Student made hand-out on representation within the 'Water Aid' audio visual advertisement.

1. Representation
Stereotypical Adverts
 Water Aid has deliberatelybroken away from traditional charity ad using the
stereotypical victim needing help.
 The idea of having a ‘victim’ is familiar with the audience from many
other charity adverts.
 Claudia (the main girl) is represented as healthy, independent and musically
talented.
 This stands out against other adverts which people may become immune to
the emotive representations they display.
Dress code
 The colour pink is stereotypical to females.
 Knee length skirt.
 Top and shoes match which are pink.
Age
 She is a young adult.
 She is a similar age to many of the people who she passes and is with at the
water pump.
 This connotes that she has to grow up quickly due to the environment she
lives in.
 Some angles connote she’s very independent for her age. For example her
walking along the long, empty dust road.
 Close up shots connotes a confident young girl.

2. She is represented as the adverts protagonist and a character that the audience
can positively be associated with.
Theories
 Stuart Hall’s theory (representation): the images of the African
environment in which people may be struggling to survive. The more
positive audio codes challenge the stereotypical representations,
creating enigmas around why she appears to be so positives.
 David Gauntlett’s theory (identity): Claudia acts like a role model for
the type of lifestyle changes that the audience could be responsible
for creating if they donate to water aid.
 Liesbet Van Zoonen’s theory (feminist): assuming the stereotypical
male roles of ‘protagonist’ and ‘provider’, Claudia is perhaps
contributing to social change by representing women in non-
traditional roles. The work she is doing, collecting water, is physically
challenging. However, the advert reinforces stereotypes of women
being associated with the care of children.