Identify the context.

This includes, but certainly is not limited to:

Exigenc(ies)- highest level of car crashes in that time (deathes, slick road), reckless
driving in rain,
Purpose- reduce the number of car accidents caused by rain in a very eye-catching way
Audience- r: English speaking drivers driving by that have heard of the billboard or are
driving by in the rain. nr: others in car that may not be able to drive, people who arent
driving (on a bus, bike, etc), people that have no sympathy for children or loss of life
Constraints- pos: if youre driving by in the rain. neg: if you drive by in the day (its just
a kid on a billboard). Only one side of the road can see it.
This will require some research, and you will need to cite sources used to complete your
research. We will tackle each of these in class for a limited period of time, but you will probably
also need to continue your research outside of class.
After identifying the context, look at the text itself.
What does it say? (what are the words themselves)? Rain changes everything. Please
drive to the conditions. The first sentence is a broad statement. The second sentence is
them pleading for you to drive safer.
What are the color choices? It is a very bland poster. Very light colors, the text is in
black and white. This is to provide contrast and to really make the blood from the rain
pop and stand out to drivers.
What are font choices, and what do they mean? Arial Narrow in bold looks like the font.
It is all in uppercase. This is so it is readable even though the font size is relatively small
(the image and what happens to it when it rains is what they really want people to see- it
is the attention grabber, but the purpose is in the text). The first sentence is bolder
because that is the reason for adding the bleeding to it that only the rain triggers.
What strategies does the text employ to achieve its purpose? The text alone uses logos
because it is a logical assumption (even though the first statement is a slight hyperbole by
saying that EVERYTHING changes when it rains). The image itself uses pathos because
it is a child that is bleeding when it rains. Together, mostly pathos is used to persuade
people to slow down in the rain.
Are these effective, for this particular situation, for this intended audience? Why or why
not? Yes. Statistically, there were fewer accidents after this campaign was launched then
the period of time before that actually prompted the start of the campaign.
How is the text distributed to, or what attempts are made, to distribute this text to a
desired audience? What other audiences might encounter it, to what effect? The creators
knew exactly what they were doing when they made a billboard with a bleeding child on
it. It catches peoples attention, and in an age of social media and sharing ideas through
the web, this billboard quickly went viral. The message spread far beyond New Zealand,
and that is ok because this concept of driving safely in the rain can be applied anywhere
where there are road and a chance of rain. Also, people on the internet that may not
know the purpose of the billboard( like those in New Zealand) that just take a glance at it
might be appalled or even scared of it because it is a bleeding child. Maybe
organizations like child services or an orphanage might not approve of the use of a child
in such a graphic message.