TOW #10 - Animals are not Clowns by Acção Animal and LPDA

"ANIMALS ARE NOT CLOWNS. Roll up, roll up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls for the crack of the whip against the animal's stinging wounds. A big round of applause for the flaming hoops, the injuries, and the electric shocks. Come and see the famed number of cages and tightly binding chains allowing no escape from endless training sessions. Laugh, applaud and join in with the repetetive choreographed routines typical of depressed animals under great stress. All the fun of the circus travelling from city to city exhibiting animals as human caricatures. Clowning around that's no fun at all." Source: www.webneel.com

                                                                     

                In Acção Animal and LPDA's advertisement, a lion with a clown makeup could be seen behind the cage bars. On the side, there is a text that says "ANIMALS ARE NOT CLOWNS" and explains the atrocities against animals in circuses. The intention of the poster's creator is clear: to prevent circus and other organizations from abusing animals. The audience, consisting of people who know the experience of a circus, would be well aware of the animals that are used in dangerous stunts and would be willing to look at this situation from the animals' perspective. This advertisement is very effective because of the juxtaposition of the picture and the satirical tone of the text. The lion's happy looking clown makeup goes against the sad expression of the lion, the bars of the cage, and the stark, dark background, ultimately creating the effect that the element of happiness is artificial. The creator of this advertisement uses a tone similar to a ringmaster's, except with a use of satire in order to mock the people who enjoy seeing animals suffering and the people who cruelly trains the animals. "A big round of applause for the flaming hoops, the injuries, and the electric shocks" shows how these torturous actions had become a form of people's entertainments. Because people "Laugh, applaud and join in with the repetitive choreographed routines typical of depressed animals under great stress," this makes humans look no better than the tamed beasts suffering from their masters. As if this isn't bad enough, the creator of the advertisement refers the animals as "human caricatures," implying that they aren't worthy enough to be even treated as living, breathing creatures. I personally believe that the advertisement strikes its message into the audience's hearts effectively because of the creative use of the picture and the text.