Hidden Meanings ~ A Response to “An Imperfect Reality"

    While reading Rebecca Hollingsworth’s essay titled An Imperfect Reality, I realized how much thought goes into a campaign or add without me even realizing it. Hollingsworth took an example of an autism ad and unravelled the logic behind presenting autism in that way. The commercial highlighted the fact that 1 in 150 kids have autism but only 1 in 7000 kids will become a top fashion designer. This statistic is an example of an advertisement appealing to logos and pathos. It appeals to logos because it is a true statistic, but it appeals to pathos because that number would scare any potential parent. Although the prospect is scary, it needs to be publicized.
    With a hidden, developmental disorder like autism, it is crucial for a parent to pick up on the symptoms early. These campaigns give moms a reality check that they shouldn’t just assume that their baby is immune to these types of disorders. But on a positive note, it reassures moms that their baby will do all the normal kid activities such as playing dress up.
     I enjoy uncovering the thought that goes into creating an advertisement. Its crazy how a 30 seconds commercial can be appealing to my emotions on so many different levels. Even a sponsor’s logo, such as autism’s puzzle piece, is the product of hours and hours of debate. While watching commercials over break I hope I can pick up on some of the sponsor’s tricks to appealing to my emotions.