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David Racster
Professor DiSarro
English 103
7 December 2010
Blood Donating is the most Priceless Contribution
MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING. It seems like this interesting statement goes against
what almost everyone in today’s society
thinks. Besides what most the world may
believe, things can be done without the
use of money. I think that this declaration
may attract people who aren’t blessed with
being wealthy, but yet they still want to
help out in someway. This ad is trying to
influence those people to understand that
even if you aren’t able to donate your own
money to charities or fundraising activities, then donating your blood is just as good, if not
better. Nothing in this world is more valuable than a person’s life, so what more could one do to
help than to donate blood?
After leaving those three words, eyes get drawn to the blood that is in a Unicef container.
The creator of this well-developed image is stated as The Australian Red Cross and by looking at this
picture, it’s easily seen that they stay away from the actual procedure that one must go through to donate
blood. I feel as if it is trying to show that it’s as easy as putting change into a change box as it is to help
save lives. Of course, in reality it’s not that effortless, but by donating a little amount of one’s time and

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unnecessary blood, lives can be saved. The process of donating blood isn’t difficult and anyone can
contribute as long as they are the age of 17 or older, depending on the state.
The first step is to find the closest donor center and set up an appointment. Then, on the
donation date, one must have had plenty to eat and drink prior and fill out a questionnaire along
with proof of identification. A confidential interview is next where the questionnaire is talked
about in more depth, weight and blood pressure are recorded, and the haemoglobin level is taken.
Now, the actual donation takes place for however long it takes to get the necessary pint. After up
to three lives have been saved, one is told to wait in the refreshment area for 15-20 minutes
before leaving. A donor is then told to wait 12 weeks to schedule their next appointment. This
just shows how easy it is to start helping out others without the use of money or physical labor.
(Australian Red Cross: Blood Service 32)
The dark, thick blood that’s shown in the visual makes the audience take another look at
the ad and its’ seriousness. People don’t normally see blood being used in that many
advertisements. This is usually because blood is a depressing concept, though I feel as if it
helped get their point across in being so blunt. The Unicef box is less than half way full and for
a good reason. I think that the communicator is trying to get across to the audience that they
have donators, but are still in need and always will be. Another key detail the author purposely
did was making the background blurry. This allows the viewers eyes’ to focus on the Logos
entirely. Because of this little adjustment, I came to realize that the dominant rhetorical appeal
Logos. It ensures that the main focus is the container and what it is portraying. “Save up to
three lives without spending a cent. Call 131495 or visit donateblood.com.au” is the contact
information that’s given. It isn’t too much information or too little, but just enough for an
inexperienced observer to know and have the resources needed to get a hold of the organization

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and help. The effectiveness of this photo is more than evident; it did a swell job in making the
focus be on the donation box.
There aren’t much dominant colors in this advertisement except for two very important
things, the liquid blood and the Red Cross logo. These two details were deliberately done to get
their main point across to the viewers, donating blood. The Red Cross is the organization
responsible for this ad, along with making the world aware of donating blood, and many other
important obligations. In reality, The “Red Cross” doesn’t exist but is known as, “The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)”, and was thought of in 1868 by a young
Swiss man named Henry Duntant. Instead of calling it such a long name it adopted the name
The Red Cross by people everywhere in casual conversation. Duntant came up with the idea
when he came upon a scene of a bloody battle in Italy. There were over 40,000 dead and
wounded soldiers lying helpless waiting for medical assistance and he knew he had to try and do
something. Though, The Red Cross essentially didn’t come together until 1863 when Dunant and
four other Geneva men, set up the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, later to
become the International Committee of the Red Cross. Its emblem was a red cross on top of a
plain white background. There isn’t much imagination in this worldwide symbol because it
comes from the inverse of the Swiss flag. After a few years, 12 other governments adopted this
incredible idea as well. The history of the organization of The Red Cross gives the viewer
knowledge about why, who, and what their about, especially for uninformed people.
(International Federation of Red Cross 5)
I feel that there is not much in this advertisement that has not been pointed out. I’ve gone
through the Ethos, Logos, and Pathos thoroughly enough, which proves the there was enough
information shown to considerately analyze this photo. What one must actually go through to

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donate and how this organization originated were even explained. Since the author is an
international organization the credibility is apparent.

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Work Cited
Australian Red Cross: Blood Service. “ What To Expect” Australian Red Cross. 23 October
2010. Web. 2006.
http://web.archive.org/web/20070829035341/http://donateblood.com.au/page.a
spx?IDDataTreeMenu=45&parent=31
International Federation of Red Cross. “ Who We Are” International Federation of Red
Cross.
20 October 2010. Web. January 2005. http://www.ifrc.org/who/history.asp?
navid=03_09