Do Fries Kill?

Context: This is an advertisement released by the American Heart Association titled “How deadly is your diet?”
    The American Heart Association created this ad with the purpose to raise awareness but not to point fingers.  The first thing I notice was the red french fry container because the bright red really pops out compared to the background. This container is representing McDonalds due to the fact that the color and shape mockingly resembles’ the fast food chain’s fry container. Based off that idea many people would say that this ad is directly attacking McDonalds, I would say that there is more to it. McDonalds is the epitome of fast food, and when some company or individual wants to represent the fast food industry as a whole they use MacDonald’s to represent it. That is why I see the fry container as a symbol to represent the fast food industry and not a direct attack on McDonalds. The second thing that catches my attention is the bullets and how new and shiny they look. This makes me feel that the bullets were just prepared and are ready to be served to the next customer. These bullets main purpose though is to represent French fries, and how harmful fast food is to your body; which is the core concept of this ad. The AHA is trying to make you question what you are eating. This message is made even more evident with the quote on the bottom left saying “How deadly is your diet?” When I first read that, it made me think about my diet and what kind of food I put into my body. Surprisingly my initial reaction was to not blame the fast food companies and to think about all the problems their food causes. This is because the ad uses the word “your” and it really shows that you are the one that decides what food you eat. The contrast definitely plays a big part in the ad. The bright red and the shiny bullets make the middle the first place you look. The background is white and brown which emphasizes the fry container and bullets even more. Overall I see this ad is effective on making an everyday person question what they eat.