charity essay

Analyse how social and cultural contexts can influence advertising

In your answer you must refer to:

- Analyse how social and cultural contexts influence advertising

- Make judgement and reach a conclusion on why they advertise in this way

Shelter was founded in 1966, London and use hard hitting campaigns, such as this one, which launched in 2011,  and make audiences aware of life threatening problems happening in modern society such as homelessness, which is being demonstrated in figure three. They advise the government to make changes to help housing, as 1 in 200 people are homeless. By using a subject that is sensitive to some people and can affect many people lives one way or another it influences the importance of the advertisement and how people view it. The colour scheme of these adverts is quite complementary and rather standard (consisting of red, black and white) connote a sense of seriousness towards the issue of homelessness. Furthermore, this scheme further represents this recognizable message without much reference from the advert as a whole and from the audience. This bold, daring text - almost acting as a statement - overlays the individual faces to highlight their potential thought process, but also portrays the seriousness of their situations; it was taking over their life and they were ashamed of it, until they seeked help. Additionally, this typography, placed in the center of the spread, covering almost most of the advert, further shows the importance of 'shelter' and how they desire to help people and make a change; it stands out to the audience, against the pale, saddened faces, which contains emotive language in order to gain empathy from the viewer. Creating the atmosphere for the reader creates a sense of tension and potential change to help support the campaign. The social context helps portray the seriousness of the problem as many homeless are clearly visible in most towns and cities lying helpless with nothing. 

The lack of diversity when representing the photos help show that anyone can potentially become homeless, therefore it shows there is no stereotype for people that become homeless (which is emphasized by the 'normal' looking people on the poster.) - it could happen to anyone; even you. By illustrating them in this way, it pronounces the importance of the issue being raised in the advert. The actors used in the campaign are looking directly at the camera with a concerned facial expression and the language used ("I can't face it",) illustrates its reality by the pronoun 'i', they are presented as weak and vulnerable, who need serious help. There is a possibility that the individuals presented are ethnically diverse however there isn't much evidence, as well as using mixed genders.  The expressions on the faces are very bland and serious, this is ambiguous as it helps represent how anyone can become homeless however it allows the reader visualize the advert as they desire - some worrying more than others-. As the pale plain faces connotes that the people may be feeling weak and vulnerable however the Shelter charity can help vigorously reverse this. The brand image/logo is a key component of the campaign as the 'H' is in the shape of a house, this reminds the audience how the charity will either help you fund for a house or maintain your housing status. On the other hand, i believe that this makes the audience feel sympathetic to those in need as they begin to remember the good and joyful memories they have experienced in the own homes.

Each poster contains a difference scenario that shows how different people can become homeless in different situations. This is used to inform people that anyone is vulnerable but it can potentially happen in anyway! This creates links to social context of the audience of the luxury's they enjoy everyday however those in need don't even have a roof over the head again adding to the sympathy.

In conclusion, I believe that the images are used to show the inequalities of wealth in society (Shown through the lack of emotion on the posters), In addition this creates a sense of sympathy from the audience as innocent people are losing there homes. Postmodernism is used to show shocking images of innocent children to create a shock and reaction to try and gain peoples support and financial gain.