TOW #6- Street Stories Ad (visual text)

 

This advertisement is different than typical advertisements because it is presented as graffiti. It was made to support the “Don’t Let Their Stories End on the Street” campaign that strives to help the homeless. It strives to “bring the message with true stories right to the street, right to the people.” Therefore, the audience is the general public who is passing this graffiti on the street. However, it is typically for an audience of city people since it is located in a city environment rather than a country or suburban environment. As a result, the diction is catered to city people. For example, the image talks about how the city is a “jungle” at night. Someone from the countryside, or an actual jungle, might be confused about how the city is a jungle (or even offended that the city is being called a jungle because it is not an actual jungle). On the other hand, people from the city would be able to relate to the jungle-like experience of living in the city (for example, perhaps both living in the city and the jungle provide a sense of something lurking in the darkness at night, etc.), which would make these people more likely to support the cause. The diction also appeals to pathos because it says, “Dad Died,” which makes the audience feel sad and feel sympathy. All of the graffiti made by this organization is made by the person (usually teens and young adults) who is affected, and by using syntax with simply phrased sentences, the innocence and youngness of the artist is portrayed. Also, the audience feels bad for the artist because he is homeless because his father died, not because he did something wrong, etc. Since the image is located in the city, it is more in place, since there is a lot of graffiti in the city. However, it might catch people’s attention because graffiti is not usually used to promote social action campaigns. The purpose of the ad is to gain support in helping to decrease homeless population. The creator of this ad was streetstories.org.uk, which gives the impression of being a reliable speaker since it is a “.org” site, and therefore a defined organization. All of the prints that were made that are sold for support on the website were sold. Therefore, the purpose was successfully accomplished.