Water Aid Audio/Visual Advert : Rain for Good (Media Language)

1) How does the Water Aid advert, Rain for Good, follow conventions of charity advertising?
You see the usual representation of poor Africans with basic conditions, the clothing worn by the women is stereotypical of these charity adverts. This convinces people to donate to these charities, as they are trusting it due to the large amount of exposure to this message.




2) How does the Water Aid advert, Rain for Good, challenge the conventions of charity advertising?
This advert does not focus on the usual convention of focusing on the negatives, and showing the problems that these Africans are facing, instead showing the outcomes and the positives.




3) How are visual & audio codes used to establish the British setting at the start of the advert?
At the start of the advert, we are shown images of technology, rain, and green imagery of nature, that we often see in our way of lives, this gives us a reminder for when we see the contrast of Africa, and tries to make us feel grateful and guilty of what we have, so that the audience is more likely to donate to the charity.


4) How does the underscore (audio code) help to construct meaning?
The use of a positive audio code is used to encourage the audience to want more people to experience this happiness, and to also reassure people that by donating to this charity, they will gain something out of it.




5) How can Barthes Narrative Codes Theory be applied to this advert?

Suspense is created through the enigmatic use of the slow-motion, medium close-up, low-angle tracking show of Claudia’s feet and the swinging bucket (Barthes’ Hermeneutic Code) and emphasised by the crescendo of the song in the scene at the water pump over which the informative on-screen graphic appears .


6) How are binary oppositions (Levi-Strauss) used to construct meaning?

At 00.47, the song’s title line “sunshine on a rainy day” is used over shots of children running
playing, laughing and the more positive connotations of this section of the advert are emphasised by the high key lighting used. At the end of the advert, the line "650 Million people still don't have access to clean drinking water" creates conceptual binary opposition, as the audience will compare what they have seen to this, and want the other people without water to access the positivity shown in the advert.