Writing and Such: English Class Essay:Visual Rhetorical Analysis

MaKenzie Beck

Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay

July 2nd, 2014

“Compassion in world farming” A Visual Rhetorical Analysis Essay

While watching the campaign for “Compassion in world farming”¹, a cute video about free range farm pigs in the United Kingdom and their interaction with the London population through technology, my mind traveled back to my own happy experiences with the pigs I tended to growing up. I was reminded of how cute pigs actually are, and the fun my siblings and I had raising them. As I watched the video I was excited to see the Londoners’ enthusiasm at the chance to feed the eager pigs with the use of a smartphone, interactive billboard, and a catapult machine. And for the first time, I understand the contrast, of the health benefits and worth of life, between a free range animal versus an animal raised in the cruel condition of caged life. I was affected by this video, after watching it I wanted to help the cause of free range animals! I wanted to do my part and make it my personal goal to help all farm animals become free range! And then I realized, the video had succeeded in its purpose to raise awareness and convert to the cause. Thus, a video campaign advertisement is a useful way of bringing awareness to the public because through the visual strategies² and rhetorical appeals of one’s reasons (with logos), emotions (through pathos), and view of character (by ethos) can be persuaded.

The video campaign starts with a happy bluegrass-like song and a lime green screen that reads, in bold white lettering, “Compassion in World Farming campaign for pigs to enjoy the freedom they deserve.” This introduces the reason for the video, to help a specific purpose: the well being of farm pigs. The video then goes to show clips of pigs walking, eating, and sleeping around an open grassy pasture accompanied with facts about pigs being “intelligent… social and playful.. and have dreams”. A contrasting, pink background, slide is introduced containing tabloids about horse meat found in hamburger and continues “we wanted to show why free range farming’s best”. Then the video shows how “The world’s first really live feed” was staged and describes how an interactive billboard in a busy London shopping center was linked to a free range country farm. A slide then gives instructions on how to use a smartphone app to feed apples to the pigs on the farm. These instructions are reiterated when the next clip shows a customer purchase an apple through the smartphone app and while facing the interactive billboard (that shows live footage of the pigs), moves her phone in a throwing motion, the feed machine on the farm releases an apple, a “great throw” caption pops-up on the billboard, and the pigs enjoy the gift, all while the customer oozes with the excitement of feeding a pig miles away via technology. The video then shows clips of various individuals enjoy this same thrill and sharing the experience on social media. As the video comes to an end the same lime green and pink slides broadcast the results of the live feed event and express how “Londoners were reminded... that to eat free range is to eat happy.” followed by one last head shot of an adorable pig and the logo for “Compassion in world farming” and “ The World’s First Really Live Feed” to bring the video full circle.

The video influences viewers because its reasoning is easy to follow. I found the reason for this campaign message to be quite simple because the purpose, point blank, is to raise awareness about the benefits³ of free range farming. The video’s simplicity makes the message stand out through the use of text that unravels in turn, between clips, revealing the object, the facts, the reasons, and finishing with the results. This use of reading the word and seeing a clip has the ability to stimulate the mind⁴ and fool the viewer, because the word presents an idea and the clip allows the subconscious to accept the word, based on the “seeing is believing”⁵ mentality, thus influencing the video’s viewer, with reason, towards the belief that free range farming is the better form of farming.

This video contains the power of persuasion because it appeals to human emotion without humanity being aware. When I first watched this video I only thought, “How cute!”, it was not until I started analyzing the work that I realized my reaction was the goal and that every detail of the video, from the colors and sound to the pigs themselves, was a strategic tool to break down any barriers my emotions may have built. The sound of the harmonica⁶ set the mood, my mind was automatically transferred to the idea of “country”. Then the use of the lime green⁷ and pink⁸ colors set the viewer up to accept new possibilities without judgement and called upon one’s insight, hope, and compassion. The Londoners featured in the campaign vary so much in age, that most people watching can in some way relate. Even the use of pigs is a technique of emotional appeal, rather than using other free range animals such as cows or chickens, pigs are used because our subconscious holds the childhood feelings stored from the stories like Charlotte’s Web and The Three Little Pigs⁹, where the pigs are cute and defenceless. The campaign also humanizes the pigs by giving them characteristics such as “intelligent” and “social” to help the viewers understand that the pigs are relatable, again appealing to one’s emotions..

The video campaign's last appeal is that of credibility, that is, the swaying of an opinion with truth. The video seems to be accurate when watching it in passing, but when taken apart and analyzed it becomes clear that more research is required to testify of truth. While watching the video we notice the contrast between the positive idea of the free range pigs and the negative feel of the horse meat hamburger tabloids¹⁰. This contrast is the only opposition the video presents and if one see the video in passing one probably will not catch that there are many steps in meat processing¹¹ that occurs between farm and store, therefor even free range pork could end up mixed with anything! And though free range farming does seem like a positive, based on the video, the moral truth will always depend¹² on whom one speaks with and what they hope to find and believe.

The video campaign, “Compassion in world farming” is an adorable ad that brings one’s attentions to the benefits of free range pig farming while using the the nonverbal strategies and rhetorical appeals to convince you that it is the correct, more humane, form of farming. The video used logos to appeal to the viewer with reason, that is, an understandable point; the benefits of the pigs’ free range lifestyle. Then the appeal of pathos through the emotions touched by the visual strategies; the music, the color, the people, the animals, and in my case the memories. And lastly, Ethos was appealed by the truth given and not given in the video; the positive belief that free range pig farming is more humane for the animals, and the negative truth, that no matter how humane the raising situation may be, the pig will still be eaten.

1) Compassion in world farming video link

2) Ramage,J.D., & Bean, J.C., & Johnson, J..(2006,2009,2012) The Allyn & Bacon Guide

to Writing (6th ed.)

United States: Pearson Education, Inc.

3) Author unknown (2011, July). Free-range pigs

Retreived from: http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/animal-industries/pigs/managing-a-piggery/production-and-performance/free-range-pigs

4) ANNIE MURPHY PAUL ( 2012, March). Your Brain on Fiction

Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html?pagewanted=all

5) Author unknown (2013, December) Seeing Is Believing-Wikipedia

Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seeing_Is_Believing

6) “All I Want Is You” song by Barry Louis Polisar

7) Author, date, title unknown