The advertisements we see in magazines, online, or on TV have a way of revealing surprising things about the culture that they are from. When searching online through advertisements I saw an interesting drop of blood and knew I was hooked. Three of the blood donation advertisements I saw on the web had similar visual appeals, hidden symbols, ways of persuading their audiences, and an overall lack of information. I was inspired to do an analysis of a few blood donation ads to find out how the lack of knowledge presented in the ads reflects the average person’s lack of knowledge on blood donation.
In an ad done by the group “NZBLOOD,” you see the basic structure of most ads today: a picture that catches your eye, the name of the organization, and a tag line to evoke some sort of emotion from the person viewing it. While most people wouldn’t jump from their seats to “become a donor,” as the ad suggests to the viewer, there is a general sense that donating blood is a good thing to do. The picture is what looks like a drop of blood as it is being diffused into water, but you don’t see the water or the glass, all you see is the blood and a white background. It’s fairly simple to explain after that; there’s a bit of text beside the picture that says “Make your life go further.”
In a small way, the ad's simplicity reflects a common ideal among people who are socially defined as “successful.” The idea of a need-to-know basis and being efficient is important to a lot of Americans. This makes the choice simple. The ad only gives you the information that donating, what we imply is blood but at a first glance could possibly be other things such as organs or other bodily tissues, makes your life go further. Even though the ad never states how the effects of the extension of your life could improve the world, many people would agree that people should donate blood. Who doesn’t want to have an impact on the world and do something helpful?
However, the second ad I analyzed which was done by the Hellenic Association of Blood Donors focused strongly on how donating blood specifically would make you a good person. It says “You can be someone’s superhero!” and uses a picture of Spiderman connected to an IV to drive the point home: you’re helping people.
An interesting thing I saw that was that Spiderman’s hand when he’s donating blood in formed the same way that you sign “I love you” in sign language, as if when you donate blood you are showing your love for the person you are giving blood too. His arm is very strong which could easily symbolize that the donor is strong enough to give blood to the weak that need it.
In a third ad I found to further investigate my research, I saw a very eye catching ad done by an anonymous group, and became curious. They give a phone number to call so the viewer could find a place to donate blood, and visually follows the theme that the other two followed as well. Red, grey, and white. There is an almost creepy handprint, and the words “blood donors prolong lives,” just like the first ad. It’s just as simple as the other ads, but the large contrast in colors makes it the most powerful of the three in my opinion.
There are many pathos appeals in this ad all centered around the handprint. Reminders of a child’s handprint from their elementary school project, or giving a hand to a victim in need. The ad when I first saw it made me feel a sense of urgency, like people were dying and needed my help. No matter how it impacts you, it makes you feel something.
Looking at the two ads I analyzed side by side, I was surprised by how similar the ads looked to each other, and most other blood donation ads I’d seen as well. Since one of the first things people think of when they see a dark red color is blood, I noted how both ads worked with a red and white color scheme. As I looked across google that was one of the themes I looked for in ads. If it followed this color scheme, chances were it was an ad supporting blood donations.
It was also interesting to notice that the pictures have hidden symbols of good attributes in a person such as strength, efficiency, love, and others. Both ads have a way of showing that what they try to tell you to do is right, and that you aren’t as good of a person if you don’t do what they suggest. For example, you wouldn't be a superhero or have much purpose to your life if your donation didn’t save someone else’s life. While the message isn’t that extreme, it is there. When I asked my mom cold turkey what she thought of the ad’s message, she said she felt guilt tripped into donating blood. They use similar pathos appeals that work by making the viewer less than kind because they haven’t donated, or kind because they donated in the past. Setting a bar and defining what “good” is through these and other blood donation ads have spread out to society itself. Most people in America can agree that blood donation is a noble cause. Blood donation and the ad creators are not asking you to purchase anything, or buy a service. The audience will always be biased towards these ads since at the heart and soul of the ads the purpose is to donate blood. To give part of their life, not to take something away. Even though it may have been skewed over time, giving blood is a way to contribute to your community and it isn't just in America. Many of the ads I saw were in languages I could not read, it is a global movement that does deserve awareness and information to be accessible.
The problem these ads have besides the lack of logic supporting their cause, is the lack of logic itself. There is nothing in these ads that prove to me that blood donation helps, besides relying on knowledge that the viewer already has to make their point. There is no statistics or short quotes that inspire you. Instead there is increased awareness for blood donation, which little is known about by the average viewer anyways. The people who truly experience blood donations are the doctors that make money whether or not the victim lives. A blood donor’s participation ends once the professionals have the blood. It seems almost fitting how little information people receive to convince them, when people blindly accept this idea because they are “good.” To someone who has thought over and considered these ads for a long time, it is made clear the ad is only a starting place for someone who wanted to donate, and unfortunately has more power over people’s opinions and ideals than is realized. The NZBLOOD ad writes the cryptic message “make your life go further,” which makes a complicated and tough choice for many people easier than it should be. There are things to consider.
