Charity Advertising Research 1

British Heart Foundation- Watch Your Own Heart Attack

Ideology

The ideology is that if you leave telling the hospital about having a heart attack, even if its a minor one, it will be too late.  I get this impression when the voice over says 'every second counts' suggesting that everyone needs to be aware of how precious life actually is.

Characters/visual style

The only character in this advert is the man. He speaks directly to the audience, this forces the audience to make a connection with him. He asks rhetorical questions, 'what if' is used a lot. He is set in a dark, half empty room that looks similar to a home.
The mans voice is rushed and sounds panicked. Especially when he tells the audience the symptoms of a heart attack. It gives the ad an urgent effect, which creates a sense of awareness. The final shot is a graphic with the charity logo alongside the words 'find out more' which is prompts the audience to take action.

Lines of appeal
This ad has used shock tactics. The sick on the floor increases the effectiveness of the charity advert because in a way, it scares the audience into thinking that could happen to them if they are not careful. Because the audience is directly addressed throughout the whole of the ad, there is a sense of the advert trying to encourage those who are watching it to personally identify with it. It also uses reward and punishment because it has the ideology that if you don't listen to what the man has to say, you will have a heart attack.

What works
The use of shock tactics works well because it is not your typical heart attack advert. This is very graphic compared to other ads, this leads to the audience giving their attention to the advert. It is a very dramatic yet realistic advert which gets straight to the point.