In the advert from ‘Children in Need’ instead of a story line there is a statement asking for money. This advert consists of many children of a different race and background. It is shown as a plea in with each child saying a few words of this. The camera switches from one child to another in quick succession.
In both of the adverts the main characters are children. In the advert from ‘Children in Need’ children are the only people shown. However, in the ‘Cancer research’ it features both mothers and their children. Each charitable advert gets across its message by using or showing pictures of the people it helps. In the ‘Cancer Research’ advert a voice over is used. This is of an adult talking about how donations are needed to fund the charity. By using an adult it shows that ‘Cancer Research’ helps both adults and children in work it does. In contrast the advert from ‘Children in Need’ shows just children, as this is mainly the only people the charity focus on.
Throughout both adverts repetitive Images are also used. This gives the charity greater credibility to the campaign and allows the audience to acknowledge/ remind them of something they have seen before. In the ‘Cancer Research’ advert this techniques is used to show something from a different person’s point of view. The first image is of a boy, looking in a mirror, remembering how precious his mum was to him. This is shown when an image of his mum appears and acts in an affectionate way, towards the boy. The second and the repetition is of a mother looking to into a mirror reminding herself of how much her daughter means to her.
The ‘Children in need’ advert uses the repetition of a black background to convey a particular message. The use of the same background, against each child who is talking, could suggest to the audience that each child they see is equal and deserves the same benefits.
By using repetition in an advert it allows the company or charity in this case to portray its message from different viewpoints and or reinforce this message.
Both the ‘Cancer Research’ advert and ‘Children in need’ use a variety of characters from different backgrounds/ wealth. This is to show that the charity they are advertising for caters for everybody and not a particular class of wealth. In the ‘Cancer Research’ advert there are two main backgrounds shown. The first is of a boy in a very bleak council type house surrounded by dull furniture and the second is of a mother in a very bright, bedroom decorated with plush fabric and furniture. However, one thing that stays the same in each situation is a wooden clean mirror. This mirror signifies the precious relationships between a mother and daughter. By keeping this the same it shows that this relationship can form in any house, place or part of the country.
Music plays a vital role in most adverts in today’s world. If a well-known song from a popular artist is used in an advert then the amount of concentration from the audience is increased. A typical example of this is the company ‘Levi’. They, after 2 years of small sales, inherited this idea and used a song from the ‘Beatles’ to accompany one of their adverts. This increased the attention from the audience and boosted sales. However music is also used to create an particular emotion like in both of the adverts I am comparing. The two charities I took adverts from both try and help to improve a person’s life in both health and social needs. They deal with suffering and pain which a strong sad emotion. By using slow sorrowful songs to accompany these adverts it makes the audience feel the emotion of what people are going through. Charities use this in their advert as good tactic to increase their support from the general public and to increase donations as well feel sorry for these people.
Similarly to the involvement of music, adverts often show scenes of high emotion or people with a particular problems. By involving this, it pulls on the heartstrings of the audience and encourages them donate of support that charity. This is shown in the ‘Children in need’. This advert is based on lots of children however in middle of this there is only specific child who portrays the emotion. This child is a little boy with speech problems and possibly a mental disorder. Although the boy says very little the effort he uses to say this is and his feeling of happiness when he has completed what he wants to say is shown.
By using both the previous techniques of emotive music and action, it encourages the audience to make and impulse donation based on the scenes they have just experienced. At the end of both these adverts there is a number for people to ring in order to donate. This number is displayed on the screen for amount 5 seconds so that the audience can acknowledge this and remember it. Charities often chose easy numbers to remember to help the audience and encourage them to donate. In the ‘Children in Need’ advert there is just a statement, picture and telephone number in the final picture frame. The telephone number is shown in bold types with the statement ‘Raise a smile’ slightly smaller. By doing this is shows the simplicity of donating and most charities survive from impulse donations.
The length of an advert often shows its success rate. Both adverts I am comparing have an average length of 30 seconds. In advertising time and space is at a premium and you don’t waste time with too much text nor do you waste money with an advert that needs to be huge. Both the adverts I am comparing keep the audience’s attention due to their suitable length and the technique of displaying a reactant for more than one sense at a time. The ‘Cancer Research’ advert uses this by including a voice over whilst emotive pictures are being shown. Not only does this save time but it enhances the audiences emotion and encourages them to help.
All adverts use persuasive devices and these often appear in the form of a guilt trip. Although it is very subtle in the ‘Cancer Research’ advert this techniques is used. The last thing that the voice over says, in this advert is:
‘Please make a donation so that more people can stay together.’
This statement plays on this guilt of the audience and makes them feel that if they don’t donate to this charity, people will be losing there closest friends and family quicker than they would if you did donate. There is also an element of fear involved. It suggests that it could happen to anybody even the audience themselves.
Both the ‘Cancer Research’ and ‘Children in Need’ adverts are designed to appeal to one type of person, like every other advert on television. In this case they appeal to mothers and children. The creators of these adverts use stereotypes to help the audiences relate with what is happening on screen. This is shown in the ‘Cancer Research’ advert. Both a stereotypical mother and child are used. Many different adverts appeal to different people. For example this could be to Mainstreamers who seek security in being the same as other people or Aspirers who want status and buy hi-tech goods in order to improve their image. In this case both these adverts are aimed at Reformers who want to make the world a better place.
In conclusion there are many ways adverts can portray a statement whether it be advertising a product or helping a charity. By choosing characters from a variety of backgrounds a producer can make the advert appeal to a variety of people. Use of emotive sound and imaging can enhance an audience’s view of the product or statement and can lead to them either purchasing or donating towards this item. Adverts with a basic story, short length and clear information will often appeal to the audience and help them to keep their concentration.
Both the ‘Cancer Research’ and ‘Children in need’ advert display these qualities. I found these adverts effective because they were able to portray the feelings and emotions of the people in need. This then encouraged me to do something about it. By showing me images of the people the money would help I felt that I should donate and help these people. I think both these adverts are extremely effective and portray the message ‘of helping others’ well.
