Rhetorical Analysis On Feeding America

According to the New York Times, many multi-modal texts expose the average person to at least five thousand advertisements a day (Story). In today’s world, ads are everywhere—on television, in magazines, and even inside cereal boxes. Ad Council, a non-profit organization, joins with various sponsors to produce and promote unique collaborations of public service announcements. The organization has found ways to stimulate action against many problems in the world that concerns Americans (e.g., texting and driving, dating violence, and child hunger). Accordingly, Ad Council has cooperated with Feeding America, a nationwide network that ventures to advocate food insecurities in America. Together, the organizations have recently released a new campaign—“summer

The impact of the video is strong, because it covers common ground. The video portrays the child returning home from school and immediately searching for food. Many children in America endure this every day. The creator also uses many zoomed in views of random objects, which vaguely fails to tie the video together. This method is ineffective because the different point-of-views exaggerate the contents of the house and draws the viewer’s attention to the fact that the family is middle-classed, which means they are probably not suffering from poverty. The dominant figure—the boy—seems to have on nice, clean clothing. This tells the spectators that the family can at least provide necessities for themselves. Furthermore, from the handmade pictures on the refrigerator and the finger paintings on the wall, the viewers can conclude that they are family-oriented; however, there are no parents in sight. The logic flounders because there is indeed food in the refrigerator. The impact would have been more effective if there had been less food or even no food. Overall, the commercial is simple, easy, and effective. It portrays the problem at hand and then presents a solution. The viewers can easily discern that the video is about child hunger. The tactics that the composer uses ultimately evokes compassion from the audience. The ad has appealed to pathos and ethos and has solidified the ad. The subdued colors and the somber music have depicted how earnest the video is. In just 60 seconds, AdCouncil and Feeding America have effectively broadcasted their world hunger relief