The WWF (world wildlife fund) has several advertisements that apply the fear appeal. All their ads are very catchy and out of the ordinary which draws the readers in. This organization focuses on saving the animals and our planet, which seems to be put on the backburner these days. Having these dramatic and fearful advertisements makes people think twice about recycling or polluting. The organization lets the photo speak for itself since they only have a slogan and their logo small in the corner.
The fear appeal is used well on all their advertisements because they associate all the negative things that happen when people do not take care of our planet such as sea turtles becoming extinct, climate problems, and cutting down trees. The purpose of these advertisements create buzz and attention then provide them with a solution; which in this case is to take action and stand up for their cause by either giving money or changing your own personal ways or spreading awareness about their cause. While the fear appeal works well in this case, some fear appeals can make viewers intimated or disgusted to look at their ads. I know personally looking at some health ads make me want to be sick. I seem to always end up thinking about how disgusting the ad is and lose focus of the companies message. I think the WWF had enough fear, but not too much where the viewer isn’t going to pay attention to the message.
Here is a link to lots of WWF ads.
http://speckyboy.com/2009/04/16/55-inspiring-creative-and-potent-ads-from-the-wwf/
– Brittany Smith