Task 14: Fairclough

Advertising builds a relationship between producer and receiver by constructing a product image that in tern helps to position the receiver as a potential consumer.

This Barnado's advert creates synthetic personalisation via dramatic graphological imagery making the audience feel emotionally connected and sympathetic. The image of a baby in a dirty room holding a needle  is extremely shocking, no parent would want their child to be alone in such conditions so instantly a personal connection amongst the producer and the consumer (and deeper still, to the customer's children) is built, this applies to a wide customer base however feels incredibly personal to each individual. Another interesting aspect of this is the contrast between imagery and lexics, for example "Age 22" is placed above the image of the endangered baby, this pragmatically implies that as a result of neglect/abuse the individual is forever trapped in a state of vulnerability emotionally and in extreme cases individuals are scarred for life (various research into this has proved such a theory). Such a dramatic truth into abuse naturally pulls at anyone's heart strings, this builds an attachment for the audience/customer to the child in danger and further to the charity. For the charity to appeal approachable and not just a company the pronoun "we" is used repeatedly, this comforts the audience as the pronoun feels incredibly more personal and warming than say the company's name being repeated.

Now, an advert such as this Revlon advertisement has the same aspects to appeal to an audience and create a relationship however, uses said aspects to a differing affect. Instead of shocking and distressing imagery, because the aim is to sell a product, a beautiful celebrity who'd appeal to many and the public could feel attached to showcases the product. Pragmatics in graphology grow further to include the use of Red in text, red has connotations of sexuality and passion something women want, this would then transfer onto the actual product this personalisation for women forms an attachment between customer and producer as they feel understood. This advert also made use of the pronoun "you", this involves the reader as they feel they're being addressed personally, when the customer feels they are being spoken to instead of informed they are more likely to be attracted to the product as this would feel considerably friendlier and warmer.