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 …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