Media and Advertising- Shelter
Advertising and Marketing
Shelter
Shelter is a charity that alleviates the distress caused by bad housing and homelessness.
Shelter aims to ensure that there us a safe, secure and affordable home for everyone.
Unlike the `Old Spice` and `Lucozade`, Shelter`s `A home for everyone` is a non commercial product that uses media language elements and constructs representations to encourage donations to the charity.
Social and cultural contexts
Shelter was founded in 1966 during the `Swinging Sixties` where at the time there were 3 million people living in slums. Shelter was born out of the belief that this appalling injustice must be put right.
50 years on, the country experienced another housing crisis. A huge range of people are effected by the current housing shortage, from a generation of young peopel who can`t afford a home to those struggling with sub-standard housing.
As we enter our 50th year, 100,000 children are homeless. So while we will reflect on our achievements, we will only celebrate when everyone has a place to call home.
The advert `A home for everyone` echoes social enxieties linked to economic and family issues that lead to people loosing their home.
Shelter commissioned photographers such as Nic Hedges to document the poor housing conditions within the UK.
Advertisements throughout the 1960`s to the 1990`s were crafted in the documentray tradition of black and white and often focused on the suffering of children to gain public sympathy/empathy.
Contemporary advertising for charities have moved away from only focusing on the marginalised suffering or unfortumate people- the poor people.
Shelter campaign provide its target audience with an insight that Homelessness can effect all sections of society not just the feckless and underserving poor.
For example in 2020, Shelter are particularly active in supporting indiviuals during the COVID crisis.
Persuasive techniques used
Persuasive language- The use of persuasive statements position the audience to read the advert and it message from a particular point of view.
Rhetorical questions- The 3 rhetorical questions in red placed in from of each face demand a response that the audience can`t asnwer. This helps position the audience to sympathise.
Fear- The use of 2 indviduals, each with a different anxiety about their housing, creates a fear that this can happen to anyone and could happen to the reader.
Technical conventions used in the Shelter advert and their connotations
Typeface/font style- The sans serif font is a formal font and connotes the urgency of the situation ad the immediate impact for the individual. This creates a sense of fear for each figure, making the audience more likely to want to engage and help.
Shot types and angles- The close up and direct addresses of each character looking directly into the camera and therefore to the audience, personalises the characters and heightens the emotion that can be seen in their faces. This helps connote their plighty and difficulty, subsequently creating sympathy in the audience for the cause of the charity.
Colour palette- The stark colour palette of red, black and natural tones creates a simplicity that allows the red font of the statements to stand out. This connoted the urgency and danger of the situation that each oof the characters finds themselves in and conveys this to the audience in order for them to feel that they need/must donate.
Register/ mode of address- The mode of address is serious and the use of lexis connotes the sense of hopelessness faced by the characters. The rhetorical questions such as `where will we live` signify the fear of homelessness and create empathy among the audience which encourages them to donate.
Achorage- The placement of each statement on top of a character signifies that different situations can cause homeslessness for different people. The positioning of the statements above the lips connotes that by supporting Shelter, the audience will be giving the people affected by homelessness a voice.
Ideologies
The advert, reinforces a viewpoint that social inequality is unjust and that those in positions of social power or wealth have a duty to help those who are not. In this case, the advert supports a liberal view with the idea that we have a social duty to help one another.
Additionally, the advert reinforces the ideological values of individualism by sggesting that every indiviual has the right to self-fulfilment and a better life, including those who have less and own less than others. This value can be seen as being reinforced by the ideology of consumerism by using the advert form, which relies on the consumption of messages and values to create ampathy and persuade the audience to donate the charity. The advert relies on consumerism, as the higher the consumption of the messages and values of the advert the more people will be encouraged to donate to the charity, therefore the advert will be more successfull if there is a higher consumption.
On the other hand, the advert also reinforces the ideology of collectivism as it encourages and suggests that individuals must help eachother and take a collective action which can help them to overcome their problems. For example, those in power or the more aflluent and wealthier individuals must and have the duty to some extent to help the poorer individuals not just because they are experiencing problems unlike them but also because the system is in favour of the wealthier therefore the working class and poorer individuls are automatically at a disadvantage because of the system. Therefore, as the social system is in favour of the middle class and therefore reinforces their ideology what these wealthier individuals can do at least is help the disadvantaged individuals- woking class and poorer.
Audience response and interpretation- Hall`s reception theory
The preferred readig of the Shelter `A Home for Everyone` advert could be that homelessness can happen to anyone for number of different reasons, no matter what your social position and place has been previously. There is also, a preferred reading that suggests we should feel empathy and responsibility for helping others, who are less fortunate than ourselves.
The audience response and interpretation will depend on the demographic and experience of the audience. In particular it will depend on their views towards charity and how they respond to the representations constructed. However, an oppositional reading of the advert could be that everyone is responsible for their own life and their actions therefore you should help yourself in rder to get out of the situation of homelessness or hopelessness rather than relying on the help of other individuals or social institutions. Furthermore, the oppositional reading could also be that the reason that got a specific person into the situation of homelessness is their fault and as a result of their actions and wrong/bad decisions that they have taken previously in the past.
Different social groups will have different readings as a result of their ideologies and their status in society. For example, a middle class women is most likely to take the negotiated reading as to some extent they may believe and view that it is the duty of the individual themeselves to help themselves and come out of this situation, however they may also agree with helping with small parts such as donating to charities as they agree with the idea of collective action. However, an inidvidual who has been in a similar situatio such as was homeless or/and drug addict is most likely to take the preferred/dominant reading as they can relate to the situation and will somehow feel they have things in commont with the specific person and this will help to establish a relationship between the the individuals and therefore it will encourage the ex-homeless person to feel empathy as the other person is currently going through what they have gone through in their past. They are also most likely ot strongly agree with the ideology of collectivism and collective action. This can be seen in the story of the man-Paddy and the social worker Colette(she was homeless and a drug addict like the man which is telling his story) as she explained how she felt very related to the man as a result of the similar life stories they had and went through therefore she wanted to support him in his journey. This shows how a person of a similar situation is much more likely to develop the preferred/dominant reading as they would feel related to that person therefore they will support them and help with as much as they can as Colette did.
Appeals
Until there`s a home for everyone- campaigns 2011
Emily`s story- empathy appeal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kyb0dhW5ss
As the video begins by asking different people what they believe home is, and hearing the asnwer of each person this to some extent be related to the Cultivation theory of Gerbner. This is because as many of the people asked the question what home means to them have similar answers therefore it can change the opinion that other people may have on this aspect. For example, it can help people to see the importance of home and therefore result in them becoming more conscious and thankful that they have a home as others are homeless and living on streets. This will be beneficial in this case, as if the answers of the people help others to see the importance of having a home and others not having one can encourage them to help by contributing to Shelter and donating money to charities which can then help to provide homes or temporaryaccomodation for people. Furthermore, as the ittle girl Emly, provides an insign to her case and how Shelter have helped in improving their situation this provides the audience with trust in the Shelter and that they do help in reality. The personal story of the little girl Emily, develops the feeling of empathy in the audience as a result of the situation that she had to go through at such a young age. At the end of the video, we can see that there is a shot of a family of black ethncity tht has been helped by Shelter. This can comply with established stereptypes of black people as coming from poorer families and therefore being more likely to be homeless. This can be linked with the theory of Gilroy which explains how black ethnic minorities are portrayed in a negtaive light such as marginalised and dehumanised compared to the White British population, which can be seen s they have been portrayed as people struggling and therefore helped to get their home.
The camera work and the special effects with the toy house, family and the family house inside it create the feeling that even though a home may appear to some people as having it for granted it atually means a lot which can be seen through and highlighted throught he story of the girl Emily.
Keep a good thing going- 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-PigU3mqWE
The personal story told by the man and to some extent by the social worker who has previously been a drug addict also provide an empathy appeal which is further accompanied by the statistics appeal many number and statistics ar mentioned to warn the audience with the large number of homeless people. This video is acting to some extent as a warning device and also it could be viewed as inspirational to some of the audience as it shows that people that lost their hope worked their way out and are now happy and living are stable and secure life even thought they have never though that this will happen to them. Hall`s reception will take place as different audiences may develop different readings of the text. For example, some groups of people such as ex homeless people, alcoholics or drug addicts may develop the preferred reading after having watched the video as they will relate to the situation that the man has been in previously. However, some other groups of people could develop the oppositional reading as they might thnk that it is person`s own fault for resulting in the situation they have been in. For examplle, they may believe that in order to improve, progress and therefore escape the situation of homelessless they hve to help themselves as it is their duty to do so not other people`s duty such as organisations of Shelter.
Further analysis of the 3 adverts
The persuasive statements positioned over the faces of the people, help in order to develop an empathy appeal and emotion as it could make the audience feel uneasy as of the rhetorical questions asked as they would not know how to answer as they are in the situation of a homeless person.
Location/setting- In the 3 adverts the location is absent as there is not background and the audience can only see the faces of the individuals of the adverts. The fact that there is no actual background suggests that the individuals have not ectually experienced anything good in their lifes in the past therefore they are looking for a brighter future. It connotes that even they have experienced positive things in their life previously, the situation they are in right now does not allow them to remember the good memories from their past.
Shot types and angles- The close up shots allow a direct mode of adress and eye contact to be established. The close up shots allow us the audience to look closesly at their faces and identify that their faces look very fearful and frightened which encourages the feeling of empathy from the audience. As the audience develops a feeling of empathy it means that they are most likely to donate and tka epart in helping such people to escape the state of homelessness. The facial expressions of the people of the adverts show how desperate they are for help and support.
Colour palette- The colours used in the advert- red, black and white combine very well with eachother as they all have different inter-related meanings behind them. The red colour which is directly placed upon the faces of the individuals and positioned at the centre of the avdert, emphasise that helping them is urgently as the colour red symbolises danger and is an alarming colour. It therefore places importance on the rhetorical questions and it makes the audience feel at unease as they will not have an answer, therefore the colour red connotes that the situation they are in is very dangerous and insecure. The colour black is used in order to symbolise that if these people are not helped their situation will not improve and they will remain in the darkness. However, the white used in the captions at the bottom of the advert connote the innocence of the people and encourages the idea that the individuals cannot directly be blamed for the position they are in now and also shows that there is this ray of light which suggests that there will be a brighter future in the lifes of the people who are currentl homeless and experiecing very difficult stuff and going through rough times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kyb0dhW5ss
The toy house used and all of the aspect of the hous such as the small living room and the family is in order to symbolise the life and the family of th girl telling the story Emily. Using the toy in the video at first appears and makes it look like something insignificent however as soon as the girl begins telling her story the audience finds out that even tough at first it may appear so insignificant, in fact it is very very important having a house and a roof under your head. Each aspect of the toy house is used in order to symbolise a real aspect of the life of Emily.
Shelter
Shelter is a charity that alleviates the distress caused by bad housing and homelessness.
Shelter aims to ensure that there us a safe, secure and affordable home for everyone.
Unlike the `Old Spice` and `Lucozade`, Shelter`s `A home for everyone` is a non commercial product that uses media language elements and constructs representations to encourage donations to the charity.
Social and cultural contexts
Shelter was founded in 1966 during the `Swinging Sixties` where at the time there were 3 million people living in slums. Shelter was born out of the belief that this appalling injustice must be put right.
50 years on, the country experienced another housing crisis. A huge range of people are effected by the current housing shortage, from a generation of young peopel who can`t afford a home to those struggling with sub-standard housing.
As we enter our 50th year, 100,000 children are homeless. So while we will reflect on our achievements, we will only celebrate when everyone has a place to call home.
The advert `A home for everyone` echoes social enxieties linked to economic and family issues that lead to people loosing their home.
Shelter commissioned photographers such as Nic Hedges to document the poor housing conditions within the UK.
Advertisements throughout the 1960`s to the 1990`s were crafted in the documentray tradition of black and white and often focused on the suffering of children to gain public sympathy/empathy.
Contemporary advertising for charities have moved away from only focusing on the marginalised suffering or unfortumate people- the poor people.
Shelter campaign provide its target audience with an insight that Homelessness can effect all sections of society not just the feckless and underserving poor.
For example in 2020, Shelter are particularly active in supporting indiviuals during the COVID crisis.
Persuasive techniques used
Persuasive language- The use of persuasive statements position the audience to read the advert and it message from a particular point of view.
Rhetorical questions- The 3 rhetorical questions in red placed in from of each face demand a response that the audience can`t asnwer. This helps position the audience to sympathise.
Fear- The use of 2 indviduals, each with a different anxiety about their housing, creates a fear that this can happen to anyone and could happen to the reader.
Technical conventions used in the Shelter advert and their connotations
Typeface/font style- The sans serif font is a formal font and connotes the urgency of the situation ad the immediate impact for the individual. This creates a sense of fear for each figure, making the audience more likely to want to engage and help.
Shot types and angles- The close up and direct addresses of each character looking directly into the camera and therefore to the audience, personalises the characters and heightens the emotion that can be seen in their faces. This helps connote their plighty and difficulty, subsequently creating sympathy in the audience for the cause of the charity.
Colour palette- The stark colour palette of red, black and natural tones creates a simplicity that allows the red font of the statements to stand out. This connoted the urgency and danger of the situation that each oof the characters finds themselves in and conveys this to the audience in order for them to feel that they need/must donate.
Register/ mode of address- The mode of address is serious and the use of lexis connotes the sense of hopelessness faced by the characters. The rhetorical questions such as `where will we live` signify the fear of homelessness and create empathy among the audience which encourages them to donate.
Achorage- The placement of each statement on top of a character signifies that different situations can cause homeslessness for different people. The positioning of the statements above the lips connotes that by supporting Shelter, the audience will be giving the people affected by homelessness a voice.
Ideologies
The advert, reinforces a viewpoint that social inequality is unjust and that those in positions of social power or wealth have a duty to help those who are not. In this case, the advert supports a liberal view with the idea that we have a social duty to help one another.
Additionally, the advert reinforces the ideological values of individualism by sggesting that every indiviual has the right to self-fulfilment and a better life, including those who have less and own less than others. This value can be seen as being reinforced by the ideology of consumerism by using the advert form, which relies on the consumption of messages and values to create ampathy and persuade the audience to donate the charity. The advert relies on consumerism, as the higher the consumption of the messages and values of the advert the more people will be encouraged to donate to the charity, therefore the advert will be more successfull if there is a higher consumption.
On the other hand, the advert also reinforces the ideology of collectivism as it encourages and suggests that individuals must help eachother and take a collective action which can help them to overcome their problems. For example, those in power or the more aflluent and wealthier individuals must and have the duty to some extent to help the poorer individuals not just because they are experiencing problems unlike them but also because the system is in favour of the wealthier therefore the working class and poorer individuls are automatically at a disadvantage because of the system. Therefore, as the social system is in favour of the middle class and therefore reinforces their ideology what these wealthier individuals can do at least is help the disadvantaged individuals- woking class and poorer.
Audience response and interpretation- Hall`s reception theory
The preferred readig of the Shelter `A Home for Everyone` advert could be that homelessness can happen to anyone for number of different reasons, no matter what your social position and place has been previously. There is also, a preferred reading that suggests we should feel empathy and responsibility for helping others, who are less fortunate than ourselves.
The audience response and interpretation will depend on the demographic and experience of the audience. In particular it will depend on their views towards charity and how they respond to the representations constructed. However, an oppositional reading of the advert could be that everyone is responsible for their own life and their actions therefore you should help yourself in rder to get out of the situation of homelessness or hopelessness rather than relying on the help of other individuals or social institutions. Furthermore, the oppositional reading could also be that the reason that got a specific person into the situation of homelessness is their fault and as a result of their actions and wrong/bad decisions that they have taken previously in the past.
Different social groups will have different readings as a result of their ideologies and their status in society. For example, a middle class women is most likely to take the negotiated reading as to some extent they may believe and view that it is the duty of the individual themeselves to help themselves and come out of this situation, however they may also agree with helping with small parts such as donating to charities as they agree with the idea of collective action. However, an inidvidual who has been in a similar situatio such as was homeless or/and drug addict is most likely to take the preferred/dominant reading as they can relate to the situation and will somehow feel they have things in commont with the specific person and this will help to establish a relationship between the the individuals and therefore it will encourage the ex-homeless person to feel empathy as the other person is currently going through what they have gone through in their past. They are also most likely ot strongly agree with the ideology of collectivism and collective action. This can be seen in the story of the man-Paddy and the social worker Colette(she was homeless and a drug addict like the man which is telling his story) as she explained how she felt very related to the man as a result of the similar life stories they had and went through therefore she wanted to support him in his journey. This shows how a person of a similar situation is much more likely to develop the preferred/dominant reading as they would feel related to that person therefore they will support them and help with as much as they can as Colette did.
Appeals
Until there`s a home for everyone- campaigns 2011
Emily`s story- empathy appeal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kyb0dhW5ss
As the video begins by asking different people what they believe home is, and hearing the asnwer of each person this to some extent be related to the Cultivation theory of Gerbner. This is because as many of the people asked the question what home means to them have similar answers therefore it can change the opinion that other people may have on this aspect. For example, it can help people to see the importance of home and therefore result in them becoming more conscious and thankful that they have a home as others are homeless and living on streets. This will be beneficial in this case, as if the answers of the people help others to see the importance of having a home and others not having one can encourage them to help by contributing to Shelter and donating money to charities which can then help to provide homes or temporaryaccomodation for people. Furthermore, as the ittle girl Emly, provides an insign to her case and how Shelter have helped in improving their situation this provides the audience with trust in the Shelter and that they do help in reality. The personal story of the little girl Emily, develops the feeling of empathy in the audience as a result of the situation that she had to go through at such a young age. At the end of the video, we can see that there is a shot of a family of black ethncity tht has been helped by Shelter. This can comply with established stereptypes of black people as coming from poorer families and therefore being more likely to be homeless. This can be linked with the theory of Gilroy which explains how black ethnic minorities are portrayed in a negtaive light such as marginalised and dehumanised compared to the White British population, which can be seen s they have been portrayed as people struggling and therefore helped to get their home.
The camera work and the special effects with the toy house, family and the family house inside it create the feeling that even though a home may appear to some people as having it for granted it atually means a lot which can be seen through and highlighted throught he story of the girl Emily.
Keep a good thing going- 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-PigU3mqWE
The personal story told by the man and to some extent by the social worker who has previously been a drug addict also provide an empathy appeal which is further accompanied by the statistics appeal many number and statistics ar mentioned to warn the audience with the large number of homeless people. This video is acting to some extent as a warning device and also it could be viewed as inspirational to some of the audience as it shows that people that lost their hope worked their way out and are now happy and living are stable and secure life even thought they have never though that this will happen to them. Hall`s reception will take place as different audiences may develop different readings of the text. For example, some groups of people such as ex homeless people, alcoholics or drug addicts may develop the preferred reading after having watched the video as they will relate to the situation that the man has been in previously. However, some other groups of people could develop the oppositional reading as they might thnk that it is person`s own fault for resulting in the situation they have been in. For examplle, they may believe that in order to improve, progress and therefore escape the situation of homelessless they hve to help themselves as it is their duty to do so not other people`s duty such as organisations of Shelter.
Further analysis of the 3 adverts
The persuasive statements positioned over the faces of the people, help in order to develop an empathy appeal and emotion as it could make the audience feel uneasy as of the rhetorical questions asked as they would not know how to answer as they are in the situation of a homeless person.
Location/setting- In the 3 adverts the location is absent as there is not background and the audience can only see the faces of the individuals of the adverts. The fact that there is no actual background suggests that the individuals have not ectually experienced anything good in their lifes in the past therefore they are looking for a brighter future. It connotes that even they have experienced positive things in their life previously, the situation they are in right now does not allow them to remember the good memories from their past.
Shot types and angles- The close up shots allow a direct mode of adress and eye contact to be established. The close up shots allow us the audience to look closesly at their faces and identify that their faces look very fearful and frightened which encourages the feeling of empathy from the audience. As the audience develops a feeling of empathy it means that they are most likely to donate and tka epart in helping such people to escape the state of homelessness. The facial expressions of the people of the adverts show how desperate they are for help and support.
Colour palette- The colours used in the advert- red, black and white combine very well with eachother as they all have different inter-related meanings behind them. The red colour which is directly placed upon the faces of the individuals and positioned at the centre of the avdert, emphasise that helping them is urgently as the colour red symbolises danger and is an alarming colour. It therefore places importance on the rhetorical questions and it makes the audience feel at unease as they will not have an answer, therefore the colour red connotes that the situation they are in is very dangerous and insecure. The colour black is used in order to symbolise that if these people are not helped their situation will not improve and they will remain in the darkness. However, the white used in the captions at the bottom of the advert connote the innocence of the people and encourages the idea that the individuals cannot directly be blamed for the position they are in now and also shows that there is this ray of light which suggests that there will be a brighter future in the lifes of the people who are currentl homeless and experiecing very difficult stuff and going through rough times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kyb0dhW5ss
The toy house used and all of the aspect of the hous such as the small living room and the family is in order to symbolise the life and the family of th girl telling the story Emily. Using the toy in the video at first appears and makes it look like something insignificent however as soon as the girl begins telling her story the audience finds out that even tough at first it may appear so insignificant, in fact it is very very important having a house and a roof under your head. Each aspect of the toy house is used in order to symbolise a real aspect of the life of Emily.
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