TOW #3 - War Child Advertisement

Violence has been spreading to kids all over America, and in other countries as well. They are beginning to think war is a game. This idea is depicted in the image because the grenade, usually know for explosions and destruction, is simply just a balloon that can do no harm to anyone. It continues to go on and say help stop the use of child soldiers, which is a major occurrence all over the world. The idea of war is a game is implanted in the children's minds through video games, and from being exposed to war zones far too often. All this is doing is promoting violence, and that war is nothing harmful. If we die, it's fine because we are back in the game five seconds later. However you don't get unlimited lives in Afghanistan when al Qaeda are firing rockets at you from the depths of the wooded mountain tops. What better way to promote this message, then by having the charity company War Child create a anti-war poster for children? The goal of the organization is to help empower young children in areas of war by giving them psycho-social support, and by promoting education, giving clear credibility on this subject.

The audience of the message then is clear. Not only is it directed towards the kids who are struggling in the areas of war, but its mostly to the people of third world countries, like the U.S. We have to embed in our children's minds that war is nothing even close to a game. It also promotes third world countries into donating towards the charity, to help the kids without proper structure, and who are at risk of becoming child soldiers. This message is delivered through the use of metaphors, pathos, and irony. The metaphor is clear, that war is a game. The purpose of the image is to then shut down that metaphor, and to convince people to help fight against the idea being that war is a game. The pathos is created by us being so urged to support the cause, just thinking of the child soldiers without education, parents, or a normal life. Lastly, the irony being that the balloon as a grenade, at first glance, seems to support the idea that war is a game, but then the texts contrasts that thought. Trough the use of these rhetorical devices, the War Child charity created a successful and effectively ad to draw people into donating to help the cause of child soldiers around the world.