RSPCA letter. The medium of print advertising the RSPCA has chosen for this campaign is very effective because it shows the reader that the money they donate will go towards caring for the animals and not into creating an amazing poster with an expensive

Dear Director of the RSPCA

I respect that the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been running since 1824 very successfully and I have been analysing your mailbox campaign for a school project. I am intrigued by your choice of media. I am impressed by the way that you use the mailbox campaign so effectively instead of doing a huge, expensive TV ad. This shows the audience that you use their money to actually help the animals and use their money how it’s supposed to be used instead of using it to make a glossy magazine or flashy TV ad.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded in 1824 to work with the government and public to prevent animal cruelty and can prosecute those who neglect the law, on behalf of defenceless animals. The RSPCA launched this mailbox campaign to press to others what cruel things happen to the poor animals behind closed doors, how they help the ill-treated animals and that they need the help of the public to keep on with this good deed but they would need to make a donation to do this.

The medium of print advertising the RSPCA has chosen for this campaign is very effective because it shows the reader that the money they donate will go towards caring for the animals and not into creating an amazing poster with an expensive celebrity on it. The lack of colour on the leaflets inside also does this, but it also makes the logo stand out more and furthermore it has a depressing feel to it making people feel more upset for the animals so they are more likely to donate. The intended audience for this campaign would be animal lovers. This is appropriate for them because there is a lot of emotive language and pictures to make them feel sorry for the animals and it addresses them as a friend to animals. These advertisements suggest that cruelty and neglect to animals is thought of as acceptable in I our society but actually they shouldn’t be accepted at all.

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The general layout of this advertisement is effective because it’s not too cluttered and the font is a nice size so it is very easy to read. Plus it makes it feel very personal because it is set out as a letter thus you feel it is your responsibility. The text with the amount of money you can give is in bold and is larger so your eye is drawn straight to it giving it a purpose. The size of the photographic image compared to the space given to advertising copy is quite large it is a significant presentational device as it is a large image it draws the reader to the image causing the reader to fell sympathetic towards the poor, defenceless animal. In terms of the camera angle the kitten is looking down on the envelope making it look very vulnerable but once you open the envelope on the leaflet the same kitten is looking up so it seems like there is hope for the kitten making the reader feel it is their responsibility to help the kitten get better and find a new home. The white background makes the writing easy to see and it shows the reader that their money will go to the animals and not to make a glossy, fashionable magazine. The pictures of the suffering animals really play with the readers emotions making them want to make a change.

The language used helps support photographic images because emotive language is used to help you feel sympathetic. They use alliteration for example “lovely little” next to a picture of a neglected dog making you ask the questions why did this happen? And how can I help? Therefore slowly drawing you in so you are more likely to donate some money when you get to the end. Other language choices like repeating the “just £3” makes it seem like such a small amount but it can do so much causing the reader to want to help the animals by donating. It also uses varied sentence types as well which keeps the reader interested because not every sentence has a lot of information in because that would bore the reader but it’s not all simple sentences because otherwise you wouldn’t be able to use the emotive language. Although I would say that you should not have as many animal stories on the main part as you do at the moment because some readers may start to lose interest, but I can see that the reason you put them there was to make the reader feel sorry for the animals, therefore making them feel as if it is their duty to donate to help. I like the way you had “This little kitten was set on fire and left to die...” In the address box because that is the first thing the reader would look at to check if it is their post instantly drawing them in.

In conclusion I thought your campaign was very successful because you used the correct presentational devices for example the logo catches our eye because it is in colour but the rest is not and it is an established organisation so we can trust them. The strengths of this campaign were the sympathetic/emotive language causing the reader to feel guilty causing the reader to feel that it is their responsibility to help the animals by donating. A second strength would be the use of repetition of the “£3” meaning the amount of money gets stuck in the readers head making them feel it is not that much money. Even though there are strengths there are weaknesses for example as I said beforehand there are a few too many animal stories which can cause the reader to lose interest and not only this but the actual letter part of the campaign could come across as a bit too long which may cause the reader to skip that part which means you would not get the same affect on the reader as you would if they had read it through. Summing up all that I have said I think you have made a good job of your campaign with only a few minor improvements.

Yours faithfully

A. Pope (Miss)