The Rhetorical Analysis Paper on Gun Control Ad Titled "No More Silence"

Introduction

Commercial ads and non-commercial ads are presented with the aim of influencing the audience towards deciding on a certain product, service or idea. As people watch TV, read magazines or use another source of print and non-print media, they quickly realize that advertisements are placed at strategic areas and in strategic positions on these media. Most people fail to take note of these ads, especially while the item being advertised is not appealing to their needs and wants. However, creators of advertisements try to design an ad such that it captures the attention of the reader or person watching so that they can look at the ad and hopefully be influenced to purchase whatever is being advertised. Ad developers try to appeal to the audience to take their time and read or watch the contents of the ad with the hope that they will view the ad. For my rhetoric analysis assignment, I re-watched a gun control ad which I had watched some time back. I had watched the ad some time back, and when we have presented an assignment to work on an ad, I decided to re-watch the ad and analyze for my assignment.

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The gun control ad was put together pro bono by the Grey Group back on December 2013. The ad titled "No more Silence" is a sixty-second ad that was aired on 14th December which was the anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. Since the day it was aired on the anniversary, the ad was purchased by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns foundation and as a result aired at different platforms and markets. As I watched the ad again and again, I found it interesting on how the creators developed the ad. The ad appeals to the audience not to stand by in silence at the watch while our children are being shot down.

The ad begins by showing a classroom of young students who seem to be standing up for a moment of silent bowing their heads (News). The ad then shows parents, bus driver, teachers and other people who also bow down on what I believe is a show of respect to the dead. A clock which is showed a few seconds in the ad continues ticking loudly as the ad shows the different groups who all appear to be in a sad face. The narration then begins which is made by a ladies voice. The narrator states that on December 14th there would be a moment of silence for Newtown. The narration then slides to talk about how there have been twenty-six school shootings after the shooting. The clock clicking continues and as the narration on the school shooting continues someone carrying a bag of what I imagine to be a bag containing guns walks down the street and enters into a room in what I interpret as a school after dropping the bag. The narrator requests the audience to ask themselves if silence is what America needs right now. The ad is timed with the "Moms and Demand Action for Gun Sense in America" (News).

The gun control ad came at a time when there were experienced a high number of school shootings. School shootings had been reported in Columbine, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech and USC campus among other schools across the United States. School shootings were at the moment increasing both in terms of scale and frequency. According to the BBC in 2018, 113 people were killed or seriously injured in school shootings in the United States ("2018 'Worst Year For US School Shootings'").

The ad was an emotional appeal which resulted in different reactions from the audiences (Dlugan 5). Some argued that the ad was a reflection of the current state school shooting in America. Other people argued that the ad was gripping. The ad was aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of guns in society. The ad relied on the emotional appeal of the viewers to raise the noise level of proper gun regulation and control as opposed to politicizing the issue. The main agenda of the ad and the "Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America" is to honor the Sandy Hook school shooting victims and use the platforms to urge the society to make noise on matters gun reforms.

Ethos is applied in this ad in character played by children in the classroom. Also, the parents, teacher, and driver as well the other members of the society shown in the ad also play the ethos. The creator of the ad ensures that a clock is ticking to show the audience that there is a tragedy that is waiting to occur. The ad also uses context over text to rely on the message.

The ad relies on contextual knowledge. The creator of the ad appeals emotionally to the emotions of the audience to create awareness on school shooting cases. The main aim of the ad is to bring awareness to the dangers of gun control and create a conversation on the topic. The successful ad appeals to the audience through the use of everyday items such as a clock. The ad forces the audience to speak out on gun control by showing the possibility of another deadly school shooting similar to the one that happened at Sandy Hook. Who in the society would fail to support gun control after watching this ad? Who would be against the protection of children against gun violence?

Works Cited

"2018 'Worst Year For US School Shootings'". BBC News, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46507514.

Dlugan, Andrew. "Ethos, pathos, logos: 3 pillars of public speaking." URL: http://sixminutes. Dugan. com/ethos-pathos-logos/Six (Retrieved January 24, 2010) (2010).

News, ABC. "Video: Gun-Control Ad Released Ahead Of Newtown Anniversary." ABC News, 2019, https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/gun-control-ad-released-ahead-newtown-anniversary-21124108.