Alexis Atwater  

Professor Lundgren  

English 160-20 

29 September 2022 

 

 

 

Action Demanded 

There have been many advertisements out there that are used to promote certain political stances. These often are for very good reasons, but often controversial. Over the years, gun violence has become an even more debated issue. A company/movement called “Moms Demand Action” has taken a stance against gun violence to promote safety for children in schools due to the extreme increase in the number of school shootings. They make incredibly powerful and emotional ads that do a great job at promoting their stance on gun violence. The “Moms Demand Action” movement has done an incredible job wording and staging this ad to make it an effective and powerful ad by using many important features and rhetorical devices. 

The use of red in this “Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America” advertisement is to draw attention to the words bolded in red, and the boy in the red shirt, while also symbolizing aggression and danger. The advertisement starts with text reading, “One child is holding something that’s been banned in America to protect them” (Moms Demand Action), then bolded in red, it states, “GUESS WHICH ONE” (Moms Demand Action). By putting this statement in red, it draws the audience’s attention to what is being said and asked. It makes the statement more aggressive and really draws the audience to look at the image below to “guess which one”. The boy in the image is wearing a basic bright, red shirt that makes him stand out. The boy in the red is the one holding the banned product, which is the Kinder chocolate egg, compared to the girl beside him who is holding an assault rifle. They put him in this symbolic color to show that he is carrying the “dangerous/banned product”. This is a sign of irony because the girl next to him, who is dressed in a white and light purple shirt, is carrying an assault rifle. These two uses of red go hand in hand. When the audience is prompted to “guess which one”, which is in bright red, the answer to this prompt is the child in the red shirt holding the banned product (the Kinder chocolate egg). The audience’s attention is drawn to the color red in this advertisement with both the aggressive, red statement and the “dangerous” boy in the red shirt. Overall, the use of red in this advertisement symbolizes aggression and danger, while also drawing the audiences’ eyes to this bright, harsh color. It helps send the message that America protects children from chocolate eggs, but no assault weapons.  

“ONE CHILD IS HOLDING SOMETHING THAT’S BEEN BANNED IN AMERICA TO PROTECT THEM” (Moms Demand Action). This is the first statement at the top of the ad, in bold, white, all caps text, highlighted by a black background surrounding the words. Right under this statement, it says, “GUESS WHICH ONE” (Moms Demand Action), again bolded and highlighted by a black background, but this time in bright red letters. The usage of bold, all-caps text make the statement stand out to the audience. The point of bold and all caps text is to catch someone’s attention. When you need to send an urgent text that will capture their attention when they look at the phone, you would put the message in all caps. This is exactly their intention when making this ad. The message catches the readers’ eyes, making the message seem urgent, powerful, and aggressive. The text itself is a very intriguing question and statement, so using these features in the text, it enhances the urgency of the statement. This statement matches the rest of the ad very well in the sense that the girl is holding an assault rifle, next to a boy holding a chocolate egg. It makes for a very “in-your-face” ad with a powerful message, helping make the ad effective in showing the urgent need for gun safety. The image below the text of the boy and girl connect to the statement above. When asked to “guess which one” the differences between the boy and girl make it obvious who is holding the banned product.  

The boy is pictured wearing a red shirt and the girl is wearing a purple and white shirt. The difference in these colors has a lot more meaning than just a shirt color. While red symbolizes danger, fear, and aggression, the white and the use of light a light purple, represent pureness. This is ironic because the girl in the purple is holding an assault rifle, while the boy in the red is holding a chocolate egg. This is not the only ironic difference between the girl and the boy. The boy holding the kinder egg seems very scared and intimidated, seeming as though he is holding something very dangerous or scary. His scrunched-up shoulders and the way he cups the egg in fear make it seem as though he is carrying a dangerous object that needs to be held with care. In contrast to the boy, the girl seems comfortable and confident holding the gun. She grips onto the gun, seeming as though she’s done it before. Not only can you see these differences in their body language, but you can also see them in their faces. The boy looks terrified, while the girl has a blank expression. These differences between them help demonstrate the irony in the message they are trying to send, that a chocolate egg is seemingly more dangerous than an assault rifle. The boy is terrified of the egg, and the girl is comfortable with the gun. Of course, this would not be the case in real life, but staging the children to look this way shows how awful it is that a chocolate egg was banned from America, but not something that can hurt and/or kill multiple people within seconds. These are not the only features that make it obvious which object is banned. Lighting is used effectively to help produce the meaning and purpose of the ad.   

The usage of lighting and highlighting in ads help promote products or the messages that brands/companies try to produce. By making a certain object in the ad brighter and highlighted, it draws the audience’s attention to that object. In this ad, lighting plays an important role in the meaning and purpose of the ad. The boy and girl in the ad are pictured in a very dark and dull school classroom. This dark background makes the audience feel a sense of danger, which alludes to the advertisements’ point that classrooms are not safe. The lighting on the two kids is very different from the background. They have a harsh white light highlighting their faces. The Kinder egg in the boy’s hand is also very highlighted and vibrant, making it very clear what it is. This lighting is very important because it brightens/highlights the banned product that was talked about in the text above. It focuses the audience’s attention on the egg after reading “guess which one”. In contrast, the rifle the girl is holding is black and dull, with little light hitting it. These differences make it clear to the audience which product was banned in America to protect children.  

Companies and brands are known for the use of persuasion to get people to buy their products, persuade their political side, and so much more. They do this through advertisements. The three key modes of persuasion used in ads are ethos, pathos, and logos. They all have unique features that appeal and target different audiences when trying to persuade an audience. The mode used in this “Moms Demand Action” advertisement is pathos. Pathos appeals to the audience in an emotional way. In this ad, pathos is used in many ways to persuade the audience to take their political stance and make a change. The use of children positioned in a classroom appeals to the emotions of parents. Appealing to parents is important for this ad because the company “Moms Demand Action” appeals to moms. The fact that the girl is holding an assault rifle is also another emotional appeal to the audience because guns are very dangerous, and a little girl should never look comfortable holding such a deadly weapon. All these emotional appeals put together in one advertisement make for a very emotional and powerful scene. Two children, in a classroom, one of them holding a gun. The audience may experience feelings of guilt, fear, and anger, while also feeling disturbed and unsettled. This was the advertiser’s goal in making such a dramatic, emotional scene so that it will spark a sense in people to want change. The sentence below the image, “We won’t sell Kinder eggs in the interest of child safety. Why not assault weapons?” also appeals to people’s emotions of guilt and anger because so many kids around the world dying from assault weapons with little to no change on gun laws, but America bans chocolate eggs with toys inside to protect children. This powerful and intense question leaves the audience feeling all sorts of emotions surrounding children and gun violence. These uses of pathos help the advertisement portray its message and purpose effectively by displaying an intense scene, with intense statements and questions, leaving the audience feeling anger, guilt, and disappointment with what the world is like today.  

In conclusion, the “Mom’s Demand Change” advertisement uses many great features and rhetorical devices to make an effective, persuading ad. All the features of this ad combined make for a very emotional and demanding ad that helps persuade the audience to take action against gun violence in America. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited 

Moms Demand Action. “Guess Which One.” Moms Demand Action, Shannon Watts, https://momsdemandaction.org. Accessed 26 Sept. 2022.