WaterAid "Genet" Advert

Here is WaterAid's "Genete" advert. It employs strongly pathos tactics in the form of empathy and pity. The key aim of the advert is to get people to donate to their charity, which puts wells in poor countries, typically within Africa. It shows poor people, particularly children walking miles and miles to reach a well, access some water then walk miles home with a heavy bucket or barrel full of it, and also shows starving and dirty families. These tactics are used primarily to gauge sympathy with the viewer, in the hopes they will pity these people so much that they will donate to their cause. As such, this advert solely uses pathos techniques, trying to guilt-trip the viewer into donating, as some may also in addition feel mean for NOT donating as well as pity towards the people displayed in the advertisement. These types of adverts have a mixed effect, with some feeling pity for these people and thus donating, whilst others view the adverts as an immoral form of guilt-trip, often wondering whether their money will actually go towards the given cause, administration within the charity or simply more adverts like these...For example, all of the comments on this video on Youtube are generally cast in a negative light, questioning the fact that for after all these years, this sort of situation is still ongoing, why these charities were asking for a specific amount to be donated, and criticizing how the charities have implemented their improvements.