This particular advert was made by a charity called “Help the Aged” This advert is trying to persuade us to pay a small contribution a week to save people like Nziku. This ad tries to persuade us by saying “Yet for just over £2 a week”; it makes us think that this amount of money is small and that it would be worth more to people like Nziku than us. It also tries to persuade us by giving the person in the image a name. This makes it harder for the reader to ignore her. The reader is given a real person to relate to which is also very effective.
This particular ad uses a narrative technique and is talking about one specific person. You can tell this by the text, it tells the reader her name, that she has no one to look after her with no family and that she had to give up work because of “failing health”. The ad also informs us that she has no money and because of this situation she can’t afford medicine or even the basics of life. In the second paragraph it says “You can change this” This directly addresses the reader, it gets the reader involved and tries to convince the reader that his/her help is urgently needed to change Nzikus’ life and give her the basics of life including her clothing and medicine.
All of this combined persuades the reader that his/her money is a small price to pay to save her life. Throughout the text the sort of language that is used is very dramatic and emotive; these words are to draw the reader’s in. Words such as “frail and alone”, It is as if she “no one to turn to” and she has no family and no friends. The reply slip at the bottom of the ad is simple and easy to use and it’s even quicker to use a credit card as there is a telephone number to call. This number is written in bold to grab the reader attention. You then see the logo that shows sunset, this gives the reader an impression that time is running out for these poor old people.
Now I’m going to be talking about a different advert. First of all I’m going to start with the image. The image is large and stands out. “Mary” is looking directly at the reader. Just by doing this the reader is immediately affected and perhaps is persuaded to read on and become more involved. She is holding a cup of tea probably trying to keep herself as warm as possible. She looks sad, distressed, cold and probably very lonely and is wearing cheap clothing. This make us feel that help is needed especially to such a young girl, and because this girl is young it make the reader feel sorry for her and make him/her want to help as much as they can to provide a shelter fir them.
The next thing that catches the reader’s attention is the caption; it says “will you give Mary a bed for Christmas?” In that question, the word you directly addresses the reader and tries to get him or her involved and make them responsible for what happens to Mary, Then the word Christmas. Christmas is a time for celebration and happiness but not in Mary’s case. This gives the reader the impression that we can change the way Mary lives. Within the image there are two boxes; one says “5 days to go” with the number 5 in bold and the other says “1ºc last night” and “1ºc is written in bold. Five days to go means five days until Christmas and five days to give Mary the best Christmas present, a bed, a nice hot meal, clothes and someone to talk to in one of the shelters. 1ºc reminds the audience that it’s getting colder by the day outside and it makes us feel guilty because we probably live comfortably. This advert was created for the charity CRISIS. The word crisis in this case refers directly to people in distress. We are also of their crisis and especially Mary’s.
The first paragraph says “At 16 Mary ran away from a live of abuse”. At the age of 16 this poor, vulnerable girl has ran away from home but it is not her fault as she has led a life filled with abuse. This makes the ad seem more real as it refers to a real life situation this also makes us feel even sorrier for her and this is exactly how the charity wants us to feel. The next sentence says “Could you sleep easy on Christmas eve knowing she was shivering in a bus shelter”. This makes the reader feel guilty and responsible if he/she does not make a contribution to their cause.
The second paragraph directly addresses the reader again. The text says “You can help keep Mary and thousands of vulnerable people like her safe and warm over Christmas”. The aim of this sentence is to make the reader feel guilty if he/she doesn’t contribute anything. This charity is asking for £25 and straight away the reader can tell that £25 represents the 25th December and the charity lets us know that the£25 will provide a warm bed, hot meals and someone to talk to in one of the shelters.
The third paragraph says “As the days count down to Christmas”. It then says “Homeless people are counting on CRISIS”. The charity who made this ad is playing with the word counting because it is a countdown to Christmas and they are counting on the reader. The message from all of this is put across strongly and that you can change all of this for a small amount.
The tear off slip is easy to use and provides a variety of ways to pay e.g. MasterCard, Visa, Switch or even cheques, this make it easier to give. There is also a telephone number written in bold to catch the readers attention, this is to pay faster and therefore is less time consuming. The amount £25 is in bold as it serves as another reminder of the date the 25th of December.
The logo fits the idea of helping people because it’s an image of a house and within the house it says “Working for homeless people” This phrase immediately means helping people and gets its message across clearly and quickly.
Both charity adverts are very persuasive. The technique that is used in the first ad has a story telling technique as it tells us what she’s been through. It also talks about only one person which her name is Nziku. The second ad is very similar as its uses the same technique but talks about Mary and talks about thousands and they both show exactly what they need from the reader to make anything possible.
Both these adverts are good and effective; they are both easy to use and to pay. They are both quite large and quickly draws the reader’s attention.
In my opinion I think that the most effective advert was by Help the Aged. I chose this one because the image appeared a lot more dramatic and therefore more effective towards the reader. Also the text is more persuasive and really makes me feel guilty if I do nothing. I also think this ad is the better of the two because old people are less able to take care of themselves than younger people.
Both of the adverts try to make the reader to feel responsible and guilty if they do not contribute to the charities cause. All charity ads have to persuade the reader and if this is not done it will not affect the reader as required to do this both adverts have to contain dramatic pictures and use emotive language to make the advert more effective.
