No More Abuse Ad Analysis

Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid Foundation launched one of the country’s first campaigns against domestic abuse. The print advertisement was simple, but effective in nature and appealed to both ethos and pathos. The campaign was entitled, ‘No More Abuse’ and debuted in national newspapers on April 17, 2013. The audience targeted by the ad were all members of Saudi Arabia’s society. The goal of the campaign was to facilitate social dialogue about domestic violence. In effect, endorsing pending legislation that would in turn criminalize domestic violence towards women. The ad shows a beautiful young woman with a black eye wearing a dark veil, known as a Niqab, worn by Muslim women in public that covers all of the face apart from the eyes. The background is a neutral, lighter tint of grey that contrasts with the shade of the Niqab and the woman’s well accentuated eyes. One of her eyes, however, is distinctively bruised. She is also wearing makeup, it is specifically important to note that she is wearing a base, thus indicating that she tried to cover the abuse, but failed to successfully do so. Her glassy eyes show that she has cried or is on the edge of crying because of the excess moisture on the lower eyelids and near her tear ducts. The words at the bottom of the image are Arabic for “Some things can’t be covered” followed by, “Fighting women’s abuse together”. Finally, preceded by the King Khalid Foundation emblem and their website domain strategically placed at the bottom of the advertisement. The image appeals to ethos through endorsement by the King Khalid Foundation. The King Khalid Foundation is run by King Khalid’s royal bloodline. Khalid is a former king well known by the people of Saudi Arabia for his philanthropic style of ruling. It also appeals to ethos through Islam by using one of the garments dictated by Sharia Law in an ironic manner. The objective of wearing a veil such as the Niqab is to protect the wearer from the sexual appetites of men, in turn preventing sexual abuse. Ironically, the garment fails to protect the woman from abuse and fails to hide the abuse as well. The publication most heavily appeals to pathos. The use of a monochromatic color scheme in the ad, such as the neutral similar shades of grey, create a somber ambience for the viewer. The different shades …show more content…
A Burqa covers the eyes with a mesh net and would not have exposed the woman’s eyes, thus not supporting the tag line. Another important characteristic of the print ad is the use of the eyes. The eyes are the only facial feature that can stand on its own and still reveal any emotional state of the character, in this case the woman. The simplicity of the ad allows for the viewer to interpret the image in a plethora of ways. For instance, the use of the face. The face is symmetrical and the eyes are part of the face. Only one eye is bruised in the ad. This could be interpreted as there are two sides to every story. And the fact that Niqab covers the mouth of the woman could represent her inability to speak in her own defense. This adds the intended ambiguity factor that the publishers hope will spark social dialogue about the morality of domestic abuse towards