Palmer1

Claire Palmer
Professor Pamela Reed
Composition 1
4 October 2015
Wheres the image? The image needs to be added as an attachment. You
have analyzed the parts of the image, now specifically address all of the
invention questions in the assignment requirement in Blackboard, I have
included them below. Also, look for areas that are confusing and clarify the
language.
1.

What is the source?

2.

What position on the issue does the object imply?

3.

To what audience is the object directed?

4.

What strategies are being used to persuade the audience?

5.

What are the assumed values and goals of the audience?

6.

What was your initial reaction to the object?

7.

Do you think it is successful? Why or why not?

8.

What sensory details such as color, shape, smell, taste, statistics,

or charts help the audience better understand the issue?

FA*E

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Take steroids. Get caught. Become one. This advertisement was
created by the United State Olympic Committee (USCO) and the Ad council
to raise public awareness about illegal use of performance enhancing drugs
in the sport world today. The viewer is instantly drawn to the bright red
asterisk that is the committees main logo. The logo forces an opinion upon
the viewer based off of how the advertisement was arranged and presented.
The viewer is then able to create an opinion in which they developed from
what was presented in front of them. In order for it to portray the negative
affectseffects of performance enhancement drugs, the composer effectively
used placement, font, and color to establish that performance enhancing
drugs are not the way to excel in the athletic world. No matter the position
athletes may be in, steroids will never be the answer.
At first glance, the viewer is immediately drawn into the bolded word
fake with the letter k as an asterisk centered perfectly in the middle of the
advertisement. The word not only takes up most of the advertisement, but
also accumulates more perception from the viewers. Placement plays a key
role in the involvement of what the composer is trying to get across to the
viewer of society. In this instance, the word fake is the target that draws
the viewer in so the rest of the advertisement is read. A person may ask
themselves, who is fake, what is fake, or am I considered fake, when coming
across this advertisement. The asterisk allows the viewer to form their own
option. An asterisk is usually used in a negative aspect, for instance when
saying a curse word, or hiding something that shouldnt be seen by the

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naked eye. As a viewer gets closer to the poster, to simply try to figure out
what the asterisk is emphasizing, they then come across in smaller font
which states the message. Take steroids. Get caught. Become one. This
portrays the meaning behind the poster. The viewer then not only knows the
topic discussed by the advertisement, but formulates their judgment on what
they think of steroids and what is considered fake when it comes to steroids.
The way a message comes across is also affected by the font used.
Font affects our message. For example, the font of the Olympic Committee
Ad used bold letters to generate a want from the viewer to read more of the
advertisement. It not only drew the reader in, but it established a curiosity in
the viewers head. As the bold and larger letters of the word fake launched
a connection between true athletes and cheaters, the rest of the words
stated that same seriousness from the font picked from the composer. These
words were smaller to get the viewer to focus on the importance of the
words, what they were connected to in the first place, and the meaning
behind each individual phrase. If one takes steroids one will eventually get
caught, and once one gets caught one becomes one more statistic, one more
cheater, one more regular outcome.
Color guides readers. In this instance, red, which is consisted a warm
color advance was used as an asterisk to symbolize something of warning; to
not be apart of what ever athlete seems to be doing and that is taking
performance enhancement drugs. According to Everyones an author, the
color read creates, an effect of simplicity and directness, (Everyones and

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Author 574). In this case using red not only catches the viewers eye but
show importance of the message. The neutral color black holds the
background of the advertisement to make the red asterisk stand out even
more. The fact that the background is black and the writing of fake is in
white, allows the reader to distinctly see the message. White is considered to
associated with innocence and youth which creates irony, because once
these drugs are used it takes the innocence out of the person. In other
cultures, white is associated with death, symbolizing that these drugs can
have consequences that can be fatal (Everyones and Author).
The advertisement is complex even though it holds few elements. It
clearly reveals to the viewers that performance enhancement drugs are not
the route athletes should take. The massage is simple, but it gets the point
across that taking performance enhancement drugs will only cause you to
cheat yourself. It reveals this by using the elements of placement, font and
color to distinguish the meaning behind the advertisement.

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Works Cited

"Dontbeanasterisk.com US Olympic Team - Colorado Springs, - Topwebdata." Topwebdata.com.

United States Olympic Committee, 2000. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Lunsford, Andrea; Ede, Lisa; Moss, Beverly J.; Papper, Carole Clark; Walters, Keith, Andrea, Lisa Ede,
Beverly Moss, Carole Papper, and Keith Walters. Everyone's an Author. W.W. Norton Co. Inc.
2013.: n.p., n.d. Print.