A research project

A critical analysis of charity advertising in the UK

How should charities portray the people they set out to help, and what is the cost of those representations? We examine the images and words behind the appeals.

Explore the database → Read the research

Newspaper charity advertisements laid out for analysis

2021 to 26 Five years analysing appeals across print, mail & AI

3Marketing formats studied

140+Adverts catalogued

3Open research databases

OpenFor students & researchers

About the project

Charities have long been criticised for shock tactics and images of suffering used to generate pity.

Most international charities in the UK use advertisements to raise money and engage a variety of stakeholders. Charity advertising comes in many forms: television, newspapers and magazines, social media, radio, pop-up banners, posters and more.

Charities have been accused of dehumanising those depicted in their photographs and of relying on stereotypes. This raises questions such as: how should charities portray the people they are trying to help, and what is the damage of these representations?

Our project analyses charity advertising across formats, with a particular focus on visual storytelling and how images and text shape the way we see those “in need”. The resulting database is open for students, researchers and practitioners to make their own analyses.

The studies