Visual RhetoricBy: Maddie Adams

“Children of parents who smoke, get to heaven earlier.”

Background InformationWhat’s the picture of?

The advertisement consists of a young, blonde girl, which is the obvious emphasis of the image.

Behind her is a dark blue background, which contributes to the emphasis towards the girl and

the small caption to the right of her. The caption printed in small,

but not small enough to be overlooked, white font is worded in a very blunt manner so that

although the size doesn't’t make it stand out it still is able to get the intended point across. Trailing into the frame from the right side is a trail of smoke that forms a smoke

halo above the girls head. The smoke is faint, but noticeable and

solidifies what the caption is implying. In the bottom right is a

logo for the Child Health Foundation, who is the sponsor of

this ad.

About The Image

Composition Factors: Subject matter? Emphasis? Lighting? Contrast? Balance? Color?

How do the composition factors

contribute to the image?

Because of the use of composition factors in this image the subject matter is made quite obvious. Due to the use of focus,

contrast, balance, color, and lighting the viewers emphasis is

drawn immediately to the subject, which is the little girl and the affects of secondhand smoke.

What is the point of view?

The point of view of this advertisement is that

smoking is bad and can lead to health

problems/death. While most all people agree that smoking is obviously harmful to your body,

people’s opinions on the degree of said health risks

that are caused by secondhand smoke.

 

What is the intended purpose

of this advertisement?

Purpose

The purpose of this anti- smoking advertisement is to ultimately reduce the amount of smokers.

However, this ad specifically targets smokers who are around

others. It conveys this purpose by pointing out a obvious problem, which is the harmful effects of

secondhand smoking - especially for children. The ad works to make the audience, people who smoke or know smokers, aware of the danger they are putting their

loved ones in due to the health risks caused by secondhand

smoke which may eventually lead to death.

The Rhetorical Triangle

How is ethos used?

How is logos used?

How is pathos used?

EthosThe ethos established in

this picture is the fact that the campaign for this ad is funded by the Child Health Foundation, a organization

working to reduce the amount of smoking. This creates credibility simply

because the entire purpose of this organization is to deal with what this ad is

targeting, smoking.

LogosThe logical appeal used in this advertisement is solid, yet not directly stated. No numbers or percentages

are used in the ad but the viewers are expected to

already have prior knowledge of the the

studies which prove the risks harmful side effects of

secondhand smoke.

PathosThe emotional appeal may be

the strongest appeal used, and is established through the use of the young, innocent girl and the

blunt caption. This girl is important to the pathos of the

image because your first impression is of this sweet girl with a smoke halo above her,

however, the caption to her right provides a very gravitational

statement as well as an explanation for the smoke halo.

This may affect readers emotionally because it is very obviously blaming those who smoke and accusing them of

causing harm to those who they are around. Viewers can also

relate the girl to younger people they know who may be affected

by secondhand smoke.

CitationFrenkler, Ekki; Stempel, Sybille. “Children of parents who smoke get to heaven earlier.” www.adsoftheworld.com. N.p, October 2006. Web. 27 February 2013.