Charity Advert 4 - Time To Change

This advert was made by the charity 'Time to change' and is called 'Schizo Movie'. The advert consists of a man explaining how receiving a diagnosis of mental illness has affected his life. Beginning with a black flickering screen with the word 'schizo' in bold, white copy – seemingly typical of the horror genre. Then, a door opens and we see an average man, completing every day tasks. This juxtaposition helps to make the advert effective.


Ideologies:
One ideology presented within this advert is that the stereotype for mentally ill people is that they are lunatics who are seeking to harm others. This is through the characters dialect, he mentions that the audience may have expected him to be carrying weaponry and on a rampage, which is a comment on the stereotype society has for mentally ill people. Elaborating on this, another ideology presented is that this stereotype is false for the most part. As the character is demonstrating his capability of daily tasks and the fact who we suppose is his wife walks past, the audience is aware that this stereotype can not be applied to all mentally ill people. This shows that mental illness affects individuals in different ways, and they can not all be placed under the same stereotype – as this has seemingly affected the mans life more than the illness itself, as he mentions the discrimination that has come with the diagnosis.


Visual and narrative techniques:
As previously mentioned, the beginning to this advert is very typical of the horror genre. This is due to the style of the text as well as the flickering and the non-diegetic sounds. As the screen flickers, a strange sound occurs. This all creates suspense and leads the audience to expect the stereotypical rampaging mentally ill person. This assists in the juxtaposition of an average man being more effective as it does not meet the audiences expectations and can be quite shocking.
As well as this, by using medium shots of the character, realism is added to the advert. The audience has a clear view of him and his surroundings – as though they were standing in the doorway.


Advertising techniques:
As previously mentioned, stereotypes are used within this advert. This helps to make the advert affective due to the juxtaposition it creates.


What works/ what doesn't:
I believe the most effective part of this advert is the juxtaposition in the beginning. It creates expectations for the audience alongside building suspense, making the reveal of an average and capable man more surprising. This will gain the audiences attention, meaning they are more receptive of the information he provides as well as more accepting to the stereotype being challenged.
The realism created assists in the information provided being more accepted, too. The medium shot creates a warm ambience for the audience, meaning the character is placed as being trustworthy. This will lead to more support for the charity as well as a change of attitude towards mental illness.