This document analyzes a radio commercial for the charity Kids Company. The commercial aims to raise awareness about abused children in London who may spend Christmas alone without donations. It uses the voices of a young boy and older woman from London to seem more relatable. The boy speaks casually about his excitement for Christmas to downplay the abuse and encourage donations, while the woman provides the call to action. By using a child's voice and mentioning Christmas, the commercial aims to make people feel guilty and donate to alleviate that guilt. It likely gained approval for airing by complying with regulatory guidelines regarding the portrayal of children in charity advertisements.

1. Kids Company Analysis
In this analysis I will be looking at the radio commercial for the charity ‘Kids Company’.
The commercial is building seasonal awareness; the aim is to make people conscious of the fact that
there are abused children in London who will be spending Christmas alone unless we make a
donation.
The advertisement contains elements of both a factual and informative style commercial in a very
simple way. The factualness of it allows them to persuade and influence us while the informative
side gives it more of an official feel.
Throughout the advertisement we hear two different voices- that of a little boy and an older
women. Although it is a radio advertisement and we can’t physically see the actors, it’s obvious
they’re from London- the place in which advert is aimed at. By using people local to the area they’re
making the advert more relatable. Their tone of language differs from each other; the young boy is
very childlike and informal whilst the lady is more serious and formal in a non-complex way. He’s
pulling us in by making us feel sorry for him and the female actor then swoops in with the solution to
the problem.
The use of music cannot be heard in the advertisement. The boys speaks in such a casual manor that
we’re made to feel as if this is a typical day to him- he knows no different. To begin with he speaks
with the same enthusiasm as a child would have speaking about his excitement for Christmas - the
voices alone are powerful enough to put the point across, without using stereotypical sad music.
The purpose of choosing two different people for the advertisement is to create more of an
emotional impact- this is a typical code and convention in all charitable commercials. The
commercial is raising awareness of abused children who’ll be spending Christmas alone- by using a
child actor to speak about the abuse he ‘receives’, they’re pulling at heart strings therefore
persuading people into donating. If they had used the women to speak about the abuse they
receive, audiences would not have taken as much notice.
The fact that Christmas is mention in the commercial tells us it’s a one -off.
Relatability is key in any commercial. By using a child actor the advertisement then becomes very
relatable to parents. They’ve been faced with the issue of feeling guilty about the child. Christmas is
the one time of year when the majority of people feel charitable and want to offer their services in
one way or another – in some senses this is the desirable factor in their lives. Kids Company has now
offered them the solution- lifting that guilt by donating.
Repetition allows companies to build brand familiarity with the audience whilst also reminding them
what is being advertised, however, unusually the charity only mentions their name once throughout
the entire commercial. This could be because of a number of factors; maybe the company is already
very well established in London or the advertisement could have been played quite frequently which
would have had the same effect as repetition- audiences would of have been exposed to the
advertisement enough times as to already be familiar with the charity.

2. Raising brand awareness is always a crucial factor, however it’s not always the sole purpose. The end
result that is hoped to be achieved from this advertisement is to get people to donate- that’s what
they set out to do. Therefore rather than contact details, they’ve mentioned the web address in
which you can go to find out more and make a donation- this is the pinnacle of the entire
commercial, it’s the single most important factor.
Before an advertisement is able to be aired, it must first go through RACC (Radio Advertising Clearing
Centre) to ensure it meets the legal and ethical guidelines. This specific advertisement would have
been checked against quite a few regulatory requirements. First and foremost it would have needed
to comply with ‘section 16’ (charities) of the BCAP code which includes rules such as it must be a UK
charity, it must not exaggerate the cause or disrespect the dignity of those on whose behalf the
appeal is being made; Kids Company have complied with all the rules.
Within ‘section 16’ there are smaller sub-sections that cover issues such as using children, political
and controversial matters, faith, environmental claims and religion.
The only major issue that may have arisen is the use of a child the advertisement. The code states
that ‘children must be protected against advertisements that could cause physical, mental or moral
harm’- Kids Company would have to have abided with this in order to create the commercial.
Once the advert has aired it is then up too ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) to act on any
complaints that may be made about the commercial and ensure that people are protected from any
harmful material the commercial may present. Although Kids Company has had complaints made to
ASA about their advertisements, there has never been one for this particular commercial.