Do you feel guilty, pity or sympathy?
Sympathy would be my overwhelming emotion to adverts for disability charities.
Would you donate to these causes?
I find that a lot of a charity’s impact on me is depended on my relationship with what they campaign for. I have donated and fund raised for the Alzheimer’s Society following the death of my grandmother who suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s in her later life.
The only campaigns where I am likely to make a ‘spur of the moment’ donation are usually for disaster or epidemic causes, usually set in ‘third world countries’.
Do you have positive or negative responses to these images?
I have a negative response to spastics society adverts and imagery but this is largely due to my generation. ‘Spastic’ is no longer a culturally acceptable term, particularly in western societies. I have a positive response to the malteaser advert as I feel it is very ‘normalising’ and although the presence of the wheelchair user is clear they seem to blend right in. Upon a deeper inspection of the advert and the content within it could be argued that it is not a ‘pre-watershed’ friendly advert. However it is important to counter argue that are negative viewers disgusted at the insinuation in the advert or at the fact that it is a disabled person involved?
Are they ‘normalising’ or ‘othering’?
Many of the adverts shown are othering however, as the lecture details, it has been found that ‘othering’ campaigns gain more traction and donations than ‘normalising’ campaigns.
Which approaches are most successful?
The success of approaches depends largely on the context in which they are consumed and on the way they are delivered. With so many adverts occurring on handheld digital devices it is easier than ever to scroll past an advert without so much as a thought in its direction. Campaigns with captive audiences which either shock or stick with the viewer are most successful.
Which approaches are most inclusive?
Inclusive approaches to advertising and the inclusion of the disabled are more appropriate in the 21st century. Although they have have been previously found to be less ‘fruitful’ the othering of many disabilities has simply become unacceptable in British society these days. Moving outside of disability, campaigns involving the elderly have necessarily become more othering. This is largely to try and curb the growth of loneliness in older people in western cultures.
Andrews Masters Journey 