In order to provoke feelings of guilt or compassion, sometimes contrasing our comfortable and wasteful lifestyle with that of people in poverty. Such advertisement implys that the helpless victim of poverty and malnutrition could be assisted if only a wealthy individual like the reader would give some money.
In addition, the beginning relief development pattern was seen as inadequate and was replaced by one of the modernization. Poor countries were compared with wealthy ones and the differences were explained by their clearly observable lack of modernity and industrization. For example, if poorer nations copied industrialized ones, the wealth created would trickle down to even the poorest members of the country. Despite a degree of truth in this view of modernization, changed often violence problems or introduced new complications.
Furthermore, Nelson ( 1995 pg. 141) believes that ‘’attempts to introduce modern technology and methods often foundere on the administrative or political inadequacy derived from the poverty they were meant to cure’’.
Secondly, another reason why this advertising reflects people in poor nations is because charities are forbidden by law so, they could not get money from wealthy nations. In addition, charities of all kind found thenselves set in a market where they were competing with each other, increas in the pressure upon then to maximize income. This has meant that their advertising messages have had to conform to the relative conservatism of possible donors.
Furthermore, it remains that ‘’charities concerned to help people in poorer nations are forbidden by law to campaign for these ends. ‘’The charity produced a guidance leaflet which expressly forbade charitues from seeking to influence or remedy those causes of poverty which lie in the social, economic and political structures of countries and communities. Bringing pressure to carry on a government to produce a change in policies and also, seeking to eliminate social, economic, poitical or other injustice’’ Henderson (1980 pg. 82).
Besides, the most important point of this is that charities receive significant tax benefits as part of their income which they would lose if they lost their charitable status. So, it would be trouble for poor nations. However, this was a separate attempt to break the chain of power relations which exercises control over public definition of the causes of poverty. Margolin and Buchanan (1996 pg. 65) state that ‘’The frequently repeated dependancy images of suffering that have been established as signs of the poor nations such as, the Third World, fail to represent the complexity of the problems and mask the role played in them by the wealthy nations’’.
This advertisement ( shown in Figure 1), which arises by the ideaology of potential donor and the way this is determined by the political and economic situation both within this country and in its relations with the Third World.
Thirdly, this advertisement ( shown in Figure 1) reflect a further change in thinking and a quite different understanding of the causes of poverty. Because of, a whole series of contests and complex analyses focused on the structures of international economic relations and the social structures within countries whereby some were privileged at the expense of others. Also, this advertising drew attention to economic imbalance in the exchange of goods and services from developing countries with manufactured products of the industralized nations.
This advertising identify how the unequal structures of requesting relations kept poorer countries dependent on the wealthy. This advertising was further refined by the use of class analysis within the poorer countries. In such contries not all are poor, there will be wealthy centre with a poor perimeter. Keeping large groups of the population marginalized could be benefit for both foreign industry and domestic elites, for it allows wages to keep down and profits up.
For example, Warren ,(1995 pg. 20)’’ The Latin America dictator represents the wealthy and powerful elites within poorer nations, and the debt crisis advertisement is a specefic’’ example of the unjust economic relations between rich and poor nations. The way in which this advertisement works is different to those based on the relief pattern. This advertisement invites the reader to share in outrage. Instead of guilt, they intend to provoke feelings of slightness or anger that can be discharged by partner with donating. Furthermore, people wanted chartity advertising to be part of this educative process. They argue for positive not negative images to be used to people.
Also, they wanted advertisement to address the unjust structural relations between nations. Nevertheless, the fund within charities have argued that the task of charity advertising is to raise money by direct response, additional messages, dispute messages, political messages and conceptually challenging messages, are all considered to make this harder and reduce the possible of a supprotive response.
Lastly, the reflection between poor and rich nations, because they indicate an outcome where ultimately all will benefit. The later pattern have an underlying presupposition of conflict between the poor and those who benefit from the situation as it is.
It is obvious that not everyone, will agree with the views express of this advertising. Indeed, depending on the ideas held by the reader, the outrage provoke may well be against itself. In addition, the beneficent of the relief and modernization examples suggest that change can be brough about by a process that is essentially harmonious.
Normally, marketing people consider charity advertising to be direct response advertising, the main purpose of which is to animate a response to the reader. Usually, a donation to the charity or to sign a request. The underlying presumption of the different development pattern have important meanings for this task.
Triggs (1995 pg. 86) suggests that ‘’people may prepared to offer support when the advertisement suggests that they are in a benevolent relationship with the recipient, or where the problem is shown as involing change in the recipient’s country’’. They are less likely to offer support where the message challenges their own lifestyle or reflects critically on the role of their own nation. The problem of communicating such message is further aggravated by the images that have been established by charity advertising as sign of the Third World situation, which have been adopted by the media in general. This have assisted to a public vision that the problem is over there and often due to natural disasters, backwardness and lack of people in poorer countries.
Warren (1995 pg. 22) notes that ‘’there is no indication of unjust and exploitive economic and trading relationship between rich and poor nations’’.
In summary, art reflects reality for several reasons; it reflects relationship between the recipient of charity and the reader, it reflects a further change in thinking and a quite different understanding of the causes of poverty, it reflects between poor and rich nations and it reflects people in poor nations.
The role traditionally assigned the designer of persuasive messages presented in the print media is one establishing an effective visual rhetoric through art direction or a representation image and selection of advertising. The rarely questioned traditional form of the message, that of a pictures, headline and texts continues to be identified as a message that attempts to sell and tell something.
Certainly, application of selected concepts of rhetoric, is an effective means of determining new forms unrestricted by loyalty to conventional models; that is , ’’a form which arises naturally from an argument the designer has developed as a persuasive entry point for reading the text’’ Nelson (1995 pg. 49).
Reference lists
Henderson B. (1980), A critigue of film theory, Clark, Irwin & Company Limited, Toronto and Vancouver.
Nelson G. ( 1995), The design of Modern Design, The MIT press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London.
Margolin, V. and Buchanan R. (1996), The idea of Design, Library of Congress, Cambridge.
Triggs E. ( 1995), Visual Rhetoric and Semiotics. IN J. Close (Ed.), Communication Design ( pg 86), Manchester : Stretford.
Triggs T. (1995), Notes on the Contributors. IN J. Close (Ed.), Communication Design (pg 7), Manchester : Stretford.
Warren G. (1995), Our image of the third world. IN J. Close (Ed.), Communication design , ( pp 20-22 ), Manchester : Stretford.
- Figure 1 -
Essay :
Accuracy of Art : Does art reflect reality ?
Student name :
Pattamaporn Saengsakul
Student number :
E 22006
Length :
1,650 words
