I believe my adverts are aimed at the Mainstream and Aspirer audience according the 4C’s Model, as my adverts contain familiar and nostalgic codes and conventions, like old family photographs. This appeals to the Mainstream audience’s need for love and belonging as well as security because photographs are typical and common conventions in a family, which also has connotations of belonging and a loving environment. However the ambiguous captions imply that there is something missing or something forgotten that is not translated into the present day, from the photographs. This challenged the audiences need for love and belonging because it implies through the use of the declarative sentence that it can’t be changed. The declarative sentence structures also appeal to the Aspirer’s audience as it challenged their need for control through the use of the declaratives, which imply that it cannot be changed, therefore out of their control, which is reflective of the illness.

My adverts use many of the uses and gratifications, such as Personal Identity and entertainment. The photographs used within the adverts personally identify with the audience because aged photographs are typical in most families, therefore the audience will be able to identify with them. The use of the army photographs and aged hand again will personally align with the audience as younger generations are likely to have heard their grandparent’s anecdotes about wartime, while younger anecdotes are likely to be familiar with their stories. They also use entertainment through the use of the ambiguous captions, as the ambiguity would be likely to make the audience think about what that could mean, added to this the fact that the known charity is for Alzheimer’s, the audience will be entertain by guessing how the illness affects the memory, using the ambiguous caption as a clue. The ambiguity used in in all three adverts may also provoke social interaction as people may start to discuss their interpretations. Added to this the web address link and help line number will also add to the social interaction through the use of media technology, whereby people can ask for help from the charity or donate.

The encoded message is that Alzheimer’s can often cause past memories to be more prominent, therefore the present is hazy for the individual suffering the illness. However, the illness can also cause past memories to fade leaving images the only clues to the past. Both resulting in confusion for the individual suffering and leaving the loved ones of the individual to care for them. However some audiences may take the negotiated reading whereby they agree that memories and the present situation can be confusing, however the care may not be completely left to the loved ones and the charity, they may believe that are external aids to help treat the illness, or prevent it. Similarly the audience my take the oppositional reading, whereby they believe that care should not be left to loved ones or charities, therefore care should be left to professional Old Aged Homes, which are designed to deal with issues and illnesses such as Alzheimer’s.

Overall my adverts challenge the need for love and belonging as well as control. Love and Belonging comes from the old images and the connotations of family and family members, and the need for control is challenged through the use of the declarative sentence structures, whereby it is insinuated that there is a complete lack of control and knowledge about the illness. Nevertheless, the ambiguity may also confuse the audience, because the message is implied.

 The use of the use of stereotypical old images, such as the army photograph, portrait image and the elderly hand holding the photograph signify to the audience what the charity is about. This can be deducted because images are snapshots and visual images of memories and events that have occurred in an individual’s life. Added to this, the elderly man’s hand featured in the image, it signifies that the illness predominantly affects elderly people.

My adverts are similar to that of the Alzheimer’s society, who also feature photographs within their campaign. However their photographs are surrounded by a lot of text, which may have put audiences off reading and finding out about the charity and the work of the charity. My adverts are not generally shocking or proactive of a reaction, like the smoking campaigns are as they are always graphic and often use children, so for this reason I adopted a similar style to the Oxfam adverts for water and food, which are very simplistic and give an overall positive message that is not necessarily shocking or provocative. Unlike this advert, I have included images, rather than just text. Therefore I have combined some features of the Alzheimer’s Society adverts and Oxfam.