sensible gun control public service

Persuasion is the cornerstone of advertising. Using the classic rhetorical devices of pathos, ethos, and logos, advertisers create emotionally powerful campaigns designed to change the ways consumers—or voters—think, act, and feel. The goal of advertising is ultimately behavioral change. With public service announcements like those for gun control, advertisers use the same principles used to market goods and services. As with commercial product advertising, public service announcements are created to invoke a cognitive and emotional response, to change social norms, and to induce meaningful and lasting behavioral change. One print advertisement by the organization Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America demonstrates the deft implementation of pathos, ethos, and logos in a striking visual campaign.
In one Moms Demand Action ad, for example, two school children—both girls—sit cross-legged on the floor of their school library. An American flag is clearly visible in the background. The girl on the left holds up a picture book of the classic story “Little Red Riding Hood,” a version of the story that was apparently banned because the illustration of the title character depicts the young girl carrying in her picnic basket to Grandma’s house a bottle of wine (“Gun Control PSAs By Moms Demand Action Are Striking And Powerful” 1). The girl on the right holds an assault rifle. The text of the ad reads, “One child is holding something that’s been banned in America to protect them. Guess which one.” The latter line, “Guess which one” is rendered in red text. The “Little Red Riding Hood” advertisement is effective because of the skillful combination of pathos, ethos, and logos.
Logos refers simultaneously to the use of logic and language in persuasive advertising campaigns like the Moms Demand Action “Little Red Riding Hood” ad. The language used in the Moms Demand Action advertisement is concise and clear, including the name of the organization. Moms “demand action,” with the word “demand” underscoring the urgency of their issue. Moreover, the moms are demanding action for “gun sense” in America. The use of the phrase “gun sense” instead of gun control achieves the persuasive goal of the advertisement, which juxtaposes the American flag with a clear reference to how gun sense does not conflict with the Second Amendment. The term “gun control” is value-laden and threatens gun proliferation advocates, whereas the term “gun sense” points more to how guns need to be taken seriously and that gun policy needs to be based on common sense and reason, not on mythical interpretations of the American constitution. Placing a flag in the background of the advertisement image was also an important choice to draw attention to the logical underpinnings of the Moms Demand Action campaign.
Moreover, the advertisers use logos by referring to the ban on the version of “Little Red Riding Hood.” The picture book is created for children, and yet because the image depicts a bottle of wine in a picnic basket, it was banned from several public school libraries in America. Even if the viewer of the advertisement knows nothing about the ban of this book, the ad is effective because it is well-known that guns are liberally allowed throughout America but innocent children’s books are being banned. The advertisers use logos, making a logical case about gun sense. Banning books instead of guns makes no sense, if the goal is protecting the best interests of children in America. Finally, the advertisers use logos by empowering the audience to come up with the rational conclusion on their own. The red line that reads, “Guess which one,” asks the viewer to consider which of the two items, the gun or the book, is banned to protect children. Because the question is being posed in the ad for “gun sense,” the answer is clear.
The rhetorical question, “Guess Which One” also invokes the principle of ethos, which is critical to the effective advertising campaign. Ethos refers to both the ethical credibility of the speaker, and also the ethical framework used to persuade the audience. In this ad, ethos also calls upon the organization itself to defend its own credibility and ethical framework. The group is called Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. There are several elements of this organization name that appeal to both logos and ethos. One is the first word, “Moms.” Moms have ethical credibility when speaking about children; they are in fact the people who deliver children into the world, and are entrusted with caring for children. Therefore, no demographic can have more credibility when speaking of the rights of children and how to protect them than “moms.” The ethical credibility of the organization is also established through the use of the phrase “gun sense,” instead of the more inflammatory and even cliché term “gun control.” Furthermore, the inclusion of the word “America” in the name of the organization anchors the group as patriotic. By using the word “America,” the group allies itself with constitutional values and the ethical underpinnings of the nation. The American principles of liberty and freedom are not threatened by sensible gun policy: that is the underlying message of the advertisement. Common sense and logic likewise become American values. In keeping with the overall theme of the advertisement, the message also shows that banning books instead of guns is patently unethical, whereas sensible gun policy is perfectly acceptable within a Constitutional law framework.
Pathos is one of the most crucial features of a successful advertisement; pathos is naturally used liberally in the “Little Red Riding Hood” advertisement. Referring to the emotional appeals of a persuasive advertisement, pathos includes the visual and verbal content of the ad, which ideally prompts the viewer to change perspectives and to take action. The fact that children are the primary subject of the advertisement is itself an emotionally laden decision, and the name of the organization including the word “moms” is also indicative of pathos. Having the two children be girls, who are statistically less prone to violent crimes, also appeals to pathos. The fact that they are young girls seated in their school library also underscores their perceived innocence, which appeals to the emotions of the viewer.
The photography in the “Little Red Riding Hood” advertisement also subtly enhances its emotional appeals. Whereas the library scene in the background, including the American flag itself, is rendered in a sepia filter, the girls are highlighted in full color. The two girls therefore stand out from the background of the image, drawing the viewer’s attention to them and the objects they carry. Furthermore, the two girls are centered, and the textual part of the advertisement is kept to a bare minimum so as to keep the viewer’s attention solidly focused on the primary subject: the safety of children. Symmetrically composed, the visual elements of the advertisement parallel its strong, logical focus, thus drawing together pathos, ethos, and logos in one single advertisement.
Because it combines pathos, ethos, and logos in an ideal balance, the “Little Red Riding Hood” advertisement is far more successful than most gun control ads. For one, the text of the ad does not even use the word “control,” which signifies authoritarian command and not the American principles of freedom and personal liberty. To promote dialogue on sensible gun policy to potentially hostile audiences, groups like Moms Demand Action need to appeal more to the logic and ethical tenets of the American Constitution, and less to the partisan politics typically invoked in gun control public relations campaigns. Similarly, most gun control ads rely too heavily on pathos, without using logic, language, and ethical tenets strongly enough to stimulate a paradigm shift. This advertisement achieves its goals of policy change through the use of rhetorical devices.
Works Cited
“Gun Control PSAs By Moms Demand Action Are Striking And Powerful.” HuffPost. April 15, 2013. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/gun-control-psas-moms-demand-action-for-gun-sense-in-america_n_3082504.html