1. Homeless Charities

2. The bright green colour brings attention to the poster. The white text
along with the green contrasts nicely against the dark background.
This makes it stand out more and is the main attraction on the
poster. The copy has been made the main focus because it is the part
that makes people think and spreads the message. Usually that
message is to donate but on this particular ad is telling people to
notice the homeless and report them to the charity so they can go
out and help them. Charities don’t just need money, they need
information. They want to help as many homeless people as they can
but can’t if they don’t know where they are. This is why this ad asks
you to call them in, it is another way of helping without having to
give them money, which is good as most people don’t want to part
with their money.
The bold copy helps it to stand out and makes it easier to read. The
simple font also makes it easy to understand and complements the
simplicity of the poster and message. If you see someone sleeping in
the streets don’t just walk past, at least tell someone about them, it’s
that simple. The faded parts of the text goes with the street vibe. It’s
like it was written with spray paint, the paint doesn’t fill in fully and if
used on wide letters then parts will be missing just like the font on
the advert. It also fits because the streets are old, wasted and falling
apart in some places which makes them not fit for somewhere to
live. This message is portrayed via the image too. The wall behind
the man is falling apart and not safe, other parts of the wall could fall
off while the man is sleeping and hurt him.
The image also shows the reality of homelessness. Sleeping on
cardboard boxes and using whatever you can use as a pillow. If it was
raining you wouldn’t have a cover to shield you. You would get wet
and ultimately ill.
The overall effect of the ad is that homelessness is dark and mean
and something no one wants. People who are homeless want help
and we should give it to them as we are better off than them. This
charity is trying to promote that slightest of things could mean the
world to someone. The only thinking wrong with the ad is that it
doesn’t say which charity it belongs to.

3. Shelter
This advert is has the logo at bottom right hand corner, the last
place the eyes look while looking at a piece of paper. This means
the name of the charity is the remaining in the audiences mind
once they walk away from the poster.
The first thing they see is the picture of family which catches the
publics attention and then drags it to the point of the advert.
The image used is a picture of a family, a happy family. The filter
that has been applied to the image emphasis’ the colour in the
image. The main colour is red due to the colour scheme of the
charity. This merges in the campaign nicely, if all ads have red in
them then people will be able to tell they are apart of the same
project.
The colour red symbolises strength and determination. Two
things charities and homeless people need. Homeless people
need this to survive and charities need this to help people so red
is a very suitable colour to have as a colour scheme.
They have used this image as it is heart warming. A family playing together having fun, one thing everyone wants is to be happy. They then
look at the statement ‘Do you believe everyone should have a home?’ and their mood changes. They start to realise that not everyone is
able to have this. Not everyone is able to live in a good home with people who love them. This breaks people’s hearts and makes them
want to help people have homes like this, particularly kids.
They used white copy to stand out from the dark red bricks. The font is simple and easy to read which helps get the message across. It
makes it easier to understand and doesn’t pull any attention away from the cause.
The website has an open page (to the right) which acts as an advert itself. It
has the red aspects on the page but not as much as the poster. The main
colour is black to symbolise how depressing homelessness is and how
negative it is. They have used a little girl again to get to peoples hearts and
sort of trick them into donating. They have included some statements that
hold information about the charity and the facts about homelessness. At the
bottom there is an option to an area specific website. They mainly work in
England and Scotland but they have pages for Wales and Ireland to get advice.
The are trying to help people who aren’t even in there area. The internet has
enabled charities to help out more people than they usually could.
Underneath the ad is information on how to contact the area specific helpline
and the address of the main building. This is if you want more information or
know of someone who is homeless then you can ring up Shelter and report
them so they can get help.

4. The colour scheme of the actual website (for England) fits in with the
rest of the campaign. They have added lighter shades of grey so it is
easier to read the writing. Also having the page mostly dark can be off
putting for some people.
Again, they stay with the simple statements that consume the publics
brains. The biggest part of the home page is another ad, but one that
includes a link. They have used black and white tones to keep the ad
simple and not draw an attention away from the point, which is to try
and change the way government deals with people losing their jobs.
Most adults become homeless due to losing their jobs so if the
government give them a safety net then less people will become
homeless. They are trying to stop homelessness from its roots. At the
bottom left of the ad they have ‘#safetynet’ which links them to
twitter. Encouraging people to tweet about it and spread the word
further. Using twitter also keeps them up to date and they can
promote their charity for free.
At the bottom of the page they have all the links to their social
networking sites, again getting free advertisement and helping to
spread the word. If someone likes the page on facebook it will appear
on their timeline and everyone they are friends with will see it.
They also have sections on how to donate to the charity. The ‘get
involved’ page shows people all the different ways people can help
raise money. Because they are a big well known charity they have
merged with some stores that will donate when people shop online
and have the right plug-in.
They are also able to have their own shop where people donate
furniture (west midlands only), the other stores have the usual clothes
etc. for sale.
They have a news page to keep people up to date with what their
money is being spent on. It also inspires more people to donate.
When you give evidence of what the charity does more people will
want to donate because they know where their money is going and
the joy it brings. People get happiness out of seeing what their
contribution has done. They also have a page for their campaigns and
the reasons behind them which will help the public to understand and
support the cause.

5. Crisis (Comparison)
Crisis has done a very effective yet cheap advert. All they used is a cardboard
box and two marker pens. A black one because it stands out the most, and a
red one because it is their colour scheme.
The line about the snow pulls people in, most people enjoy the snow when it
first comes. ‘Loving the snow?’ people will then want to continue reading as
they are unsure what the sign is about. Because its bold it’s the first thing you
see and it gets your attention. You think ‘Yeah ,I am enjoying the snow why?’
and walk over to the cardboard to read on. Just like Shelter they have made
the audience happy before dropping the message on them. Because they
make them happy and then sad it will make the public feel sadder than they
would if they never raise their spirits in the first place.
The reality of homeless hits the public, they don’t realise people have to sleep
in that type of weather. The public don’t know how bad homelessness is
because they don’t see it. They don’t see all the people sleeping on the
streets and how much of a struggle it is.
They then have their plea and the website. This is another difference
between Shelter and Crisis, Crisis has included information about what they
what the public to do and how to contact them while Shelter hasn’t. They are
expecting the public to go find out the information themselves. They trust
that the advert has made people want to help so much that they are willing to
search the internet to find out how.
The website is written in bold red letter because this is their logo. They have
mixed the logo and website into one which provides more information in less
space which is important while advertising. People don’t want to read a lot
and if they see a lot of writing then they are likely to just ignore it.
Although it doesn’t have an image I don’t think it needs one to portray the
message. An image speaks a thousand words but less is more especially when
you are trying to get someone to understand and get a point across to them.
Both Shelter and Crisis have red as their colour scheme because it symbolises
the emergency service they provide. They help people and ultimately save
their lives.

6. Crisis have local news so you can find the one relevant for you. They only
feature the new events on the home page but they do have a sidebar with
all the different cities they help.
Unlike Shelter they have used different colours for some of the tabs on the
homepage to draw more attention of them. Orange and Green have been
added to their colour scheme to help make important links stand out. The
red has still been included to help link the other advertises to the campaign.
Links to their social networking sites are at the top and the bottom of the
page. This is so people can find the links no matter where they are on the
site. They are also on the sidebar on the homepage so you can click on them
after you have read the information you wanted.
Having the ‘Homelessness ends here’ at the bottom of the page makes
people think ‘how will it end?’ so they click the link. This makes them a part
of the fight to stop it. Hopefully when they see how easy it is if we all chip in,
they will help the charity and become more serious about helping people.
Shelter doesn’t have a link like this. They have a page that tells people what
to do to help but they don’t display and advertise it in the way that Crisis do.
Crisis tell you that there can be an end and that gives people hope.
Crisis and Shelter both have links and subtitles on the picture feature near
the top of the page. The subtitles give you a general gist of what it is
advertise, what the picture tells you. This is so if you are looking for
something particular, or if it just catches your eye, you can click on it and see
the picture explaining the message and then click on the link to find out
more.
Both websites have similar layouts. The feature stories are at the top as they
are the most important and most up-to-date thing on the website that
shares with the public what is happening and how they have effected the
world.

7. This is the top of the website. Their colour scheme is green along with the odd pink and blue. The most important part is in a separate
box to everything else making it stand out so your eye is drawn to it. Helping people out is the most important thing to them that is why
where to go if your homeless for the night is in the pink box. If someone needs help they don’t have time to look around the site for the
information they want. This is why having it in a different coloured box that stands out is good. They have placed their social networking
links at the top of the page. This is to ensure that everyone sees them, placing them at the bottom can be risky as not many people go
that far down the page.
SASH has placed a link to sign up to a newsletter at the top of the page so it’s one of the first thing people see. Newsletters will let the
public now how the charity is doing and what events are going on. If you are a volunteer and want to keep up to date but don’t have
time to check the website everyday the newsletter is perfect. Having it in a green box brings more attention to it while keeping in with
the colour scheme. Using green doesn’t pull away too much attention from the pink box with more important information in.
The website also has lots of different pages. The biggest links that are more noticeable are kinda like their FAQ’s. What they do, the
impact they’ve had, how to help and how to get in touch. These are the main questions what answering when it comes to charities and
they have focussed them so people can easily find the answer. They have similar links above these but they go into more detail for the
people who are interested and are willing to stay in the site that little bit longer.
On the website they include images of the people they have helped. Happy youthful pictures
to show the positivity of the cause. They have used colour images to show its not all doom
and gloom, especially if help is provided. The arrows they use to hold the links in are their
logo turned on its side. So again they are keeping up with the brand and theme to allow it to
flow better.
SASH have been around for 20 years and have recently rebranded. They changed their logo from red to green because red is associated with
danger. Green is seen to be calm, safe and welcoming. They chose red at first because they are an emergency service but the logo didn’t let
people know who they were and what they did. The new logo allow the public to know that they have something to do with houses. Having
the slogan placed next to it let them know that it is to do with helping the homeless and trying to prevent people from living on the streets.