Charity Advertising Research 5

Barnardos - Life Story
This is an advert for the charity, Barnardos. It shows the different stages at which a man has been through to make an improvement in his life, and mental health.


Ideologies
The advert promotes the ideology that the things that happen in your childhood will have an impact on you throughout your life. Another ideology promoted in the advert is that it is okay to open up and talk about you're problems, in order to get help.

Visual & Narrative techniques 
The main visual technique I noticed in the advert is the flashbacks. This is done by the age of the character changing overtime the shot is not showing his face. Although his face changes, his clothes stay the same which could suggest that although he is trying to get better mentally , the memories are still there, he is just learning to deal with it. Theres no voice over in the advert, because its as if we are talking directly to the man, so the use of a voice over would take the attention away from the character. At each stage, the camera tends to get closer to his face, possibly to show his facial expressions to create a more negative atmosphere, encouraging the audience to sympathise.

Advertising Techniques
The advert uses reward and punishment to involve the audience with the advert, for example, the text at the end says 'Join us to fight for a child's future' and theres a website link. This is an example of reward and punishment because its suggesting that if the audience simply visit the website, they're making a difference. It also satisfies the need for nurture, as the fact that the advert shows a child's like being effected will encourage the audience to agree with the advert. Also, the advertiser has used a valued message at the end. It says 'Believe in children.' Its used to persuade the audience into actually doing something about it, and in order to grab their attention, its green which is also the colour of the Barnardos logo so its more memorable.

What works/What doesn't 
I like the use of direct camera shots and direct language, because it makes audience feel more of a connection towards the character in the advert.The use of a child is also a good element of the advert because it will make the audience feel sorry for him as he is a vulnerable character.
I think the advert should include more emotive language to add more of an effect to the advert. The lighting doesn't really connote the atmosphere and messages of the advert.