Water Aid Flashcards
When was the Water Aid charity established?
1981
What was the charity established in response to?
Water Aid was a response to a United Nations campaign for clean water, sanitation and water hygiene education
How many countries does Water Aid work with, and in what regions?
Works with organisations in 37 African, Asian and Central American countries plus the pacific region
Who is the Water Aid patron?
Prince Charles, since 1991
When was the ‘Rain for Good’ advert made, and by whom?
Created by Atomic London in October 2016
What is a brief summary of the Rain for Good advert?
16 year old Zambian student Claudia aims to show how communities benefit from clean water by depicting everyday chores such as farming and laundry
Why would the contemporary audience for this advert be assumed to be familiar with the codes and conventions of audio-visual adverts for charitable organisations?
British public have lots of exposure to this type of media production. For example, Band Aid (1984) and Comic Relief (1985) raising money and awareness for the same famine relief aim
What are the familiar charity advertisement conventions that are reinforced in this text?
- Key information about the concern
- A relevant and personalised narrative
- A direct appeal to the audience for money
What might be considered unconventional about this advertisement?
- Lacks a non diegetic voiceover
- Absence of melancholic audio codes
- No black and white visual codes
How does the opening of the Rain for Good advert begin, and how is this significant to the connotations and meanings within the text?
The advert opens with a medium shot and a pull focus between the digital radio and the rain against the window. This establishes the advert in a modern, British setting. It is connoted that the scenes that follow are happening at the same time
How does the start of the advert suggest a British setting?
It is taken in a setting which indicates a middle class background, the audio codes are also of an announcer with an English accent
What is an example of Barthes’ Hermeneutic Code in the advert? (enigma code)
Suspense is created through the enigmatic use of the slow motion, medium close up, low angle tracking shot of Claudia’s feet and the swinging bucket
In the advert, Claudia sings “make me feel like I belong… don’t leave me, won’t leave me here”. Why is this significant?
The connotation is that the audience can help Claudia “feel like she belongs” etc. if they donate to Water Aid
How can Water Aid be linked to Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions?
The juxtaposition of the on-screen graphic (“650 million people still don’t have access to clean drinking water’) and Claudia’s positive story creates a conceptual binary opposition. It’s this opposition that the audience is encouraged donate because audiences are immune to the traditional conventions of a charity ad surrounding a stereotypical victim
How does the Rain for Good advert differ from other adverts in the industry?
Rain for Good has deliberately broken away from the traditional charity ad formula with a more positive representation. This will stand out to audience who might have otherwise become immune to the usual ‘victim style’ conventions deployed by this sub-genre
