Visual Rhetoric: Environmental Ad

This advertisement for Greenpeace is a picture of bottles and trash in the ocean depicting a school of fish and a banner with a slogan saying "the greatest wonder of the sea is that it's still alive." This ad is portraying the negative effects that pollution has on the environment and the ocean in particular. The organization behind this ad used a beautiful picture of the ocean floor, but substituted a school of fish for a ton of trash. The picture initially gets the attention of the public because the picture shows how gorgeous the ocean can be, but it also shows how much it is polluted on a daily basis. The sea is such an interesting part of our world that holds many mysteries, which is why the slogan makes perfect sense. It is basically stating how amazing it is that the ocean is still functioning and producing such magnificent scenery when there is so much pollution taking place every day. I think this ad gives people a visual perspective on how much water pollution actually goes on throughout the world. Each year, plastic waste in water and coastal areas kills up to 10,000 marine mammals, 1,000 sea birds, and countless fish (Grinningplanet.com). Notice how Greenpeace did not show any sea animals or fish because they are trying to show people that they will no longer exist if we do not stop polluting the ocean with waste.