Color, Typography and Pathos Examples in Ads
Five young boys are hidden behind the American flag. Their faces hold a sorrowful look that’s filled with distress. This ad is based on a true story in the early 1990’s. Here will be shown color, typography and pathos examples in ads. In this advertisement five African American boys were wrongly convicted of raping a white women. This advertisement uses pathos, color, and typography to express racism in American society.
The use of pathos in advertising is used to develop an emotional response in the viewer. They use this to trigger a reply. In this ad, we as the audience feel sympathy for these little boys. This cover really brings to light all of the corruption that goes on in America and the story of these boys. Their voices which were once silenced, got to be heard all around the world. The use of pathos in this advertisement also helped to persuade the viewers that the justice system is broken which reflects the emotions shown on these boys faces. This also helps with persuading your audience to agree with your beliefs and vision.
The use of color also plays a role in how the viewers feel about this ad. The colors shown on this ad are very dark and dull like. Red,white, and brown are the colors most used in this ad. They are very washed out and look very gloomy. This helps to create a tone for the ad. The use of red in this helps to give a sense of urgency and problem. The ad also has some grey undertones which gives a feeling of old age and feelings of nothingness. The eyes of the boys are also covered in black which is associated with power and evil. This relates to their story because these boys were victims of an evil system that failed them and took their childhood.
The typography used in this ad is used to reference the struggles the boys have gone through. The words “WHEN THEY SEE US” looks very runs down and torn up. This correlates the boys journey before they went to jail and even after they were released. The letters are also in all caps and bold to get the audience's attention. It was to convey a message that topics such as racism are prevalent everywhere and has been around for years. The color of the text is in white which means pure and innocence but since it is all worn out it means the opposite.
In conclusion of color, typography and pathos advertisement examples the main purpose of this ad is to show how the American system refuses to see people of color and their struggles. Racism is a well known issue in America that has been going on till time started. Many people can relate to this ad because they have gone through similar things, were their voices aren't heard loud and clearly.
