Thirteen. Twenty. Seventeen. These are just a few of the numbers of students who were not able to go home to their families at the end of the school day. Gun violence has always plagued the educational system taking the lives of innocent students annually. Organization, “Moms Demand Action”, produced an advertisement showing two children seated in a US school library: one with the children’s book Little Red Riding Hood and the other with a major assault weapon. Similarly the “Sandy Hook Promise” campaign produced a “back to school” commercial advertising how thankful students are for their new school supplies, such as scissors to fend off an intruder or new socks to prevent a fellow student from bleeding out. With the help of the contrasting items and their darker alternatives clutched in these children’s arms, the audience is forced to feel a drive for change. A change not only for gun control, but for the safety of future generations. 

 

The strong opposites in the ad by “Moms Demand Action” further installs the emotion driving towards the audience. The organization stamps the phrase, “One child is holding something that’s been banned in America to protect them” in white writing and in red writing follows, “Guess which one.” Of course living in a country of somewhat questionable priorities, the piece of writing that contains a line about a bottle of wine was banished from the educational system to keep students “safe”. Just to add to the painful irony, an American flag dangles in the corner of the image emphasizing how much the US has really done to get guns out of schools. In general, gun control is out of control with America having the highest amount of school shootings yearly. In almost all of their ads, produced predominantly through social media, this organization relies on pathos to lure in parents and other advocates for children and students. The young age of the two girls tugs on these protectors to look at them as if they were their own or were in years past. For thirteen years mothers and fathers wave goodbye to the most important thing in their life everyday hoping that they come home from school at the end of the day. “Moms Demand Action” use of dark exaggerations in their advertisement influences the audience to help in making a change for gun control not only in schools but in America as a whole. 

 

The imitation of a “back to school” commercial by the “Sandy Hook Promise” draws the audience in with untroubled imagery only to be overwhelmed by ghastly emotion in a way that forces attention to be held. By having the students exude happiness and calm in the beginning of the ad, viewers find what is being portrayed as normal. Which is exactly what this non profit organization wants to be the purpose…the normality school shootings have been given. Bulletproof backpacks, hard covered binders, all now given alternative purposes as protection from open fire on a class. The joyful music and cinematography mimics a Target advertisement for moms and dads to buy back to school essentials. And nowadays the items showcased are essential when put in this situation. Many students think in class during an intruder drill exactly what the actors are thinking, “Where could I hide?” or “What could I use to break through that window to escape?”. The lack of ethos and logos gives a stronger power to pathos as the mood quickly shifts in the middle of the ad showcasing the horror of what students endure daily. The modern trepidation of schools shooting as demonstrated by the “Sandy Hook Promise” campaign, inculcates the audiences need rather than want for a change to school security in prevention of future tragedies. 

 

Both advertisements advocate for a change in the educational system and a future prevention of dangers but also focus on different classifications of what this will look like. The use of pathos by both advertisements through contrasting alternatives coerces the audience into wanting to help with putting an end to these merciless massacres. By using children in each ad rather than adults, this intelligently and successfully roots both sadness and anger for the current state of America’s school security. Both “Moms Demand Action” and “Sandy Hook Promise” originated from the same tragedy that took the lives of 26 people in 2012. Each one’s founders were horrified by the events that took place that day when a twenty year old man fired at the students attending school at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Because so, they took separate stances to create their non profit organization. “Moms Demand Action’ focuses on gun control  and how to keep guns out of schools while also keeping them out of the hands of any civilian without a background check. “Sandy Hook Promise” however, pinpoints mental health as the leading result of school shootings writing, “School Shootings are preventable when you know the signs” at the end of the ad. The persuasion of both advertisements successfully convinces or rather broadens the idea for parents, students, or simply anyone wanting a change to make schools a safe place for kids to go. 

 

The conflicting objects and their somber substitutions showcased by each child in each advertisement influences audiences into helping make a change with the given organizations for future safety from shootings in today’s educational system. Whether it be at fault of mental health or poor gun control, it’s obvious to the audience that the risk students are being put at is one that is  non negotiable. The only way to get this message across is by using emotional persuasion like that of pathos through the dark imagery of a child holding an assault weapon or saving the life of a fellow student with school supplies. Organizations like “Moms Demand Action” and the “Sandy Hook Promise” are changing the world one step at a time by reaching all audiences through these civic campaigns in hope of one day successfully removing school shootings from the headlines. 

 

 

Notes:

• Fix thesis… make it a bit more clear and concise
• Unparentheses organization name
• Improve diction and word choice
• “How little…” not “How much…”
• 2nd body paragraph tie in 1st ad into introductory sentence
• 3rd body paragraph emphasize whether it relates more to the children or the opposing objects that draws emotion from the audience
• Overall…organize, improve diction, and clarify!!