Results of Research about charity adverts: TASK 2

Like most media products charity adverts have something called ‘conventions’.  Conventions are thing that are typical for that media product (like upbeat music in a happy advert), charity adverts tend to have different conventions depending on what the advert is trying to get across. But they usually have a person talking about a disaster that happen in a different country and how you can help the locals after the event. However if a charity advert wants to go viral among the internet it must include one or more elements of the six elements of buzz.

In order to examine what makes a charity advert viral, I will be looking and referring to the Telegraph’s ‘Pay it Forward Day with 3 random acts of kindnesses.  Link: https://youtu.be/KTCd3LB2Mcs

I believe that this advert is an unsuccessful attempt of creating a viral charity advert. First it only has 52,139 views on YouTube while other viral adverts have over a million; this proves it wasn’t shared over social media sites. It lacks any of the six elements of buzz and out of all the 19 comments left on the video the one that had the most likes said ‘it would have been better without the irritating music’.  The advert was bland and not only seemed forced but acted out by people that were chosen before filming of the advert had taken place.

How the audience consume viral adverts is by a set process. It starts by having the advert air on different TV channels or as adverts before a video starts on YouTube. After gaining attention most of the audience will look it up on YouTube and will usually be directed to the official channel of the distributor (IE the Save the Children advert being on the Save the Children YouTube channel). Then sharing it over their social media site profiles.

Viral Buzz is crucial in making a regular TV advert go viral on the internet. Viral buzz tackles a set demographic and psychographic, with one or more of the six different elements of buzz: the taboo, the unusual, the outrageous, the remarkable the hilarious and the secrets a advert can hold. But by adding a direct mode of address (having a person or people) look directly at the camera and audience. Using mode of address, it captures attention of the audience and connects the viewer with the person in front of them.  This would be effective when dealing with a younger audience as they are the most likely to consume these adverts.