The Australian Red Cross

Advertisements and images are powerful tools of media that can be effectively used to persuade people. The Australian Red Cross publicizes a very simple, yet powerful image that attempts to directly speak to its viewers. A subsect of the International Red Cross, the Australian Red Cross, is a humanitarian organization that is dedicated to help people who are in need. It depends on the citizens of the world to support its lifesaving services and programs. The Red Cross values the time, blood, and money that people donate to the organization (Principles). By placing emphasis on certain parts of the advertisement and then instilling pathos through the use of colors, the Australian Red Cross attempts to solicit donations by stressing that one type of donation can be more useful than another.

Often, the first impression plays a critical role in convincing a person of an image’s argument. A first glance of the image as a whole reveals a transparent donation box with a sign attached. The only colors present are black, white, and red. The image is primarily white; moreover, the box rests on a white counter, and the background is blurred. This is intentionally done to focus the audience’s attention on the donation box and sign, as well as to provide a sense of emptiness and melancholy. The creators of the image used mundane colors rather than bright and ostentatious colors because the picture is not designed to advertise the necessity of a product; it is designed to promote a cause. By portraying the image in bland colors, the Australian Red Cross is able to convey that there is something missing from the image and it points to the answer by focusing the viewer’s attention to the box.

The focus of the visual, or the first aspect that...

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... used logos effectively to prompt people to donate blood to save the lives of others.

Blood is a critical component of our body. Without blood our cells would not receive the oxygen that we need in order to survive. It is this blood that is the focus of the visual. Although a very simple image, a viewer can gain a lot of information about the Australian Red Cross’s intentions. The chief argument present by the image is that blood donations are needed and a person donating blood is more valuable than a person donating money. The image is structured in such a way that it is able to convince viewers to donate blood. By placing emphasis on certain regions of the image, employing logos, and filling the donation box with blood instead of money the Australian Red Cross is effectively able to persuade its audience that one blood donation can save the lives of many people.