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Charity Adverts

Representation is a construction of reality from somebody else's perspective.

What is the purpose of a charity advert?
To encourage the donation of money to a cause/organisation that helps something else.
How do they work?
They appeal to somebody's empathy by making the audience feel for them. They use distressing imagery to convey these ideas.
What mode of address do they take?
They plea to the audience with a tone of negativity as a form of persuasion.
What conventions do they demonstrate?
They use distressing imagery. Use of a narrative voiceover (monotone/normally well spoken)
How do they position the audience?

NSPCC - Open Your Eyes:

All scenes are black & white which is a symbolic code of depression.
The use of distressing imagery makes the audience feel guilt.
The bars towards the end when the the child is in the cot are a symbolic code of inprisonment/ being trapped.
Close ups are used to emphasise the living conditions of these children and may be a way of guilting the audience more.
A direct mode of address is used to beg for donations. This is another way of guilting the audience.
The camera always shows the child looking straight at the camera which also is indicative that the person watching is the abuser and the only way to stop it is by paying the money.

WaterAid - Claudia Sings Sunshine on a Rainy Day

Groups - British, Africans, African Children, Adults, African Farmers, Men, Women, Happy African Friends.

Shows Poverty in a joyful way. British people are represented as being ignorant to the lack of water in parts of Africa as we get rain quite often. This binary opposition is a hermeneutic code as it creates a sense of mystery surrounding the extent of the lack of water in some parts of Africa. The binary opposition of 'sunshine on a rainy day' is a symbolic code because it shows that happiness can be made out of a bad situation. This also gives a sense of hope and may have been chosen by the producer to get the message across about what WaterAid can achieve.



African Children and African people in general are presented as having a positive outlook on life even if they don't have clean water. However, the use of a low shot showing Claudia walking on the dry hot ground puts emphasis on the fact that some parts of Africa don't have access to water at all.
The camera position looking at Claudia's feet from a higher angle may be a symbolic code to emphasise that problems in third world countries are often overlooked by people who already have access to clean water or people in first world countries. This reinforces the binary opposition between the UK living conditions and the living conditions of some people in African countries.



The transition from a low shot to a higher shot shows that she has gone from having no power to being in a better position for living.

Close up positions the audience directly with her. This is used to make the audience like her

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