A Rhetorical Analysis Of ASH Print Ads

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 15.1% of United States’ adults smoke. The Action on Smoking and Healthy Organizations seeks to communicate the risks associated with smoking and support greater restrictions on cigarette and tobacco sales. Therefore, the anti-tobacco organization in their print advertisement addresses the number of smokers in the United States. ASH’s purpose is to convey that children readily mimic the habits of their parents and siblings – even the bad practices. In attempts to promote reform among parents and siblings who smoke, ASH, uses multiple rhetorical elements. While the ASH print ad successfully employs the use of pathos to evoke a sense of guilt amongst its audience and asserts

ASH includes the words “Just Like Mommy” written in a child’s handwriting and in a crayon to prey on the conscience of parents and siblings. These words make the audience realize how big of an influence their actions have on young children. The child’s handwriting appeals to emotion because of the personal connection it creates; parents and siblings can imagine their child/sibling writing this statement. Additionally, these words are written in bright, bold red. The color functions as a way to convey danger or promote caution. ASH, below the text, also includes a picture of a crayon box containing crayons filled with tobacco. The large size of the image in the simple, but spacious page layout causes the viewers to focus their attention on the image. The image shows the possibility of what reality could become. The idea of kids possessing tobacco at such a young age instills a sense of fear in the eyes of the viewers, instigating them to make a change in their

After noticing the text in a child’s handwriting and the image of a cigarette box, the audiences’ gaze moves down to the colored logo in the bottom right hand corner. By making the logo colored rather than black and white, like the background, ASH draws the viewers’ attention to the logo. The logo serves as the face of a company; they’re meant to visually communicate the identity of the organization. The purpose of ASH including the logo is to demonstrate how their identity connects with their overall purpose of reducing tobacco usage. Additionally, a deeper examination of the print ad reveals the text “Visit ash.org to learn more about smoking and health,” with the website in a red text color. The inclusion of a website adds to the organization’s accountability and reputability by conveying ASH is well knowledgeable about this issue. The “.org” at the end of the website usually has a positive connotation with viewers since .org is mainly used for reputable sites. ASH, in order to build their reputability, draws their audience’s attention to the logo and the website before they even look at the other