A Rhetorical Analysis Of Cordaid's Advertising Campaign

Nothing inspires you to spend money on a purse quite like being confronted with extreme poverty. This is the mindset behind Cordaid, a Dutch charity organization’s, advertising campaign by the name of “Small Change, Big Difference.” This campaign consists of four photos which were put on billboards and distributed all throughout the Netherlands. These advertisements depict people from Kenya, who have never seen a fashion ad in their lives, modeling with various luxury items. The shocking and confrontational ads have spread all over the globe in the years since they were first made public. By appealing to the audience's emotions and giving shocking information Cordaid makes a very effective argument in favor of their cause in this advertisement. Cordaid’s advertisement comes in the form of a photo. In this photo an incredibly thin woman in worn down clothes lies on the ground like a fashion model holding an expensive white handbag. The woman in the ad is from a nomadic tribe, the Samburu people, in Kenya and barely has enough food and water for herself and her four children, much less to buy a € 32 purse. The only words on the actual picture are

The rhetoric addresses the problem it claims to address. It shows a picture of a woman who lives in one of these disaster areas as well as showing how much money it would cost for her to buy food for a week. The appeals, like the expensive purse, are very appropriate for the audience the argument is targeting, an audience who is very appropriate for the purpose. The rhetoric attempts to manipulate the audience’s emotions by having the woman holding a expensive bag. The rhetor might need to give a little bit more information in order for the audience to make an informed decision, but considering the restraints Cordaid had they did a reasonably good job. Information and emotional appeal are the main tools Cordaid uses to build a strong campaign for drought