Shelter

• What is Shelter?

  • Shelter is a UK based housing and homelessness charity
  • They provide free services and guidance to seek advice on issues surrounding homelessness
  • More than one million people a year come to Shelter for advice and support
• Stereotypes about homelessness

  • All homeless people are drug and alcohol abusers and gamblers
  • Many people believe that the person themself is the reason why they are homeless by doing irresponsible activities
  • Believe homeless people are selfish
  • Primarily old white men
  • Being homeless means being out on the streets
  • Characteristics: lazy, scary, unsanitary
  • Homeless people are unemployed
  • They are not trying to make a living by themselves/ they only rely on what others give them
• When was the Shelter advert released?

  2011
• What were the aims of Shelter's campaign?

  • Rehome the homeless
  • Primarily prevent homelessness
• Who was Shelter's advert targeted to?

  Those at risk of homelessness to point them to Shelter’s services
• Where was Shelter's advert placed?

  Homelessness hotspots / hotspots for housing problems in the UK
• How did Shelter track the effectiveness of their campaign?

  • Campaign ran through mobile messaging and Facebook
  • Tracked the website traffic to see the effectivess of the scheme
• Red colour scheme


  • Negative connotations and associations with severity and danger
  • Acts as a warning sign to the audience who are at risk of homelessness, tells them to do something before its too late
• Main written code covers the eyes of the faces in the advert

  • Makes faces looked tired, indicates that issues featured are overwhelming and oppressive
  • Can show these issues commonly being overlooked by society since they're not part of the conventions of homelessness
  • Allows for the target audience to fee seen, heard and further supported by shelter, as essentially shelter is letting the audience know that they recognise their problems and that they are there to help them, pushes audience to use Shelter's services as they support all people's problems
• Close-up shots of faces

  • Personal and intimate; can clearly see the expressions on their faces: desperate and serious
  • The audience are able to witness the significance and the impact that housing loss has on people; makes them look miserable and distraught, further encourages the audience faced with this risk to do something immediately
• The models are looking directly into the camera

  • Form of direct address
  • Shelter are reliant and dependent on the audience to reach out to them first in order for them to help
• A diverse group of people are represented however there is no clear ethnic representation; ethically ambiguous models


  • Shows homelessness can affect anybody regardless of ethnicity, contrary to stereotypes
• Features men and women in the advert

  • Challenges the ideologies about homelessness
  • Establishes Shelter as an inclusive charity ready to support all people and do not discriminate or adhere to the stereotypes common about homelessness
• Repeats a simple message 'We can Help'


  Shows that Shelter is a simple solution