Many people around the world have, at one point in their lifetime, watched with eyes full of innocent wonder the entertaining performance of a circus; lions jumping through rings of fire, chimpanzees juggling and dogs dressed up as clowns doing tricks. With all of these memories of wonderful performances and time spent with family, it is difficult for most people to ever think of circuses as sinister places, or any other negative connotations. But the creators of a campaign called “Animals are not Clowns” are attempting to show people the cruel nature of these circuses when it comes to their animals. These advertisements illustrate to the viewer the cruelty behind circuses by placing them on an animal’s point of view and using elements such as tone, mood, and word-phrasing to discourage indifference against the suffering of animals.
This advertisement was produced by two Portuguese organizations that are very well known in the animal’s rights community, called the Portuguese League for Animal Rights (LPDA) and Acção Animal. These organizations have previously participated in many advertisement campaigns for protecting different species from extinction and preventing animal abuse; with this new campaign the organizations aimed to educate people about the mistreatment of animals that goes on behind circuses and encourage them to assist animal-free circuses. Apart from using the credibility from two well established organizations to appeal to ethos, these advertisements also gain relevance by the clear stance that animal-free circuses have against using animals in their performances. Shows such as Cirque-du-Solei, the most popular and highest-rated circus in the world, constantly demonstrate that animal-circus can be just as entertaining, and are very active in promoting other circuses to stop using animals in their performances. Because circuses like Cirque-du-Solei have a large audience, this message is able to spread and make this topic relevant in the present. Also, the element of Kairos is brought into the issue by animal rights activists who are constantly protesting against circuses with animals. Because of the popularity of circuses as a way of entertainment and their image of a “family-friendly” environment, circuses are a popular pass time that most people have attended sometime in their life. Consequently to the large audience in circuses, these ads also have a large audience because anyone who has ever gone to a circus can relate to the ads content by their experiences or memories.
The first impressions of the advertisement serve to establish a contrast between the fictitious happiness shown during circus performances and the real lifestyle of animals at the circus with lack of freedom and proper care. The audience first sees animals with clown make-up in a dark space behind the bars of a cage. The darkness from the cage creates a dark mood around the sad-looking animals, which are the objects that draw the viewer’s attention first. Looking at the animals, the viewer is able to distinguish a contrast between their expressions and the make-up drawn on them, and can parallel this contrast with the artificiality of the happiness the animals show on stage, as opposed to their real routine full of abuse. In the advertisement with the lion, the viewer can see the noticeable difference between the happy clown makeup and the gloomy expression the lion has underneath, which leads the viewer to realize that all the joy in the performances is a farce. On the advertisement with the chimpanzee, the sad expression of the animal is also very noticeable, and it is enhanced by the single tear drawn on its cheek, which is often used for real clowns on their make-up. This tear can also be seen as mocking, since in the circus it is used as a prop by clowns to express emotion in a cute way to charm the audience, but in this advertisement it increases the awareness of the real feelings of the animal.
After examining the animals, the viewer’s attention is then drawn to the text on the side, which has the name of the campaign and a paragraph of text; this paragraph is probably the most compelling part of the advertisement. The text reads: “Roll up, roll up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls for the crack of the whip against the animal’s stinging wounds. A big round of applause for the flaming hoops, the injuries, and the electric shocks. Come and see the famed number of cages and tightly binding chains allowing no escape from endless training sessions. Laugh, applaud and join in with the repetitive choreographed routines typical of depressed animals under great stress. All the fun of the circus travelling from city to city exhibiting animals as human caricatures. Clowning around that’s no fun at all.” This part of the advertisement is extremely effective because it shows the performances of the circus from an animal’s perspective; the abuse, lack of freedom, and the mistreatment that goes on backstage, away from the eyes of the audience. The piece is phrased to imitate the dialogue of a ringmaster, which often has a positive connotation in people’s mind as it is related to a fun activity, and it also explains the horrors of animal cruelty that happen on circuses. This dissimilarity between the connotation being made from the form of speech and the actual message being transmitted creates a mocking tone throughout the text, which brings a sense of guilt to the audience; it makes them realize that their enjoyment comes at the expense of innocent animals. The mocking tone uses pathos to appeal to the viewer’s sense of justice and moral values. It is a commonplace in countries such as the U.S. that mistreating animals is an inhumane activity, and once the viewer makes a connection between circuses and inhumane practices, it enhances the chance of that person choosing to go to an animal-free circus over one that uses animals.
The text uses the mocking tone and certain phrasing to appeal to the audience on a personal level and evoke feelings of By using phrases such as “Laugh, applaud and join in with the repetitive choreographed routines typical of depressed animals under great stress” the advertisement highlights the participation of the circus audience as part of the abuse, which creates a feeling of shame in the viewer for having allowed performances like this to happen. Also, the text refers to the animals as “human caricatures” which projects these animals as mere sources of entertainment rather than living creatures. This line also makes a connection between the word “caricature” and the painted faces of the animals, enhancing the aspect of pathos in the viewer by appealing to our moral values of respecting any form of life. Finally, the last thing that the viewer’s eyes are drawn to is the bold letters at the bottom which read: “Animal Circuses: Don’t be a part of the show.” This final line delivers the message of the advertisement: don’t participate in events that promote the abuse of animals for entertainment.
This advertisement campaign overall has a deeper message than just not attending abusive circuses; it urges the audience to avoid indifference. To take a stand for what is humane, instead of choosing to ignore cruelty for the sake of something as inconsequential as entertainment. Looking at this advertisement the viewer gets a clear image in their head of spectators laughing as an animal is being mistreated. An image of the audience seeing an animal’s wounds and malnutrition, but being too concentrated on the entertainment aspect to notice the state of the animals, or simply choosing to ignore it to watch the performance. Once again, the use of pathos by appealing to a person’s sense of humanity and justice creates in the viewer a determination to avoid these injustices.
The “Animals are not Clowns” campaign criticizes the inhumane practices of circuses that use animals as well as a society which overlooks these practices for the sake of entertainment. The usage of pathos is extremely prominent throughout the ad, as it appeals to a person’s commonplace of humane treatment for all creatures. Also, the advertisement uses mood, tone and word phrasing to compel the audience to stop attending animal circuses after being placed on an animal’s point of view.
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[…] The power of photography can be immense and in class we were introduced to photography basics. Before I go on to expand on what we learned in class I would like to share my take on the power of photography as I came across an intriguing campaign by two Portuguese animal rights organizations – a topic I myself am very interested in. The campaign ‘Animals are not Clowns’ sought to create awareness about animal cruelty within the Circus industry. This campaign captured me as the pictures say it all – no additional information is needed to understand the strong message – and the images convey a high emotional appeal. The three pictures below are from this campaign, and a bit more information regarding the campaign can be found here. […]
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Mahbub Ahsan Rashid says
I think the topic you chose was very well thought and something that actually needs immediate attention.I may not be a big fan of pets,sometimes I am scared by dogs to be honest but I definitely do not think animals jumping and doing tricks should be viewed as entertainment paid through money.They are natural beauty and should stay like that.They are not meant for business and commercial use.
Ahmad Aufa Bin Sharip says
a well written draft! this reminds me of the animal abuse campaign that i used to do back in my high school. great post!