Enigma codes are used throughout the advert to keep the audience active. An example of an enigma code is in the 6th box, when the girl shows her face. The words “How UNORIGINAL” makes the audience have to guess what happened. This is similar to “it’s a clumsy excuse” which is when the father shows the social worker the door.
This advert has the codes and conventions of a comic strip, which attracts audiences and makes them think that they are going to be entertained. The text for the majority of the advert looks ad though the 13-year-old girl in the story could have written it, and all of the pictures are drawn. This appeals to the reader’s emotions more than using average print, and signifies that the girl needs help. The text “people are terrifying” at the beginning of the advert signify that the child wrote them in paint, because they’re messy and have different sized fonts. The word “terrifying” is in bolder letters, to emphasize the child’s fears.
The narrative of the advert is quite simple. It begins with a development, when a message is received informing the social worker of the case. The use of the mobile phone as a sign in the advert is because it’s a representation of modern society and makes it easier for the audience to identify with the advert. It also connotes that social workers reply immediately to calls.
In the advert, the doctor is very stereotypical. She has a white lab coat, a clipboard and glasses. She looks intelligent and concerned for the family, as she has a puzzled look on her face and her arms are crossed. It doesn’t say that she is the GP, but her stereotypical aspects and the board behind her signify that she is.
There is an exposition to the girl next. It tells the audience how she has bruises all down her back. It does not actually say that the child is being abused, but the active audience are supposed to suspect this. The picture of a smiling girl on a horse looks as though a child drew it. This appeals to the audiences because she appears to be an average little girl who wants to be happy, and this is how 13 year olds should look in our societies opinion. A horseshoe represents luck, but an upside down horseshoe represents bad luck. The words ‘unlucky 13’ emphasizes to the audience that the girl is only 13 years old, and she should be happy and carefree, but her life is miserable. She’s wearing only her bra in the next box, which makes the audience feel uncomfortable and sorry for the girl. She is represented as the victim.
In the next box, there is a close-up of the girls face. She can’t look at the audience and her eyes are closed. This is to signify that she is unhappy and miserable and makes audiences want to help.
In the advert, the house isn’t very distinguishable, it looks like an ‘average house’ and could be anywhere. The car outside connotes that an adult is in, or arrived at, the house. This suggests to audiences that there may be an answer to why the girl was beaten. The house is shown as part of the narrative to show people where the abuse is taking place, but it also emphasizes the point that abuse can happen anywhere and it’s not specific to where you live. This is a complication to the story.
The father also can’t look at the audience in the face. He has his head drooped and an upset look on his face, which signifies that he too is unhappy. He represents another victim in the story. At this point in the advert, people may make the assumption that the father hits the daughter because a lot of people don’t really know that women hit men a lot of the time in domestic violence cases. The advert emphasizes the point that anyone can be abused. There are 3 boxes that are very closely linked for this part. They show an over-the-shoulder shot of the father and the social worker, then the father as he comes in, then the father as he points to the door. These boxes are all outlined in bold, to show that it’s all one scene.
The words “clumsy excuse” is a play on words and it connotes that the man has said that he is just clumsy and that is the reason for the large bruise on his eye, but it’s an excuse for the real reason, domestic violence.
The final picture is the climax to the story. It is a large picture of the mother screaming. It’s blurred, which signifies that the mother is moving and being violent. She is the only character to look the audience in the eye, which connotes the mother isn’t afraid and she isn’t ashamed or embarrassed. She also looks quite aggressive toward the audience and the social worker. She has her fists clenched and an angry look on her face that signifies to the audience that she is the cause of the father and daughters bruises. The words “she tries to hit you too” confirm this for the audience as well.
The words “can you help?” are written in bold and block letters to attract the audience and signify to audiences that domestic violence can be helped and even solved by social workers. As it uses the word “you” it makes the audience feel as though it were aimed at them, so it’s more personal.
The advert makes an audience active by making it seem as though they were the social worker, by using the word “you”, and taking the story from the social workers perspective. This is so they can see what it’s like to have a career in social care, and to make the audience more empathetic to the family.
At the bottom of the page there is a paragraph written in printed text. This signifies that it is information about general social work. Usually, if a reader has read the entire advert, they will read the writing at the bottom. It tells audiences where to go to get more information about social care. They use words like “fascinating”, “mystifying”, and “terrifying” which are very dramatic and emotive words to inspire people to look for more information about social care. There is also a logo at the bottom and the slogan “it’s all about people”. This is for familiarity for audiences, because they may have seen this logo on other adverts or could see them in the future.
Familiarity with the institution is very important for audiences. They are more likely to read or buy products when they know the institution that they’re made by. In this example, the institution is social services, which is a sub-group of welfare institutions.
