Analysis Of Advertisement Against Animal Driven Circuses

Lega Anti Vivisezione (LAV) is an Italian organization that produced a printed ad that featured a Bengal tiger, on strings which is by predicted to be controlled by a human. The company works to stop animal cruelty. The Bengal Tiger is being controlled by a series of puppet strings and the statement “The show mustn’t go on” is written across the center of the picture. Given the context of this ad, we can conclude that they’re advocating against circuses with animals. It’s also evident that we should stop taking animals from their homes as well as stop using animals for our “personal enjoyment”. Taking exotic animals from their natural habitat is morally and ethically wrong. Especially if it’s for personal reasons rather than for the benefit for that animal. The ad is saying that animal driven circuses are completely wrong, it also shows us that tigers are being puppeteered and being forced to perform in unhealthy environments. The intended audience for this particular ad is for anyone that goes to circuses; this paints a vivid picture that when we are cheering and screaming for these animals we should rather recognize the embarrassment that these animals are facing.

The history of circuses goes back to the 1880’s where Barnum and Bailey’s “Greatest Show on Earth” which had elephants, zebras, camels, and tigers (Davis). In 1879, James A. Bailey circus took a two-year journey in Australia, New Zealand and South America, here he picked up Barnum when his elephant was the first to give birth in captivity (Davis). This “Circus Day” created activities that took place during the whole day and herds of people arrived before the sun was up. After the war of 1812, Joshua Purdy Brown an American-born show man revolutionized the whole idea of public circuses (Davis). During the Second Great Awakening, public amusements were banned in Wilmington, Delaware (Davis). Brown adopted the canvas tent which gave a new meaning to circuses that most Americans were familiar with. The railroad was an important invention that helped the circus become more familiar in households over the country (Davis). Wisconsin showman Dan Castello which features two elephants and two camels and took them to Omaha through California (Davis). Where do animals fit into this equation and why did humans keep them in the circus?

Tigers jumping through hoops and herds of elephants standing on stools sounds entertaining in concept but yet have you thought about the wellbeing of those animals? In the wild young tigers grow up with their mothers but when circuses take these cubs away it they provide stress for both mother and cub (6 BIG reasons why. ). Not only are humans taking away baby animals from their mothers, but the training is very poor. Thinking abstractly, have you ever seen a brown bear riding a unicycle in the wild? No, because it’s not the way nature intended. (A History of Animal Circus. . . ) Who are we to manipulate creatures to perform rigorous activities that would just result in the death of many animals and humans. The question is why are we putting animals in danger for our personal enjoyment? The answer is something that can’t be produced because any answer given would be unethical and immoral. Design is very important in advertisements. “Advertising is the techniques and practices used to bring products, services, opinions or causes to public notice for the purpose of persuading the public to respond in a certain way toward what is being advertised. ” (Importance of Good Design in Advertising). They are three key elements produced in this advertisement; Lines, typeface and alignment. Lines show how movement is used in the ad, which is provided by the strings. Since the strings and wooden handles are straight it means the tiger is moving and the strings are the ones making the tiger do so. The puppet strings serve as a metaphor, the ring leaders or masters treat their animals as puppets and expect them to do everything they want them to do.

Jen Kim a copywriter, “Typeface describe the overall look of the characters contained within the font. ” Typeface also refers to text that is small and doesn’t take away from the overall picture which was intentional. The words “The show mustn’t go on” contributes to the overall message of removing animals from circuses. The words weren’t mean to draw your attention because the picture is far more important.

The tiger is aligned in the center of the page, with wooden handles, and strings. Placing the tiger in the middle of the picture with the strings and wooden handles reinforces that as the main object. When the reader sees this ad, their attention should go straight to the tiger first which should make the reader look at the tiger’s situation which in turn you would see the statement “The show mustn’t go on” which wraps up the idea of animal-free circuses.

The reason why Americans and other individuals are having such a hard time thinking about animal-free circuses is because of the rich, culture developed from the start of circuses. Circuses have always involved different exotic animals so to think of a circus with no animals wouldn’t feel like a traditional circus. That’s the point, we need to take this preconceived idea and evolve it into a new idea that doesn’t involve innocent animals being abused and starved for an hour “enjoyment” for us humans. Taking exotic animals for personal gain is unethical and immoral, until we evolve and take this more personally we might see extinction rates rise quicker than usual. Extinction of animals is far worse than the idea of animal free circuses.