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During my media studies, I came across this picture from a Barnardo's campaign and I was asked for an opinion.
If the aim of this ad was to shock and horrify the viewer it surely worked for me, but because that is not the achievement that Barnardo's wants to reach I can't see its effectiveness.
Before I start explaining my statement I have to say that I've never heard of this association before this ad.
In this picture we see a baby, probably with just a few minutes on this world behind his back, with a bottle o pure alcohol in his mouth. The writings on the side of the image clearly explain the message of this image: in situation of poverty some children future is already written in alcohol, a destiny that will condemn them to a life of misery, if that can be called life.
We got the image, we got the explanation, so why do I think is ineffective?
Simply because this ad is missing something that all ads have: an order.
In this ad it's not clear what they want you to do: they do not ask you to donate money and they do not ask you to go on their website.
So after seeing this, what am I supposed to do?
I mean, the only result of this ad was confusing me.
I see a clearly exaggerated image, with an explanation of its meaning that doesn't name people or specific places that does not want anything from me apparently. It's confusing.
Of course after going on their website it was clear that they ask for donations, but I went on their website just because I had to do homework on this poster.
I reckon that most of the middle/upper class fathers and mothers to whom this ad is for, will prefer to erase that image from their mind instead of doing research to understand what this ad wants from them.
That's why I think it's ineffective.
Well done Carlo, good to see you using the blog so quickly and uploading an image. You write with a strongly critical eye and it's interesting to read the view of someone with no former knowledge of the charity concerned.
ReplyDeleteI had asked you all however to analyse the poster with a view to relating our Audience work to it. How do the different ideas of audience you learned about in class, help you to decide who the target audience is for this kind of advert?
Well, because this is a campaign to raise money and awareness, I would think that the target audience, in the British model, would be C or superior and specifically for parents in this classes.
ReplyDeleteThat's because they have to target people with the possibility to donate, so with a good income, people far from that reality, so that the strong campaign can have a proper shocking effect, and people with an education that care about the issues that surround them.