The colours used in this advert are only the colours black and white and it has been shot in black and white film for added effect. These colours are used because the colours of the campaign are black and white as well. The same colours are used so that when people see them they will associate the colours with the campaign.
Until around half way through the advert all you hear are the celebrities fingers clicking every 3 seconds to symbolise another death caused by ‘extreme poverty’. Around 16 seconds in actor Liam Neeson speaks and says facts about what is going on in Africa but pauses as each celebrity is clicking their fingers. This is effective because you listen to what he is saying but you also listen to the clicks in between which you then associate with what he is saying.
The text used is the same text used in all of the make poverty history campaign so it is easily recognised by the public.
The camera shots used in this advert are all mid + fixed shots.
The mise-en-scene is very simple and is a white background which could be symbolising how simple it is to help stop poverty.
The mise-en-scene in this advert is –like what the message is trying to say- very simple and the only colours you see are black and white. All of the celebrities are stood in front of a white backdrop and are wearing white clothes and one of the campaigns signature white bands.
There are also mixtures of celebrities old and new who are used so that everybody can relate to at least one person.
There is also a mixture of diagetic sounds which is the sound of them clicking and non-diagetic sounds which is the sound of the voice over. The only camera shot used is amid shot.
It would be very hard for anybody to ignore this advert because it isn’t like an ordinary advert with all the music and colours but it is simple and also it is filled with celebrities which is why it is such a good advert because if it was Mr and Mrs Joe average in this advert nobody would care. Also at the beginning you don’t really know what is happening so you watch more to find out.
The font used is easily recognised because it is used in all of their adverts and also on the earlier support bands. This is called branding. It makes it easier for the public to be able to recognise certain products or in this case campaigns.
In conclusion I think this advert is very effective because it raises questions and makes the viewer want to carry on watching. Also it keeps the viewer interested with the mix of celebrities used.
Drop the debt
‘Drop the debt’ is a short film made by Antony Minghella to highlight the poor living conditions of people in Africa and how they earn their money by doing anything and everything they can. He also makes the clear point that we don’t actually need or want the money that they are giving back to us and that the poorest people are giving back more money than they receive in aid which to me is appalling.
The beginning of this short film is very effective and it makes the viewer think. At the beginning it is a black screen and white writing saying “over 1000 million people live on less than $1 a day “ this is on the screen as the song starts. This is a good beginning because you want to carry on watching to find out why they are or what you can do to help. The film has shows ordinary family life and all of the family are working to get as much money as they can the fact that it is showing family life helps people to relate better to the film.
The song in the background is the classic rhyme ‘I’ve got a hole in my bucket’ but with some lyrics changed. This is effective because you remember what they are saying in the form of a rhyme you learnt when you were a child. The one lyric that stood out for me was “did they tell you about the gazillion dollar rent?” this stood out to me because it makes you think that they were trapped and didn’t know how much they would have to pay back so in a way you feel kind of responsible and feel compelled to help.
When the family step out onto Westminster bridge it is a clear change from their normal surroundings and as they are giving the British people ’their’ money back they seem comfortable in doing so and don’t seem to mind giving it up.
In my opinion this is not a very good film because it is too long and gets boring after the first time you watch it.
In conclusion in comparing both films there are a different range of shots and lighting effects used to get the make poverty history message across. This is interesting because “drop the debt” didn’t have as much of an effect on me as “click” did. This is because in “drop the debt” there is too much happening but in click it is simple and you can immediately associate it with the make poverty history campaign because of the simple colouring but in “drop the debt” there is nothing to clearly distinguish it as a make poverty history message to the audience until the end but by then people may have switched it of.
