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Ana K. Lopez
Mrs. Petty
ENG 101
November 23, 2014
War Bonds Ad
During War World II the government launched a series of ads to make sure citizens
didnt stop buying war bonds. In particular they used an ad that would make them feel guilty for
trying to stop buying war bonds. The government persuaded the public by showing in the ad
where they saw what the soldiers would go trough. The ad majorly showed the there was no way
the public could be more tired than a soldier, since all the public had to do was buy war bonds.
The ad used an aggressive phrase that would make sure everyone in the public got the right
meaning. During War II the government used a tired soldier in a sad image to persuade citizens
to buy war bonds, the colors used in the ad were purposely made to make the public feel the
sadness and angriness of the war, and the words used proved the message was serious and
delicate.
The fact that the government used the photo of an actual soldier showed how serious they
were about the ad. The soldier seems restless and was wounded on the knee, with blood splatters
on his leg and helmet. The soldier is also seen covering his face with his hands, which gave the
impression that all he wanted was a moment of peace and rest. This was to motivate people to
not stop buying war bonds; because the more war bonds they bought the faster the war was over.
The image also was intended to persuade the public, especially those who were family of
soldiers, since no one wanted to see someone they loved in that position. The atmosphere around
him was very depressing he seemed to be in the middle of nowhere with nothing but his gear

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around him. The system used in the ad is well known; it is a system to grab the publics feeling
before their mind. Explained Conventional wisdom says that representational images tend to
prompt emotional reactions and that, once the viewers emotions are excited, they tend to
override his or her rational faculties, resulting in a response that is unreflective and irrational
(Hill 26). The government wanted to make sure that the public got the feeling of what a soldier
does to defend the country and how difficult it was to be at war. Resulting in the public feeling
pity for the soldiers and ashamed on themselves for not purchasing more war bonds.
The main message of the ad is seen in the actual quote. Could you tell him youre tired
of buying war bonds? is the message with the words youre and tired underlined, as well as war
bonds in all capital letters in the color red. The purpose of the underlined words was to show
whom the message was for. Underlining the word tired was so that the public would see and
feel what being tired really meant and in that case which one of the two was in fact really tired.
The government used these tactics to make sure that the public would feel embarrassed and
ashamed for not buying enough war bonds. The main purpose of the bonds was to keep the war
funded and keep the soldiers defending the country, the government could not loose the
economic help the public was giving with the purchases of the bonds, the less they bought the
weaker the country got. The red writing also stands out, the fact that the words are in red and in
capital letters were done to show what the government was selling to the public. The color was
used to grab their attention, and give a sense of urgency, for an immediate reaction from the
public.
Continuing with the message, the words give all the actual meaning of the ad and the
message being sent. The big question was, how could someone be more tired then a wounded
soldier. How were they able to look at the soldier in the ad and say they were tired; since the

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soldier himself seemed to be the actual description of tired. This was very efficient because there
was no way the public could argue that they were tired; they didnt have to fight like the soldiers
did. All that was left for them to do was, to buy war bonds. The ad gave did not give the public a
choice to think otherwise on whether they could feel tired or not of buying the war bonds. The
government used this persuasion method in such a efficient way, that most likely everyone that
looked at the ad and read the words carefully would immediately be motivated to buy more and
more bonds. Audience members will often be influenced by the tone in which the arguments are
expressed and by various traits of the arguers that might influence judgments about their
credibility and sincerity (Hill 28). Which means it is used in a way that the public would find an
immediate way to feel guilty for not helping out the soldiers who wanted to be over with the war
and just return to their families. This was the persuasion method most efficiently used to achieve
the purpose, which was to sell more and more war bonds.
Overall, it is seen how persuasion is used in different ways to get a message trough the
public. The government did not only use an actual image of wounded lonely soldier at war, but
also used the soldier himself to persuade the public on the importance of keeping to buy more
war bonds. They also used letters and colors to grab the attention and highlight the magnitude of
the ad by using different colors and underlying key words. The ad continues with the message
written it self. The message used in the ad was a simple question asked with a lot of meaning,
asking the public how someone dared to say they were more tired than a soldier that was at war.
They used a powerful message with a powerful meaning to give credibility to the ad. Altogether,
in the ad the government used a real soldier to sadden people to make sure they would buy war
bonds, they also inserted colors and underlined words so that the message was clear on who it

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was intended for, and finally used a question to finalize the persuasion in a way that the public
would not have a reason to say no to war bonds.

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Works Cited
Hill, Charles A. The Psychology of Rhetorical Images Defining Visual Rhetorics. Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2004. Print.

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