Rhetoric is a constant occurrence in the daily life of every person. Many of these encounters we do not even realize are actually rhetoric. An example of this would be how past experiences cause us to make assumptions and perceive individuals, objects, events and ideas in certain ways. A very common example of rhetoric in daily life is advertisements. Laura Bolin Carroll, an English academic scholar, studies this idea and defines the parts of rhetoric in her article “Backpacks vs. Briefcases.” Carroll explains to us, all advertisements are rhetoric no matter the purpose it has or who creates the piece, and each of these ads contains exigence, rhetors, audience(s), and constraints. Exigence is the problem or situation that causes a reaction. The rhetors are those who create the ad and direct it at an audience. The most complicated part of rhetoric is constraints, which Carroll declares, “can be beliefs, attitudes, documents, facts, traditions, images, interests, [and] motives. Constraints limit the way the discourse is delivered or communicated” (49). An organization can be a typical rhetor, and one of these many rhetors is the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) which creates many advertisements to try to bring awareness to people of the world about what is happening to nature.
The credibility, or rather, ethos, of the WWF is absolute. Work is done in over 100 countries and there are around 5 million supporters. This organization focuses on conserving nature and reducing urgent dangers, which threaten all types of life on Earth. Many advertisements focus on particular endangered animals, but some of them concentrate on larger problems. One particular image is a metaphor of the earth and an ice cream cone (the image seen to the left). The exigence of this ad is it was created in hopes of helping people to understand the earth is going through a temperate cycle of global warming, and something needs to be done about it. The caption under the picture reads,
The first signs of global warming are visible. We urgently need to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Nothing and no one will be spared from climate change. This warning is therefore to all people, all countries, and, in particular, to the Belgium Council of Ministers, who on the weekends of March 20 and 25, will have to decide what action to take regarding essential measures linked to the Kyoto Protocol. (7)
What the WWF wants all people to know is global warming is a very real issue all countries have to face. There are many facts of which people may not be aware. Global warming is caused by an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and by a potential an orbital shift that could be occurring at this time. The earth has always gone through warm and cold cycles, but those cycles took place over several hundreds of years. This warming is over a period of less than a century. The average temperature has raised about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit above the normal average, and this is the highest average in the last four hundred years or so. Carbon dioxide is being produced by deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. The plants and ocean cannot absorb this at the same rate it is produced. Not all scientists agree with the notion this change is happening, but global warming is accepted by the national science academics and also by all key industrialized countries.
Other facts about changes occurring are the Arctic ice is disappearing, coral reefs are bleaching due to stress, there is an increase in extreme weather episodes, and glaciers and mountain snows are melting. WWF partner National Geographic observes, “Montana’s Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. In the Northern Hemisphere, thaws also come a week earlier in spring and freezes begin a week later” (Global 1). These glaciers have decreased at a rapid speed of 82 percent in a century. WWF puts out advertisements like the melting ice cream earth to let people know they really need to educate themselves.
While the caption for the image is small, the rhetor, the World Wildlife Fund, words very well the situation all peoples are in. Every single person on this planet is the audience, for many people contribute so much extra carbon dioxide being placed in the atmosphere. The audience is everyone, but as the caption states, the image is directed toward the main audience, the Belgium Council of Ministers. This council passed the Kyoto Protocol, which is directed at fighting global warming, and “since the start of negotiations…the Belgian authorities have always taken favourable position towards an ambitious climate change regime, both at the international and European level…The Belgian position also results from the clear awareness that a global threat calls for a global solution” (Van Hecke 3). What actions taken within this protocol are of great importance. For an organization focused on issues such as global warming, it comes as no surprise they would direct this image at the council. The advertisement’s date of creation is unknown, but it is obvious the World Wildlife Fund created it shortly before the Belgium Council met to discuss further actions through the Kyoto Protocol.
The caption and ad, in general, do not appeal to the logos, the, “argument from reason” (Carrol 52), of the audience. No statistics are stated along with the warning, but there are so many details and so much data, which are important, it would be too much to write on the ad. One could argue the ad does at least invite the audience to learn more by posting the WWF logo on the bottom right so audiences could visit the website to gain knowledge on the issue.
While the image does not appeal to the logos, it does appeal to the ethos, as already stated, and it appeals to the pathos of the viewers, the pathetic appeals. Pathos alone cannot persuade, “but [is] very powerful when used in conjunction with the other two appeals” (Carroll 53). While logos is not an option, the image does create a good impact by using the other two appeals. The World Wildlife Fund utilizes pathos by using a black background that creates a sullen picture ensuring audiences despair and darkness for the earth is coming. The surrounding glow creates a sense of worth of its power and beauty. The world is melting, and anyone who has had an ice cream cone understands the ice cream is going to continue melting at an exponential pace unless refrozen. So the earth will continue to warm unless we find ways to “refreeze” the world. This has a very real chance of creating a sense of sadness. This world is the only one people have. Space programs are searching for other habitable planets, but these can be light years away and setting up communities at these places will take decades upon decades to happen, if it ever does in the first place. So, the WWF evokes sadness and urgency to peoples’ perceptions.
The realization of people “consuming” the earth like they would consume an ice cream cone also taps into the pathos appeal. Shame and sorrow for what people do to this planet is felt when viewing the image. We use Earth tirelessly and brashly consuming it as though its resources will never fade. The outlook people have of this is childish, and the World Wildlife is making a point of using a childish past-time in which people have for pleasure, like an ice cream cone, to show our indulgences are creating global warming.
The last part of the rhetoric to study is the constraints and for this image includes: a limited audience, doubt, and answers. The World Wildlife Fund is a fairly well known organization. Shirts baring the panda logo can be seen and there is much support by followers, but a problem from them is so many daily rhetoric encounters are due to television. WWF has very few commercials, and of those that are, they are aired in other countries such as Australia and Canada. Advertisement in other countries may be stronger, but in America, common methods of advertising are not as prevalent. The main ways of gaining support for this institute in America is by Youtube videos and by gaining support and partnerships with companies like Nike, Coca-Cola, and Johnson & Johnson.
The beliefs of people play a large part the constraints of the image. Some people do not think our emissions of greenhouse gases are the cause of this problem. If they believe there is even a change at all, they feel this is just the natural cycle of Earth. Then there are other people who look to their general location and construct an opinion from this. For example, a handful of people in the state of Ohio feel the weather is just as cold as always in the winter and will make comments showing disbelief in the theory of global warming since their region does not seem to be affected. Earlier stated was the fact of the earth freezing later and warming earlier; these two extra weeks of warmness are not exactly going to be noticed by the average person. The World Wildlife Fund cannot put the many facts of global warming with image, but hope the image encourages these people with closed minds to research this issue.
The last constraint is the lack of answers. People are scared of facing a large-scale problem like this, so naturally some are in denial they individually can cause this or contribute enough to make any kind of difference both positively and negatively. The best way to help them deal with it is to give them answers. The World Wildlife Fund tells us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but sometimes people do not understand how to do this. There are many small ways to contribute to cleaner air. One can reduce the amount of electricity used, pack the refrigerator tightly, use less water, use energy efficient light bulbs, and carpool to work. The advertisement is not the right placement for so many options like this and the many other options out there. The ad is really constrained to only bringing awareness about the problem of global warming. A label “To learn more about global warming and how to make a difference go to:” along with a web address to educate people would have been a good addition to the advertisement. People are not as open when they are only told they have to start making a change. They become much more receptive when also given an option and/or better solution.
Overall, the advertisement has purpose and credibility. An image is supposed to make audiences feel strongly enough to take action in favor of the rhetor’s wishes. The image is very effective and has ethos and pathos, so it could really change the views and actions people have toward global warming. The problem is this image is not advertised well enough. This image at this time seems to only exist online with at least 10 or more other photos by the same rhetor. The image does not stand on its own to draw attention, so the effect is a lot less since other intriguing images can be viewed at the same moment. Maybe when first issued, the image was popular because it had a strong purpose, but global warming is a continuing issue, so the ad, as well, needs to be of continuing focus. It really is a beautiful and thought provoking piece of art. The metaphor of ice cream and the world was very genius for it fits the response The World Wildlife Fund wants to get from the audience: the realization our world is literally melting and we have to make a change to prevent any further damage.
References
Carroll, Laura Bolin. “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis.”
Writing Spaces: Reading on Writing. Vol. 1. Parlor Press. 2010. Pg 45-58. Web.
5 February 2012.
Global Warming Fast Facts. National Geographic News, 28 October 2010. Web. 5
February 2012.
Van Hecke, Karel, and Tania Zgajewski. “The Kyoto Policy of Belgium.” Egmont: Royal
Institute for International Relations. February 2008. Pg. 1-34. Web. 5 February
2012.
30 Amazing Environment Ads for Earth Day. DesignCrave, 2009. Web. 1 February 2012.
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