villagers, the buckets' bright colours and the sunshine, instead of focusing on the landscape. The girl singing and carrying the bucket to the water source takes up most of the frame throughout the duration of the advert.

Techniques, technical codes and visual codes used

- Elements of sound and music > Claudia initially sings alone with no accompaniment, this could emphasise the lack of resources and opportunities in her life. However, towards the end the other children join her song suggesting unity and togetherness. Claudia's song functions as a symbolic code, signifying her confidence in face of adversity. 

- Clear binary opposition > Created with rainy, miserable England and colourful, cheerful Africa. This is an atypical representation of Africa.

- Low tracking shots > We see this type of shot of Claudia's shoes which suggests she has to walk far to collect water. The producer positions the audience literally in her shoes allowing the audience to empathise with her.

- Costume > Colourful clothes with particular emphasis on bright blues, yellows and pinks which have associations with happiness and positivity. 

- Dialogue >  Apart from the singing, there isn't any other dialogue in the advertisement which could symbolise how the girl singing is enough to portray the message that's been sent through the advert and doesn't need a voiceover. 

" Most shocking second a day" Save the Children campaign advert

General conventions

The campaign name is called SAVESYRIASCHILDREN, the direct address is shown to us at the end of the advert when the little girl blows out her candles and the women who is most likely her mother tells her to make a wish and she stares at the audience to evoke sympathy and remorse for the way she is currently living. The little girl staring to the audience could be interpreted in many way, one of the ways could be that by her looking at the camera when she is asked to make a wish could symbolise how her only wish is to for the audience to donate money to help her and her family. Additionally, the small smile she gives at the end evokes guilt from the audience because she still is trying to be hopeful despite her situation. 

Use of camera and editing

Throughout the advert only one camera shot is used which is the medium close-up of the main character, which is the little girl. The cuts throughout the video only last up to at least two seconds, they're short and very abrupt. The abrupt cuts from the happy moments in her life leading to the very worst and chaotic moments could be to show everything can change in a split second and we should cherish the good times we have and not take them for granted. The short cuts in between the various situations she goes through allows the audience to go through the journey of the girl's life almost from her point of view, evoking empathy and guilt from the audience.

Props , costume and mise-en-scene

At the beginning of the advert the lighting has a warm undertone to almost express how she's feeling which was happy and content and being with her family which also has connotations of unity and togetherness. As time goes on throughout the advert the mood starts to darken and turn dismal and the colours begin to get dimmer and have more shadowy effects which could have connotations that she is constantly living in fear and the darkness could symbolise that she's blinded from knowing what's going to happen next.  In various clips throughout the advert we see the girl sitting in darkness which could represent how her life is becoming depressing and dark.

Sound

In the advert apart from the family singing happy birthday, there is no music only background sounds such as cars, laughter and conversations. However, as the advert gets dismal the sounds begin to get explosive and loud. There are some harsh sounds of bombs, planes, and occasional screams of people in the background. There are a few words exchanged in the advert but they're mostly shouts for her family or the news playing in the background on the television at her family house talking about the bombing. These are used to express to the audience how her life gradually went from a normal middle-class life to a chaotic, depressing life filled with the bombing and wars. At one point in the advert, there is  a moment of silence which could emphasise the loneliness and isolation that she feels after being separated from the rest of her family. It's used to portray a message that you shouldn't take things for granted because in a moment that could all be taken away and to treat moment like its precious, because in reality it is. 

Language

There is only a small amount of dialogue in the advert. The only significant dialogue is when the girl is screaming for her family when she is getting separated from them and is very scared, we also hear the phrase 'make a wish' and 'happy birthday.' The first time 'Happy birthday and make a wish,' was said was during a happy moment in her life which she was enjoying and her cake is full of the correct number of candles for her age. This highly contrasts the last time that 'make a wish' was said in a more dark and depressing time which symbolises that instead of wishing for what an average child her age would wish for, for example dolls or toys, she wishes for her situation to get better or to see the rest of her family again.