Water Aid "Rain for good"

How is the UK represented in the advert ? 

The UK is represented in the advert as resourceful. This is because of the constant rain the UK gets and its stable source of water. Additionally due to the luxury and privilege that people don't realize that they have compared to other countries. The UK however is presented using blue lighting, juxtaposing with the warm lighting in Africa. This blue light could represent either the lack of awareness and knowledge the UK has for the rest of the world, or quite simply it could represent how the UK is cold while Africa is hot. However the advert seems to be showing a middle class house in the advert which is a unrealistic representation of the UK as a large portion of the population is working-lower class. But one could say that the reason it shows a middle class house is because that is who the advert is directed at. One could also state how in the UK clip, the people in the house aren't caring or worried about the rain fall, reinforcing the notion of how they take rain and water for granted.

 

Who are the target audience ? How can you tell ?
The target audience is mainly middle aged and middle classed people as firstly they have the most luxury so therefore would be able to chip in the cause. Also one could say that this advert is directed at families as the people shown in the advert seem to be teenage girls, making the parents watching this feel empathetic and want to help out as they don't want to imagine their child in that position. You can tell by the start of the advert that this is a middle classed house as in the living room there is a radio, which is classified as a luxury item. The garden was also very green, juxtaposing the landscape in Africa which had dried crops with a grey tone. Again revealing how privileged the UK is for the constant rain they get and how they take it for granted.
 

How is the landscape of Africa represented in the advert ?

The landscape was bright with warm colours, and dry. Possibly revealing how happy and exciting life will be if people give money to the cause and they're able to provide water for these people in Africa. However, this representation is possibly quite detrimental for Africa as I feel as if its presenting it as a very poor continent and the advert is almost suggesting that this is what its like everywhere in Africa. And because of this, it creates the stereotype that all of Africa is full of droughts and lacks water, and that no one has the type of luxury that we do in the UK. Also the constant sound of crickets in the wilderness could possibly represent how peaceful life could be for these people if they got the clean water source that they need.

How are the people in Africa represented in the advert ? 

Focus on the main character as well as other people you see.There's only girls in this advert, that are the main focus, and all of them are getting water together, possibly presenting a stereotype of women in Africa. Additionally one could postulate that the use of young girls was to make the viewers feel empathy for them. They each were carrying around a bucket, which were a multitude of colours, again representing how happy life would be if people chose to help out. This notion is again reinforced when all the girls were singing along with each other. They were singing a mainstream song, showing how this was clearly directed at people in the UK as they most likely heard it. A link could be made between the radio and the girls singing as the radio was silent, showing how the UK takes luxury for granted, while the girls in Africa have to sing because they cant afford a radio or anything that can play music.

 

What is the central message of the advert and how does it achieve this ? Look at techniques to appeal to the audience and the technical codes used.

The central message of the advert is definitely to help people in Africa with no clean water source. They do this effectively in many different way. Firstly, with they use of empathy, as they represent Africa as what it could look like if people actually helped out. Another big technique they used that can be seen throughout the entire advert is the use of colour. With the UK being represented with cold colours and Africa being represents with warm colours. The blue represented how cold the UK is, in terms of temperature or the peoples attitude. The warm colours represent happiness and joy, reinforcing my notion of them showing what Africa could be if people helped out. Sound was also a major technique used. The radio static at the start shows how the UK takes everything they have for granted, especially with the rain fall outside and no one caring for it. While in Africa, its starts out with the sounds of crickets, setting the landscape. And then the sound of the girls singing showing how happy they could be.

 

Does the advert follow or subvert the conventions of the charity advert genre ? Compare with other adverts you have seen which focus on negative emotions and representations and focus on a narrative of a victim that need saving. Water Aid's previous campaign is good for a comparison too.  

One could say how the advert clearly follows the conventions of a charity advert as it firstly makes people feel great empathy for the people in need. There is also a clear directed audience, being middle classed people, which most adverts direct. And the contact info and where you can donate at the end of the advert. How ever the charity advert does something different to most adverts. Instead of showing the people in need in bad conditions and using cold colours to create a sense of sadness and sympathy, it does the complete opposite. The people in this advert are joyful and the colours used were warm. The advert shows what these people could look like if they got the help they need instead of showing what they look like now. If we compare this advert to "MOST SHOCKING DAY" there are major differences. Firstly "MOST SHOCKING DAY" shows what the life of living in a war zone would look like if it happened to us, people in the UK. Making us feel empathy as we can see what it could be like for us and we wouldn't want to imagine how its happening to other people right now. And also shows how people take their life for granted, which this advert also shows too. But this advert tried to make people donate by showing what life could be like for the people in need. Also both adverts use singing but they represent different things. In the "MOST SHOCKING DAY" advert the happy birthday song was used to show the change in mood and atmosphere. AT the start they sang it with glee but at the end they sang it with forced glee, showing the change in mood and the effect of despair. While in this advert singing is used to represent joy and happiness.