Laura Throneberry
Writ 101
October 4, 2014
Professor Joe
Ad Analysis
Ever since the turn of the 21st century, marketing has played a vital role on consumerism in the growing global economy. The various conventional marketing tools include advertising, branding, direct marketing, sales promotion, publicity and public relations. Advertising has become such an inextricable part of every human’s life. Greenpeace, the largest independent direct-action environmental organization in the world, has taken note of this and through advertisements they have made the world take note of it too. Greenpeace uses the textbook balance of logos, pathos, and ethos appeal, and by doing so have convinced millions to follow its instructions and change their ways. They focus heavily on controversial issues we as humans face, including the protection and preservation of the natural world we call home. One can see all three on these methods in the two Greenpeace advertisements I’ve chosen. One is black and white and describes the devastation in the Boreal Forest, while the other one is bursting with color to display the beauty of our oceans. yet both Ads will pull at your heart strings.

The first notable detail of the advertisement is the black and white color display. The top-left portion of the ad contains the text message as follows: “HOW TO DESTROY CANADA’S ANCIENT BOREAL FOREST, IN 3 EASY STEPS:” it continues in a slightly smaller font, “STEP 1: PULL OUT A KLEENEX FACIAL TISSUE. STEP 2: PUT IT TO YOUR NOSE. STEP 3: BLOW.” To the right of the 3-step statement, lies an image of a Kleenex tissue box. Stacks of numerous logs and dead trees make up the picture on the side of the box. The bottom-left section of the advertisement accommodates a short paragraph of factual information in a small, black font: “Canada’s ancient Boreal forest, essential in the fight against global warming and home to woodland caribou and billions of migratory birds, is being clear-cut to supply the Kimberly-Clark Corporation with hundreds of thousands of trees to make disposable tissue products, including Kleenex facial tissue. Every day, the Boreal forest is flushed down the toilet or thrown away by unsuspecting consumers across Europe.” Another sentence to the right contains the following information in the same black font: “By choosing more recycled fiber and less trees for its disposable tissue products, and by committing to environmentally sound logging operations, Kimberly-Clark could end its part in the destruction of ancient forests like the Boreal.” Directly below the prior sentence may be the most important peace of the advertisement of all, and it is in a bold, white print: “Tell Kimberly-Clark that you want it to stop destroying the Canada’s boreal forest. Visit www.stopkleenex.com” Finally, the sponsoring logo “Greenpeace,” can be found in the bottom right.

The advertisement uses pathos by posting a picture of a Kleenex box with cut-down trees as the design implemented on the side. This thoroughly emphasizes the idea that buying a box of Kleenex equates to the killing of several trees. The picture’s design might elicit guilt by inducing buyers of Kleenex to feel guilty for destroying the environment. It appeals to the emotion of guilt with its instructions on how to kill the Boreal Forest as well. This broad statement draws attention to the simple act of blowing one’s nose, and comparing it to the mass destruction of hundreds of thousands of trees. In addition, the black and white layout of the advertisement likely enforces the serious nature of the overall message attempting to be made. This ad uses ethos by appealing to authority with the endorsement of Greenpeace on the bottom right-hand corner of the advertisement. Greenpeace is a well-known organization among environmentalists, which allows the ad to seem authentic and helps build up the credibility and authority of the advertisement. The audience must trust that the information presented to them is