shelter analysis

Shelter is a charity aimed at helping people facing homelessness/ at risk of becoming homeless but unlike The Big Issue is not aimed at those who are already homeless. These adverts followed after a government cut on social housing in 2010. This cut meant that social housing (counsel homes) were cut by 60% which greatly increased the number of people who became homeless. 

The clear message in this advert is for people to seek help from shelter before they lose their homes. For example, it encourages people in debt, people with difficult landlords, and people who have lost their job to reach out and get help. This is shown by the writing under the slogans that say 'losing your job doesn't have to mean losing your home.' , 'as a tenant, it can be hard to know where you stand.' , and ' debt can seem to hard to face, but left alone can threaten your home'. All of these are followed by ' we can help' which encourages people in difficult situations to get help early before it comes to them being homeless. These are all powerful messages that show how desperate the people who need to go to shelter are. 

The use of close-ups helps us see the people's facial expressions of worry and fear. This shows their vulnerability. The use of both male and females that do not have a clear age, class, or ethnicity helps to show that anyone can be affected not just stereotypical homeless people. 

The search bar at the baseline reinforces the idea of searching for help as well as telling people where they should go to get that help. The red colour scheme enforces the idea of fear that people face when homelessness could become an issue in their lives.