The NSPCC advert uses very dull colours and not bright colours like what you would expect to find in a primary school. In the British Heart Foundation advert the main colour used is black, to symbolize death. The girl and her abuser are at the back of the classroom in the dark but the puppet is more in the light than him, showing how the others cannot see him but he is with her all the time. There’s only natural lighting coming in through the windows so it looks real and as if it was actually happening. The British Heart Foundation uses a lot of superficial lighting in the pub but it’s not too bright. In the science lab however, it’s a lot lighter. This shows how the pub is full of smoke and is dirty, whereas the science lab is smoke free and clean. In the first cut we are shown the abuser staring at the puppet angrily as she looks down. It’s like she has done something wrong. The shots are clean cut and normally last a few seconds. Most of the camera angles are midshot and just show the puppet on he’s lap, it shows us that he is controlling her, although there are establishing shots too. In the British Heart Foundation advert the shots are quicker and the advert shows us more images, because it has more to prove and rather than just tell a story. It shows us close ups of the cigarettes and the “fatty stuff” that would put us off. All the settings in the NSPCC advert are where you would normally find a child, at school, in the park, on the bus and at home. It’s trying to show you how the child’s abuser is always there with them no matter where they are. In the British Heart Foundation advert it is set in the pub, where you’re most likely to see smokers socializing. Then it cuts to a completely opposite environment in a lab where it’s clean. It shows us the fun side of smoking and then what’s really happening inside our bodies which makes the audience take smoking more seriously and think about their health.
In the British Heart Foundation advert they use a narrator to tell the story but it starts as a voice over and changes to a narrator. In the NSPCC advert there is no narrator but the advert does tell a short story. In the British Heart Foundation advert the narrator is sitting in the pub and talking about quitting smoking and what smoking does to our bodies and we are repetitively shown the cigarettes and the “fatty stuff” to get their point across. On two occasions in the NSPCC advert the puppet goes to say something and the abuser looks at her angrily and she stops and says what he wants her to say. The puppet puts her head down and looks out the corner of her eye to see if he is still watching her. The children don’t understand and giggle at her and talk about her because they think she’s different. Her teacher is aware that something is happening and looks at her strangely. The mother knows something is the matter and asks, but takes no action because the puppet is forced to say she is fine. In the British Heart Foundation advert the narrator is a middle aged average man who seems to be socializing in a pub normally, and all the other characters in the pub are the same. They are just out having a good time laughing, drinking and smoking. The narrator is aware that what they are doing is hurting them, but the smokers aren’t bothered. At one stage, fat drips on a woman’s leg and she looks at it in a disgusted way but just brushes it off. This shows how they know it’s bad but don’t take notice. We are told right away in the first clip of the British Heart Foundation advert that it’s about smoking because it shows a man with a cigarette in he’s mouth, whereas in the NSPCC advert we need to watch the whole advert so understand its significance. Neither of these adverts are very common so the audience tend to take more notice as it’s something new and different.
There is no sound in the British Heart Foundation advert just the noise of people talking; it goes quiet when we are shown the scene in the lab. This represents the seriousness of the advert and how it isn’t a joke around anymore. In the NSPCC advert there is a loud instrument playing when it’s changing from one scene to another and softens when we need to listen to what’s happening. When the abuser whispers something into the puppets ear in the park, a train goes past so we can’t hear what he is saying to her. At the end of the NSPCC advert there is a woman’s voice over, she sounds sweet and soft like a mother which would reassure the abused children to phone up and talk to someone.
We are given no statistics in the British Heart Foundation advert, but there are facts and there is a number to phone and a website to go on if you need help to quit smoking. In the NSPCC advert we are told that “thousands of children” need their help but this is not a definite statistic. We are given a phone number but no website address and no text is shown in either advert apart from at the end.
In conclusion, both of the adverts use different techniques to draw in their audience. The NSPCCC advert uses sympathy, whereas the British Heart Foundation advert uses facts and disturbing images. Both adverts are quite sad stories and the colours are dull and dark. The two adverts are presented in different ways, one uses a narrator the other uses a story line. They represent their charities in different ways. The British Heart Foundation advert is there to help you but the NSPCC advert wants your help. People can relate to the characters in both adverts. They both use very common and typical settings. The NSPCC advert keeps you watching till the end to understand what the advert is about, but in the British Heart Foundation advert we can guess what it’s about right away which is more effective for me personally.