Tow #9 "Ad Council Public Service Announcement" (Visual Text)

Every nine seconds a woman is abused in the United States; one out of every four women will be abused by their husbands. Through the use of threatening images and bold color font The Ad Council group addresses the frightening truth about spousal abuse in the U.S. and forcing others to see it. 

When you first look at this image the first thing that you see is the woman who looks so sad and helpless. Her running makeup shows she was crying. Her hand is reached out for someone to save her. However, the most threatening image I see in this poster is the man’s shadow. In the background a faceless man is just standing there taunting not only the woman in the picture, but also the audience. The idea that any man can be lurking in the shadows waiting to hurt you sends shivers down my spine, and evokes fear in the audience. That fear is very powerful because it makes the audience want to eradicate this serious social problem, which appeals to pathos. Therefore, The Ad Council’s use of frightening images directly supports their purpose of addressing it and making people want to change it.

In addition, the use of bold letters and bold colors in The Ad Council’s statistic helps achieve their purpose. Within the major message in the center of the poster four words/letters are red. Those words are “Woman abused U.S.” By doing this, the speaker is connecting with their audience by expressing how this issue is happening all throughout both of their countries. The last two words that are highlighted red are at the very bottom of the advertisement, and those words are “respect women.” This phrase directly links to The Ad Council’s singular belief, that woman should be respected. They should not be treated like property or garbage; they should be respected. The use of this bold color font cleverly derives the truth about spousal abuse, and The Ad Council forces their audience to not only see it, but connect with it as well.

   Every nine seconds a woman is abused in the United States; one out of every four women will be abused by their husbands, two sad truths, and two truths The Ad Council tries to address and change in the public service announcement poster through the use of threatening images and bold color font.