What if I told you that seals, gorillas, and bears will all be fables of the past and nothing more than a mere memory to our future generations–would you care? What if I told you that by the time I have finished giving this speech, approximately four species have become extinct–would you care then? Saying this now sounds absurd, but in actuality, these situations are more than probable. More and more, innocent animals around the world are becoming extinct and we have only ourselves to blame. Scholz and Friends created the BUND campaign, “Every 60 seconds, a species goes extinct” which shows a gray seal trapped between the minute and the hour hands of a clock, to show that every minute, another species dies out. The campaign does this to not only stress the severity of species extinction, but also to raise awareness for the dwindling of species on our Earth. The campaign uses lenses such as establishing trust, visual rhetoric, and commonplaces to tug at the viewers heartstrings, convey their message of sustainable practices, and motivate them to make a change. The end goal of any campaign or advertisement is not only to catch the audience’s attention but also to connect with the viewers and hopefully persuade you to invest in or purchase what they are selling. But nobody wants to hand their money over to just anyone–they want to make sure it’s going to someone trustworthy.

Scholz & Friends, which is the organization that created the BUND campaign, was established in 1981 and is one of Europe’s largest advertising agencies, which establishes the company’s credibility. Everyone has felt like a minority at some point in their life, so this feeling of underrepresentation can be related to by the audience. The campaign also helps the audience relate to the seal on an emotional level. The seal is clearly in pain and everyone can relate to this basic emotion on some level. Anyone can assume that the animal is screaming, but because the ad is an image there is no sound. This silence represents the lack of representation that many species have who are yet to be discovered or that we do not fully understand. It is very difficult to estimate the full impact that humans are having on the environment and this silent scream represents that.The campaign does more than just speak at the audience about the problem–it puts a face to mass extinction. By doing this, it is asking the audience to have empathy for these animals and it creates a deeper connection between the audience and the image. It would be hard for an audience not to emphasize the position that the seal has been placed in, through no fault of its own.Although disturbing, the detailed imagery and visual rhetoric used in this campaign most certainly helps the audience to understand the severity of the message through the use of symbolism, small font, and object placement.

The clock is a man-man made artifact, which symbolizes not only time but humans’ involvement in the matter. The size of the clock also emphasizes how urgent the matter is, while doubling as a shield against the people who are causing Earth’s biological timer to speed up.The other major symbol is the seal. It puts a face to this crisis but also acts as an ambassador for all of the other species on Earth whose species are dwindling, especially those that are underrepresented. By comparing the size of the two symbols, this under-representation may be seen visually as well. BUND used small text and a serious tone to write “Each donation counts”, which indicates that only someone who thought that the ad was of importance would read the fine print. BUND did this in hopes that if one cared enough to read the small font, they’d care enough to make a donation. The small lettering also insinuates that this message is more than just words and that in order to understand the severity of the topic, one must see it with their own eyes.The primary colors used within the ad are black and gray, which communicate a dark and somber mood. The only different color is the red of the minute hand, which can be associated with the blood of the seal. This color symbolism contributes to the feeling of urgency communicated by the ad. 

 

Outline:

Introduction

Hook:

• “What if I told you…”
• Saying this now sounds absurd, but in actuality, these situations are more than probable

General Info:

• Introduce Scholz and Friends + campaign
• Stress severity of species extinction and raises awareness for mass extinction 

Thesis:

• The campaign uses lenses such as establishing trust, visual rhetoric, and commonplaces to tug at the viewers heartstrings, convey their message of sustainable practices, and motivate them to make a change.

(Transition to establishing trust)

Topic 1: Establishing Trust

Ethos: 

Credibility: Scholz & Friends, which is the organization that created the BUND campaign, was established in 1981 and is one of Europe’s largest advertising agencies, which establishes the company’s credibility. 

Relatability:

• Minority and feeling of underrepresentation can be related to from the audience
• Relate to the seal on an emotional level
•  Silence represents the lack of representation of other species

Pathos: 

Empathy:

• Puts a face to mass extinction
• Creates empathy for these animals + deeper connection between the audience and the image

(Transition to visual rhetoric) 

Topic 2: Visual Rhetoric – Describe the advertisement

Symbolism:

Clock:

• Clock is a man-man made artifact–symbolizes not only time but humans’ involvement
• The size of the clock

Seal:

• Ambassador for all of the other species on Earth whose numbers are dwindling
• Represents the under-represented

Font: 

Small lettering:

• “Each donation counts”
• Only someone who thought that the ad was of importance would read the fine print
• Care enough to make a donation if you read it.
• Ad is more than words 

Color Theory:

• Black and gray–dark and somber mood
• Red of the minute hand–associated with the blood of the seal
• Creates feeling of urgency communicated by the ad.

(Transition to temporal thinking)

Topic 3: Meta-Competency

Temporal Thinking: 

• Define temporal thinking
• Set stakes, create sense of urgency
• “Every 60 seconds…”
• Forces audience to think long term

Conclusion

• Re-establish thesis
• Brief overview of everything
• Call to action
• Closing remarks + thank you

A student’s elevator pitch that intrigued me was Leo’s. His hook was not only relatable, but it was humorous and caught the attention of the entire audience. He skillfully used imagery and descriptive wording to set a scene that the whole class could picture instantly. I don’t remember his exact words, but he asked us all a question at the end of his hook, and I remember how it made me feel: inquisitive and uncomfortable. 

I was familiar with the Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial disaster, but not to a great extent. Leo quickly and effectively broke down the entire advertisement, explaining what was going on, what the attempted purpose of it was, and why it was a complete flop–all while simultaneously keeping his entire pitch light-hearted, which is impressive considering the topic. I also like that he chose an artifact that was of relevance and included someone (Kendall Jenner) that everyone in the class was familiar with. 

Another reason that his pitch stuck out to me was because it was different from everyone else’s in the sense that it analyzed the failure of a civic artifact, not the success. He talked about how the commercial used the rhetorical situation lens and the negative reactions it received from those who watched it–so bad to the point where Pepsi had to release a formal apology. 

All in all, Leo’s elevator pitch provided a meaningful connection between his topic and the audience. He was well prepared, knew the information that he was presenting, and never lost my attention once.

In the amount of time that it will take for me to pitch this proposal, a species will have died out. Scholz and Friends is a company based in Berlin who created the BUND campaign to stress the severity of species extinction. This relates to Sustainable Development Goal 15, which addresses the promotion and protection of habitat diversity loss. The ad shows a graphic image of a gray seal, which is an endangered species, getting crushed between the minute and the hour hands of a clock to show that every minute, another species becomes extinct. 

Although disturbing, the detailed imagery and visual rhetoric used in this campaign most certainly helps the audience to understand the severity of the message by appealing to pathos. Scholz and Friends is one of Europe’s largest advertising agencies and they are extremely credible, which helps to establish the readers trust through ethos. The ad uses font and text to get their primary goals across, which are to raise awareness for the dwindling of species on our Earth, and also to persuade the viewers to make a donation to help support the cause. BUND used small text and a serious tone to write “Each donation counts”, which indicates that only someone who thought that the ad was of importance would read the fine print. BUND did this in hopes that if one cared enough to read the small font, they’d care enough to make a donation. The small lettering also insinuates that this message is more than just words and that in order to understand the severity of the topic, one must see it with their own eyes. By putting a face to the issue, it tugs at the viewer’s heartstrings and creates empathy within them, which means they’ll be more likely to do something to make a change. Another way that the campaign uses visual rhetoric is through symbolism. The seal is trapped between the two hands of a clock, showing the time is of the essence, and it is running out quickly. The fact that the seal is stuck in a clock, which is a man-made artifact, also insinuates that species dying out is from human causes. 

The purpose of the ad “Every 60 Seconds A Species Dies Out” is to raise awareness for the species that are becoming extinct, but on a broader scale, to promote the urgency of the protection of habitat diversity loss around the world. Not only does this ad use a Ways of Establishing Trust Lens, but it also uses a Visual Rhetoric Lens as well. 

The analysis I’ll reveal is relevant to society today because it is an urgent issue and extinction rates are the highest that they have ever been, and they are only continuing to increase. Despite this, there is still time. There is still time to change our behaviors, help restore and protect animal populations, and turn back the clock. 

Thank you. 

 

Questions: Is my language choice too casual in the beginning? Is there anything that I didn’t touch upon that I should talk about more?

 

There are so many hiccups that marketers run into when creating  an advertisement. They need to not only reach their target audience, but must appeal to their emotions, influence them to buy the product, and be better than their competitors, all before losing your attention. But that’s why marketers use commonplaces in their ads; because they are an effective way to compel and persuade the people watching to buy what they’re selling. Or even just to have their message resonate with the audience.

If you have an online shopping addiction (it’s ok I do too), you’ve probably seen an ad from Revolve at least once in your life. Their slogan is “If you love it, buy it <3 (before someone else does). This little tagline that they use is so effective for many reasons. The main one being that it ignites a sense of obligation in the viewer that they have to buy this product and they have to buy it QUICK before anyone else gets their hands on it! We’ve all heard of FOMO and no one ever wants to feel like the person who won’t fit in because they won’t have that new top that the were browsing earlier and didn’t buy.

I don’t know if appealing to an audiences fear of missing out is always the most effective way to advertise, but it sure worked for Revolve. Their slogan creates a sense of urgency in the audience because they know that you don’t want to be the one who isn’t in on all of the newest trends. Fashion brands in general know how to persuade and they do it well because they know that everyone needs clothes. But Revolve, along with the majority of other fashions brands, have taken to social media because they know that it’s a quick and extremely effective way to get a viewers attention fast. You don’t even need to watch a commercial, just stare at your screen and read the words…it’s that simple!