A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Canadian Food Board Advertisement

World War I Food Shortage

Canadian’s involvement in World War I had an extremely negative influence on the country’s agricultural output. After the draft, the number of laborers involved in the rural economy decreased drastically, causing a consequential drop in harvest production (Imperial War Museum). This affected not only the nation’s food surplus, but the entire army’s source of nutrition which could ultimately affect the chances of being successful during combat. Experiencing this hardship, an organization was created to address the issue - the Canada Food Board (Imperial War Museum). The organization’s overall goal was to persuade civilians to practice subsistence farming and to discourage any unnecessary “hoarding” (Imperial War Museum). In efforts to inform Canadians, the organization had created a series of advertisements. However, this Canada Food Board advertisement, in particular, satisfyingly appealed to the Canadian citizens by efficiently utilizing the usage of color, scenery and two rhetorical strategies – ethos and pathos.

Through employing specific color techniques, the poster

The serious-faced soldier did make the subject seem quite important; however, it is the actual text and the imagery together that productively created the emotional (pathos) appeal of the poster. The Canada Food Board’s goal in using this quote was to create a sympathetic approach whenever analyzing the poster. When it comes to the audience, “citizens” has been mentioned frequently. The soldiers that were drafted, more than likely, had friends and family. The people, or “citizens”, that remained in Canada were more than likely related to a soldier in some shape or form – so, whenever the quote mentioned anything that could possibly help minimize the amount of pain or suffering that their loved one, the ad became quite more