Evaluate the effectiveness of the Save the Children advertisement.

Save the Children charity advertised themselves and what they do in the form of a leaflet. The purpose of the leaflet is to persuade the reader to give a donation of money. The target audience of this leaflet is mainly aimed at adults that can afford to give money. The leaflet uses many of the techniques of persuasion to catch the reader’s attention. They do this in various ways including the presentation of the leaflet, the language that includes emotive language, repetition, direct address of the reader and a clear message. Also included in the leaflets use of persuasive techniques are a balance of facts and opinions, and some emotive case histories.

Firstly presentation is very important when trying to persuade someone as it sets a good impression. The leaflet included four photographs of young children, one is happy and the others are sad. This makes you feel sorry for them and their big eyes draw you in, it shows how and why they need your help. The font used in the leaflet is simple and easy to read. The designers of the leaflet use different sizes of font to emphasize which points are the most important. “£3 a month” and “10p a day” are in bold to make the point and they are important figures for people to know. I think that those phrases catch the reader’s attention more as so little money is needed and it could make the difference. To catch the reader’s eye and make the leaflet look more attractive the charity highlights “please support”. Bullet points are shown on how the charity spends the money donations given this is a good idea as it shows they are a trustworthy charity that will not spend your donations on unnecessary things. To show who the charity are they have a logo it shows the reader that they are an official and a reputable company. The logo looks like a happy child due to the money given. The charity help children in over seventy countries worldwide, so therefore the circle surrounding the child in the logo could represent the world.

To get a clear message across about helping children the writer uses repetition. The leaflet repeats such phrases as “10p a day can help save a life” and “£3 a month” repeats the small amount of money that can make a difference to the children that they help.

To appeal to the readers emotions the writer uses sentences like “sadly, every day, thousands of children under five die” and “Just think …… £3 a month from you could”. These words make you feel a responsibility towards the children and it makes you think and feel you can help, as ...

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Making the reader feel included is very important when writing a persuasive leaflet. I think ‘Save the Children’ charity do al they can to directly address the reader. Using words and phrases such as “every penny you give makes a difference” makes the reader feel included and responsible. This makes it feel as though the charity is pacifically talking to you and that; they need your help as an individual. They are being polite in an effort for help and donations.

The writer also includes facts to follow up opinions many facts are included but some are not as strong as facts should be. They use such facts as “88p of every pound…………(5 year average)”. This is one of the strong facts used in the leaflet it suggests that your money is used wisely and not wasted on unnecessary overheads. Another strong fact included in the leaflet is a list of diseases, which include “Measles, polio, whopping cough, tetanus, TB and diphtheria can kill”. These are mentioned because it could shock the readers in the developed world to learn that children still die from these easily preventable diseases. “£3 a month can help” is a weak fact in that it suggests this is how your money will be spent but it doesn’t promise. Facts work reasonably well in helping to persuade the readers as the writer gives a definite idea of how the children are and how they will be helped and I think this will help provide the evidence also that they are reputable charity.

Opinions are good way to express the writers view on the charity. This leaflet has very few opinions. Although one example is “Adriana can gradually come to terms with her experience.” This is classed as an opinion as the writer does not know that Adriana will grow up and come to terms with her ordeal. The writer expresses this opinion to help the charity, show that they do a good job in what they do. Another example of the few opinions in the leaflet is “severely malnourished and close to death”. I believe the word “severely” is an emotive word and expresses the harshness that some children have to cope with. Also I feel “Close to death” is too vague to be a fact, how does the writer know that the children was close to death? But this does however make us feel sorry for the children.

Finally, I think one of the most persuasive and emotional parts of this leaflet is the case histories of Sylvie, Zaire, Ravi and Adriana. This also provides evidence of the children that the charity has already helped and also that they spend the money well that is contributed. Adriana’s case histories is probably the most emotional of all of them. It tells how her mother, father and sister were “brutally killed” and how Adriana’s life was in danger too. This makes you feel a sense of sorrow and emotion towards the little girl. It also makes you thankful for everything you have. The writer tries to make you feel responsible for the children so you will donate money to the charity.

In conclusion the advert shows effective use of presentation, because of the bright red colour and appealing pictures. The key message of the leaflet is emphasized by the writers good use repetition of the clear message. The text uses a wide range of facts but less opinions to back up the charities beliefs but these facts and opinions are weak. The writer uses the effect of case histories and emotive language together, to persuade people to give donations. I think the writer relies on the case histories and emotive language to persuade, as they are the techniques of persuasion that have the most impact on a reader. The target audience is fairly broad but is probably aimed at adults, who could afford the donations and parents or grandparents who would think the suffering children was particularly emotive. The direct address of the reader helps to make the reader make decision, as it feels as though the leaflet is aimed directly at you but in fact is aimed for anyone that reads it. Overall I think the case histories and the emotive language were the most effective way of helping to persuade the reader to give a donation, as the writer wrote them especially do the job of persuasion and I think they made you think about your life and made you feel sadness towards them.

By Ann Hanley.