Humayun 1

Sehar Humayun

Ashley Humphries

ENC 1101-0002

24 April 2015

Image- Effective for Text

Take a moment to observe this image in this advertisement. From a distance, the image of the young girl in the ad does not convey any significant meanings. The observer, at the first sight, may think of it as an advertisement of a robot or a young girl suffered by child pornography. In fact, this image could be perceived in a number of ways depending on the approach of the viewer. For example, a viewer considering the blonde silky hair of this young girl might think through this image as the advertisement for girls beautiful hair. Another observer may focus the beautiful black eyes or pink baby lips of this young girl. But, such type of considerations would surely create a confusion for the onlooker. He would surely be jumbled by the dent in the head of this cute little girl. The grief and pain in her eyes would be a mystery for the observer. Every viewer would definitely come by several thoughts; if this is an advertisement depicting the child pornography then why the girls hair are so ordered? Why are there no marks on her clear skin? In this regard, lets say this is not a child pornography. Then, why is there pain and sorrow in her innocent eyes? Why is she looking at the observer in the way as to take pity on her? What does the dent in her head mean? What does the black material on her face mean? These are the questions and confusions which are enough to snatch the peace of mind. The observer is obvious to search for the answers to these questions in order to understand the true meanings of this advertisement, otherwise it is not only a picture but also a muddle. Now, pay attention to the text at the bottom of the image. This text serves assistance in understanding whats going on. It reveals the fact at first sight and helps follow the user in rightdirection of perception. Certainly, this script makes the viewer think that this is an advertisementfor car accident prevention. The uncertainty of the image is depressed by the supportingmanuscript and the text together with the image adds meanings to the importance of this ad.The text in the ad focuses the word town. Why is it important? What does the advertisement mean by In town, car accidents dont just happen to cars? Everybody know that car accidents are dangerous for the people and areas facing it. Then why only town? Are the caraccidents in cities safe and have no dangerous and harmful impacts there? Obviously, not! Let us think critically about this ad. The image of the child girl supports the prominence of word town in this advertisement. It helps the viewer think that children in towns are always around and their lives are at stack. Cities are safer than small towns (Philip Ross). Towns are more exposed to car accidents than cities because cities have proper traffic laws and traffic police is always around. But towns dont have such strictness about traffic and they are somewhat under-developed. Mostly the children are roaming about here and there. In under-developed countries, children play in the streets of their towns. Most of the little kids go to their school by walk and alone. In such situations, children are at a risk of car accidents. A little rush by the driver can play with the lives of little innocent kids. The accident not only happens with the child but also his/her family. The injury or death of a little kid is more difficult to be borne by the parents. That is why, the ad says Slow Down and dont play with the lives of entire families. It is a message for the viewers to be very careful while driving specially in towns because a little hurry in a town can be a big matter particularly for children. The presence of the child in the image elicits the maternal and parental feelings of observers and make them give more importance to the driving safety in towns. Nearly a million children worldwide die every year as a result of unintentional injuries, and the biggest killer is traffic accidents, according to a report from the World Health Organization (Brenda Wilson).The gender role is of special consideration in this image. What if there were a little boy inthe picture? In my views, the presence of a young boy cannot be as effective as that of a young girl. Whether the boy may be cute or innocent with a briny pain and distress in his eyes, he cannot be as solicitous for the audience as a young girl can be. This image of a young girl in the ad engenders an emotional response for the viewers. By nature, girls are more vulnerable and considered more innocent than boys so this image plays a key role in provoking the emotions andforcing the audience think over their driving speed.This advertisement can never be effective if there were no image in it. Only the text message about the threats of traffic accidents is obvious to everybody. The audience knows that driving fast and out of control is a risk. The text is a usual and universal fact to everybody. It cannot aggravate the emotions and is not as much effective as to compel the audience pay attention to it. Traffic safety messages like Drive Slow, Dont Rush, Drive Carefully etc. are mentioned everywhere on traffic signals and road boards. How many people pay special attention to them? In my views, only 1 of 10 persons! Most of the people even dont bother to have a look at these types of messages because they are the usual messages a driver sees hundreds of times while driving on the road. They have lost their value and are nothing new andunique to gain importance. The image in this advertisement serves as the backbone for the importance of this message. Consider the dent in the head of the young girl in this image. This dent is exactly the same as the dent in a car. When a car is hit by something, a dent appears at its surface. The text says Car accidents dont just happen to cars and the appearance of a dent in the girls head supports this argument. It is showing that a dent is also the fate of the person hitby a car. Not only your car suffers damage but also the victim faces injury. The dent in the head is used to symbolize the harm and injury to the victim. It tries to make the observer think do not just care for your car maintenance but also for the victim. Many times, people are concerned only with the cost of maintenance they have to pay in case of destruction to their car and do not think about the life of sufferer. This image is a clear indication of the fact that the victim also deserves care and attention, perhaps more than the damage to the car! If one considers carefully, he will see some black spots surrounding the dent. These are scratches in the clear skin of young girl in the image. Mostly the dent in a car is accompanied by the scratches and fade color of the area where it is hit. The abrasions and scratches on the face of little girl depict that victim also faces the same adversity. A minor carelessness of the car driver can make the life of a person colorless. Especially, if the victim is a child in a town, his life is smashed and spoilt in case of severe injury. The child has not yet seen much more in his life and there is a long life ahead which becomes miserable with disability because towns dont have better medical facilities to take the victim immediately for necessary treatment. The residents of towns are mostly not so rich and they cannot afford the expenses of taking the victim to big and expensive hospitals in cities. In these situations, the victim has to spend the rest of his life with physical disabilities. A car accident can also cause emotional and psychological trauma (Robinson, Smith, A. and Segal). Sometimes, children cannot stand by such an extravagant pain and die. In case of death, the life of their parents loses colors and charms. In every sense, disasters are beyond the surface of the car.The intense pain and gloom in the eyes of little girl in the image demands a strongemotional response. Such a melancholy questions the audience what is the fault of a young childif the driver of a car drives badly? Why should the child suffer undue pain and pessimism? Is it a fair deed to hit innocent people for no reason? Why should they suffer the eternal loss to their life? The woe in the eyes of this pretty little girl demands justice. It induces the audience emotions to take pity on every child in this world. These eyes are pleading and prompt the viewer in heeding the root of the advertisement. The image of the young girl in this life threatening condition is hewed in order to reveal the effects of car accidents and incite the viewers sense of pathos so that they may ponder upon their actions.The background of this advertisement is filled by grey color which is associated with loss and depression. This background color also adds to the implications of this ad. It creates a bereavement milieu and makes the ad impressive. If it were a red, pink or some other charming color, the ad would have lost its seriousness. The color psychology is of significant importance for this ad. The scratches on the face of young girl in the image are also grey. They are not red asblood. This scene needs to be analyzed critically. The red color for blood is obvious and specifies injury. But, this advertisement makes the audience think beyond injury. The injury isto the victim but the impacts are also on his family. Injury is not so treacherous and is often recovered. Thats why there are grey abrasions indicating that the impacts of car accidents to small kids are beyond injury. As discussed earlier, sometimes the victim child has to spend all ofhis life with disability. This physical deficiency makes him think that he is less than other normalchildren. He does not consider himself a normal human being and sometimes suffer from severe psychological stress. Such a life is worse than death and children are especially more sensitive to feel differences. The little girl with grudge and warning eyes demands the audience to considerthe long lasting influences of their hurry. A little rush can make the life of an innocent childworse than death. The safety message in the form of text alone was not impressive and had no deep impactson the audience. Similarly, the image alone was unable to direct the viewers to the right path and could not depict the actual meanings of the ad. The combination of text and image created an ad that is impressive enough to leave a deep impact on the audience. Now, the audience is surely convinced to think at least one time before going out of speed. Not everybody, but still many ofthe drivers will be convinced emotionally to take pity on innocent children. The image and text support each other adding to the importance of slow driving message.

Works CitedRoss, Philip. "Cities Safer Than Small Towns: Deaths From Accidents 40 Percent Higher Outside Urban Landscape, Says Study [REPORT]."International Science Times. International Science Times, 23 July 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.Wilson, Brenda. "Traffic Accidents Top Cause Of Fatal Child Injuries." NPR. NPR, 10 Dec. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.Robinson, Lawrence, Melinda Smith, M. A., and Jeanne Segal. "Emotional and Psychological Trauma." : Symptoms, Treatment, and Recovery. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.