Adoption

http://www.adoptuskids.org/

I chose this campaign by the Ad Council because of my personal connection to it: I was adopted as a child, as were both of my younger brothers. This gives me a unique perspective on the issue, and I think that I am able to analyze it differently than some.

This, of course, is one way in which ads are sometimes designed to appeal to potential readers: by establishing a personal connection. Even if I am not looking to adopt a child (not something I would want to even consider for a very long time), I will still be interested in reading what the Ad Council has to say on the topic.

I do think that this ad is appealing in many ways. First and foremost, it invokes compassion by displaying photographs of children who we can assume from the text are waiting to be adopted. Included are family stories about adoptions that have already taken place or may take place in the future. 

One big problem in this country, in my opinion as someone who was adopted, is that the process to adopt a child is ridiculously long, unnecessarily burdensome, and too much for many loving, caring, capable people to endure. This fact is highlighted by the numbers that are presented on the Ad Council’s own adoption page which reports the number of kids who are in foster care and waiting to be adopted. 

The actual website for the adoption campaign is very thorough and even has a tab that will bring you to a page where you can fill out a search form to see children who fit your specifications in your area. When it comes to adoption, that personal connection is key and it is done fairly well here.

Neda

The story of Neda has created commotion around the globe. CNN has the story of the young woman that died during a protest against the election results in Iran.

Is a throwaway lede, the anchor starts by saying “The cliché is that a picture is worth a thousand words.” The story focuses on the death of Neda and the repercussion of her death. First I noticed that the anchor mispronounced her name, which clearly shows how careful reporters must be with names.

The B-roll showed Neda on the floor dying, it’s very disturbing scene. As Harrower said, “Television can capture emotion like no other medium.” The most powerful tool was when you can hear the agony of Neda’s father and friends.

The drama involve in the situation is well represented by the reporter. The way she paraphrase the witnesses of Neda’s death. By clearly describing it she was able to paint word pictures, as Harrower said, “it helps your listeners to visualize your stories.”’

 This is a very well done piece, it combines a good sound- on- tape with a clear voice over and an influential out-cue (“a grim reminder of the price Iranians could pay for freedom”).

Americans Want Their SUV’s

This story was short but sweet. It was about the high demand for American made SUV’s even though America is in a poor economic state.

The news report starts off with the anchor immediately talking about 900 American workers that went back to work in the auto industry this week. This was caused by the high demand for American made SUV’s. This was an incredibly smart move on the part of the people writing the story. With America in such an economic crisis, news of Americans going back to work is immediately welcomed by the public.

After this first part of the story drew the audience in, the story maintained its positive message throughout. The anchor and field reporter both talked about how supply was too little for demand, and how a vast number of car buyers are starting to buy American made cars over foreign made ones.

This was a very well done piece that was sure to attract the attention of the American people, due to its well delivered, and positive message.

Story Link-http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/ – 31381867

Daily Show Iranians VS Republicans

Video

Th video is from a The Daily Show, which admittedly seems less informational than the average CNN or MSNBC segment. It’s not.  The Daily Show has emerged as the leading news source for college students. (sources here, here, sort of here, and not here) 

I digress

The type of lead in this video is soft because it begins talking about the Iranians, which the story is only about on a surface level.  It is really about the Republicans in the House of Representatives.  

The soft lead works in this situation because it is a political show based in humor.  The soft lead builds the audience up for the punch line while getting them involved in the story. It is effective because on TV you need something sort of flashy (like well timed humor) to draw the audience in.  Also, without a veteran like Jon Stewart this lead could have fallen flat so the delivery is crucial in situations like these.  The story remains true to the lead until the end of the clip. I think that this story wouldn’t have been as compelling with any of the other types of lead.

 

Note: I was kind of wishy washy was to whether it was soft or umbrella at first- they can be confusing (maybe just to me).

Religious Ritual or Child Abuse?

This video is a news story from New York about a mother who performed a Haitian voodoo ritual on her daughter and set her on fire. Yikes.

The story begins with a soft lede: “What happened to a six-year-old girl inside this house, the Queens district attorney calls almost beyond belief.” A quick quip from the DA later, and we have arrived at the meat of the story: a mom set her kid on fire.

The reporter gets a quote from a shocked local to add a little more emotional gravity to the story, then delves deeper into the supposed ritual performed by the mother. Another quick clip of the DA explaining the ritual combined with another incredulous bystander’s take provide a bit more shock value.

Then, a somber tone falls over the story as the reporter describes the injuries sustained by the girl, then mentions what is going to happen to the mother and grandmother of the little girl in the aftermath of this tragedy.

The toothpick man and his city

The following video is about a man who found very creative things to do with toothpicks from cnn.com.

(The link posted here is from Youtube but is the same video.)

San Francisco in toothpicks

It begins with a throwaway lede. “Of all the billions of toothpicks ever made these are the lucky ones. They found their way not between teeth but into the fingers of Scott Weaver who makes them part of bigger things.”

This story stays mostly in the present tense unlike print writing and it also contains a beginning, middle and end. In the beginning it tells us what it is: The city of San Francisco recreated in toothpicks.

In the middle it gives us more detail about Weaver, when he started doing this and more detail about the object. This structure even has a path like one of those marble games but with Ping-Pong balls that run through the entire structure. It also tells us that he was offered large sums of money for his work by a museum but turned them down.

The story ends with a quote by Weaver. “The lesson in this is what do we do with our time?” And I love to create I love to show people what can be done in life if you spend time to create, use your imagination.”

Cyberbullying

Because this is an online class I decided to post about the NCPC’s anti-Cyberbullying campaign.  The NCPC’s aim is too eliminate online harassment between kids.  

It is effective because of the shots of the children standing on the stage isolated.  Nearly every kid feels has gotten bullied but the NCPC has made strides to keep these attacks off the internet.  The use of children makes it distinctive as well.  The image of the kids makes the topic seem more real and can evoke memories of being bullied for those of us who shared similar experiences.   

The NCPC engages in these efforts because it is cruel to the victims and to avoid further conflict.  Their view is that kids who are bullied through the internet can be likely to react violently.  

The NCPC has  gone at this subject through television, (of course) the Internet, and radio.  The diverse attack has been fruitful since these Ads have stuck out to me and I have seen a lot of Ads in my illustrious TV watching career.

Summer Food

The Summer Food Service PSA campaign, by Ad Council is sponsored by Feeding America, an organization dedicated to eliminate hunger in America. The goal of his specific campaign is to increase awareness of the free nutritious meals offered during the summer to those with low resources.

The printed add explains more about the campaign, their goals and statistics. The writing is very clear, and interesting. The TV commercial summarizes the descriptive part and goes straight to the point. The images are very effective since you can see the kids playing, but once the bell rings everyone runs to the dinning halls.

What I like about this campaign is how easy anyone can help. The pictures and the music makes this ad stand out, it is really original and intriguing.  The way they showed the kids playing and then the empty dinning is very powerful in terms of creating emotions. This ad is worth the effort because “ 87% of children in Feeding America’s client households, who receive subsidized school meals, often go hungry during the summer months”.  Therefore it is important to increase awareness of the summer meals.

A Drug-Free Life Without an Asterisk

Steroids are major issue for athletes of all ages. This campaign by the Ad Council does a great job of conveying their anti-steroid message. They do so in a way that does not pass guilt onto people, but instead with the clear purpose of trying to educate about potential harm.

When the webpage is first accessed a picture of a boy with an asterisk on his head appears. This compliments the article well, because the asterisk is a well-known symbol for steroid use, and therefore makes this add distinctive from others.

The main message for this article appears within the first few sentences, and sets up the key points of the campaign. The Ad Council gives an overview of their anti-steroid position.

The purpose of this campaign is to inform people of all ages about the harmful effects that result from the use of steroids. Through the use of the website, videos, pictures, and radio the Ad Council is able to get their primary message across in a very effective way.

The ad agencies find this campaign effective and worth promoting because it raises overall health awareness in people of all ages.

Link-http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=520

Obesity Prevention

“Take a small step to get healthy,” is the slogan of an obesity prevention campaign sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Services.  The campaign started in 2005 as obesity rates in both adults in children jumped over 60% in the last decade.  A shocking two-thirds of adults are overweight and with obesity comes a number of serious potential health issues.

The campaign basically focuses on how it only takes “one small step” for someone to improve their health.  Its goal is to encourage adults to take small strides in making lifestyle changes.  Unfortunately, a majority of adult Americans live relatively unhealthy lifestyles.

What makes this campaign so compelling is that the ads are very attention grabbing.  For example, one ad is a photograph of a flyer on a street claiming to have found someone’s lost love handles.  The pictures are definitely something that would grab my attention while flipping through a magazine and would likely to the same for others.  However, the thing that I particularly like about this campaign is how they highlight how simple it is.  In reality, the smallest lifestyle adjustments can truly make a difference in the long run.