Email Response to PETA Ads
by Maria Alejandra Contreras
Rationale:
We analyzed different forms of persuasive non literary texts in class;
such as PETA ads, donate life ads, and some speeches. For this task we had to
answer to one of these texts. I chose to respond to PETA advertisements
regarding animal rights, abuse and mistreatment in a formal email. To do this,
I decided to write as a professional on Marketing Management because it would
make sense that a person in that field would comment on the persuasive
strategies being used by this organization. The email will be targeted towards
peta employees. Given I'm writing an email, I will use conventions that
correspond to my text type such as “From” and “To”, also a subject line,
greetings and a closing.
My purpose will be to provide a neutral perspective on how well their ads
communicate a message and what peta could do to communicate more effectively.
In order to show my neutrality I will talk about the strengths and weaknesses
of these ads which is why I will employ a cautionary tone occasionally to warn
peta about the negative effects their ads might have and also an encouraging tone to highlight their
strengths. I will use specifics from the advertisements to show my
understanding of the ads. I will also use persuasive features such as parallel
structures to highlight important points. I will use formal language in order
to s
To: peta@gmail.com
from: m.contreras....@.....com
Subject: Personal opinion on your advertisements.
Dear PETA,
The purpose of this email is to make some comments on your advertisements but before I do that, I'd like to start by introducing myself. My name is Alejandra Contreras, I have a Bachelor's degree in Marketing Management, and I've worked with cosmetic brands and activist brands. This is why I'd like to offer you my opinion about your ads and how you can more efficiently deliver the message.
Firstly, I have to say that conscientizing people and teaching them to
treat animals ethically is a crucial value that should be instilled in people,
and that spreading awareness about the cruel deaths animals have to suffer in
order to fulfill human desires is necessary, so I appreciate you doing that. I
like the approach you take to do this, and the focus you give to
advertisements.
In particular, I want to highlight the ad “I Am Not a School
Experiment”; putting humans in the animals' shoes and the irony of a human being
dissected in the table instead of an animal makes us sympathize wit
I also think that having celebrities such as Noah Cyrus starring in your
advertisements is a very clever selling strategy, because it will get the
message across to more people, as it will appeal to young audiences and turn
their attention to more important issues such as consumerism and the expense of
using and acquiring animal products, which I consider is essential given the
significance of their support and the weight they add to political and ethical
matters such as this one. It is them who nowadays move the masses and who have
the power of virilizing information, it is them who are in
I do think that appealing to the emotions of the audience by making
references to historic events that affected humanity on such a scale like the
Holocaust and Nazism did, makes people notice that creating a perfect race is
equally wrong for humans and animals. Consequently though, alluding to such
tragic events might make the situation seem overly depressing. It might also
look insensitive from the perspective of viewers who might’ve lived through the
holocaust or had relatives that died because of it, as they might think you are
trivializing the holocaust.
In addition, it is important to acknowledge that the content of the ads, such as “I am not a school experiment”, “Animal testing kills” and “Wearing Exotic Skins Kills “, is quite explicit and thus might mislead the reader, bringing more attention to the model’s body rather than the than the problems surrounding animal cruelty. This is important to take in consideration because the nudity in your advertisements could promote sexualization of women and exacerbate one problem in the attempt of solving another.
Not only might gory content confuse your audience, but it also might
scare them. The comparison with zombies might as well appear over-dramatized
given that the ads imply people are an enemy of some sort, willing to destroy
everything. The dehumanization you present could be offensive and your audience
might argue that PETA shames them for eating meat. Thus, by shaming their diet
you might make them even more reluctant to change it.
Given that most people are taught to eat meat and animal products since they are born, it would be unfair to blame and antagonize them for consuming what they have always been used to. Therefore, I would say that instead of focusing on carnism, you should focus on veganism and providing clarification of what it entails. A good starting point would be explaining that veganism doesn't only mean abstinence from eating meat but also making conscious decisions when buying clothes and choosing to replace materials that derive from animals.
I would conclude by advising you to take a lighter approach at the
moment of trying to create consciousness. When convincing people to turn vegan,
try using a more persuasive rather than imperative tone. You can achieve this
by presenting eating vegan as an alternative, ONE OF MANY that exist. Try to be
understanding and consider that for many, meals devoid of animal products might
be unsustainable and therefore attempting to impose a sudden change on your
audience probably won't be
Sincerely,
María Alejandra Contreras.
Bibliography:
Rhetorical Analysis of PETA
Advertisement Free Essay Example. (2021,
December 30). StudyMoose. https://studymoose.com/rhetorical-analysis-of-peta-advertisement-essay
Hunt, B., & Lindquist, K. (2018, December 16). The Hidden Dangers of the Vegan Movement -
Ethical Omnivore. Ethical Omnivore. https://www.ethicalomnivore.org/dangers-of-vegan-movement/
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