Lexi Polley
Composition 9-9:50
3 February 2016
WWF Donations to the Helpless
Advertising is a concept that consumes our everyday lives, it exists in realms from television to magazines and even throughout social media. Billions of dollars accumulating every year on companies trying to display their prized products, and the spending is just increasing. However, how does advertising affect a whole population? World Wildlife Fund is an environmental organization that brings awareness to people about the issues in our natural world. WWF’s advertisement in National Geographic magazine manages to capture its readers, and convince them to donate through poignant wording, specific imaging, and color awareness.
When it comes to creating an advertisement, companies often focus on a catchy phrase to draw the reader into the ad. WWF manages to draw attention to their ad through their worded message “Because they can’t speak for themselves.” These words alone bring a sense of helplessness to the animals in question, and often people will pause to find out more. By creating a sense of sadness in their readers, the company now has an opportunity to further their cause or product. Following the key sentence of the ad is a small description that explains what the company is and why they need the reader’s donations. This is especially useful when the message is one that not many people are familiar with or one they think about frequently. WWF’s wording equated the animals to helpless victims at the mercy of man and suggests that only the reader’s donations would help these creatures. The small writing at the bottom of the advertisement states, “That’s what we’re here for,” which brings a sense of community to the advertisement and may entice readers to become a part of that unity. By donating to this foundation, readers would gain a new sense of community and hero stance for providing for the helpless.
Imagery has been a substantial part of advertising in order to give the product an image for the readers to relate to in their life. The images used in advertising often have to create an emotion or strong thought in the reader in order to be successful. WWF’s advertisement uses the image of a cheetah’s lower mouth and jaw to emphasize the statement that animals cannot speak to stand up for themselves. By using just, the cheetah’s lower jaw, the ad achieves more specificity. The specificity of this image only adds to the point that the company is trying to make, which in turn will serve to help convince the reader. Using one of the animals that is endangered is also a clever way to signify the purpose of the advertisement is to help those animals in some form. Since the attention of the reader is focuses on the image, the way it is on the advertisement, the reader does not to look at the whole animal and feel pity. They instead focus on the one disability and are more likely to think about the point made instead of just the image of the animal. Imagery is a key concept in creating the most compelling advertisement.
Although imagery is necessary to create a compelling ad, the colors and background also provide crucial structure for the advertisement. Colors have a proven scientific ability to alter a person’s overall view and focus point. Therefore color and background selection are vital to creating an effective advertisement. Words and images will not illicit a response from the reader unless background and color information can help draw them to the information. WWF’s advertisement uses a stark black background in order to contrast with the bold white words and image of the animal. Using a black and empty background causes reader to focus their attention on the image and text more than the overall color patterns in the advertisement. Their message being the most obvious thing to stand out among the black background ensures that the reader is sure to observe their statement and consider the message in a deeper thought process. If an ad has a distracting background full of color and shapes, it may have taken away from the overall point of the advertisement and leave the reader more concerned with the background than the true purpose. By using the plain background, the company leaves no room for distraction in the ad, the reader would be sure to oversee their message and perhaps look into it further.