Shelter - Our House It’s Not a Home

I chose the Shelter campaign video “Our House. It’s Not a Home” because it uses the Madness song intertextually, creating a striking contrast between the nostalgic, comforting tone of the music and the harsh reality of overcrowded, insecure housing, which immediately engages viewers emotionally. The narrative represents homelessness not as an individual failure but as a systemic social injustice, encouraging empathy and prosocial behaviour, reflecting altruism by motivating viewers to feel moral responsibility and consider action. From an A-level media studies perspective, the video can be analysed through Parasocial Contact Theory, as it humanises marginalised individuals and reduces psychological distance. The advert also includes Social Responsibility frameworks, which demonstrate how media can activate societal awareness and moral engagement. The intertextuality of the song amplifies emotional impact, drawing on cultural memory to make the audience reflect on what it truly means to have a home, while prompting both affective and potentially active responses to social injustice.