Charity Advert 7 - Barnardo's

This advert is by the charity 'Barnardo's' and is called 'Life Story'. The advert shows a man's life repressing, illustrating how he got to the point in his life that he is at now, thanks to the help of the charity. This advert informs the audience that the charity has helped the lives of real people.

Ideologies:
One ideology promoted through the advert is that events that take place as a child can have an affect on you for your entire life. Another is that it is okay to get support from people during and after the event, and that it is okay to open up and talk about the event and hat emotions it evoked.

Visual and narrative techniques:
The advert is shot from the perspective of a listener, possibly a social worker or friend of the main character. There are a range of different shots used throughout the advert, including; medium close-ups, close-ups and medium shots. Track shots are also used regularly within the advert and are possibly a large part of the adverts success and effectiveness, not only does it add to the realism but it allows the transitions of the shots to be effective in the repression of the man's life - when his face goes out of shot, it decreases in age upon return.
The absence of voice over is also effective as it adds to the realism of the advert - as though the audience is directly speaking to the main character, rather than just witnessing his life, they are a part of it. Which will help to evoke an emotional response within the audience which will contribute to the success of the advert and, therefore, the success of the charity.
Although the age of the main character changes, the colour of his top doesn't, implying to the audience that despite the fact his mental state has changed, he still holds the memories of a tougher time and is often still affected by them.

Advertising techniques:
The realism of this advert will be a point of appeal as it allows the audience to identify with the main character and it will result with more of an emotional response. Alongside this, the fact that a child is featured within the advert will appeal to the need to nurture and evoke an emotional response in the audience which will be beneficial to the charity.

What works/ what doesn't:
The visual technique of the decrease in age of the main character is extremely effective and will be a large contribution to the success of the advert as it adds to the realism of the advert alongside impressing the audience.