The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) composed multiple campaigns to raise awareness regarding the rapidly growing obesity epidemic. OMA is a doctor’s group that advocates for and supports the wellbeing of their members. They have a goal of transforming Ontario’s health care system. Over the last few years, there has been a growing obesity epidemic because of the increased consumption of fast food and sugary drinks which frustrates doctors and has them advocating for drastic measures to combat the issue. This campaign is putting fast food in the same category as cigarettes by emphasizing that they should have the same warning labels found on tobacco products. The campaign above shows a takeout pizza box illuminated with the image of a slimy, discolored organ and warning that “excess consumption” contributes to obesity and results in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. OMA’s purpose is to highlight the risks that come with consuming these products so that the truth will be revealed. This is an urgent situation and if the necessary steps are not taken sooner rather than later, there will great consequences.
OMA is concerned about the obesity epidemic and the negative consequences that arises with it. Their stance is to educate the audience about what “excess consumption” of pizza could do the body so that less people would eat these food-like products and rely more on actual food. The campaign is meant to educate the audience because the wordings and visuals are straightforward and easy to comprehend for the average person. The campaign is straight to the point and since it resembles the graphic warning labels found on cigarettes, the audience can see how dangerous these foods are and the risks associated with them. It is clear to the audience that this product is harmful from the campaign; even if the discolored organ was not present, it would still be explicit because of the warning label that people automatically associate with cigarettes. The colorless organ is there to shock the audience because it shows them that what they consume really does have negative consequences on their bodies even if it is not immediate.
The genre of this text is a campaign poster attempting to raise awareness about the negative relationship between ingesting fast food and the effect it has on the human body. The audience is all people since it is very common humans consume these foods more than they should be. The audience is those who consume these foods regularly and believe it is healthy, particularly in the Western world since that is where fast food is most prevalent. The campaign shows a takeout pizza box which that is one of the most common foods consumed which is why the audience is all people since even those who consider themselves healthy consume pizza occasionally. The exigence of this text is clear. The creators of this campaign wrote this because obesity is becoming a norm. More and more people are becoming obese, and doctors cannot seem to stop it. Humans have become reliant on fast food because of its convenience and price, but do not realize they are harming themselves because of all the fillers and lack of nutrition in these foods.
The organization appeals to emotions with the graphic images of the organ and hole in the foot because it disturbs people. When people eat unhealthy foods, they do not realize the effect it has on their body. Often, they eat the burger or the pizza, and then move on with their day. But seeing the colorless organ associated with the pizza, people may feel fear and realize the foods they eat can either promote disease or health. Pizza is a common staple in the Western diet. Schools give children pizza for lunch and parents grab a box of takeout pizza for dinner when they do not want to cook, and this is all perceived as normal. The campaign used words like “obesity” and “Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease” to scare the audience because these words have negative connotations associated with them since no person wants to be sick. Use of these words will cause the audience to not want to eat pizza a ton because everyone wants to be healthy.
This campaign appeals to ethics because of the OMA logo on the bottom right of the poster and their website on the bottom left. The logo shows the audience that this is coming from a credible source but also gives them their website in case they want to do more research on the background of the organization. The OMA is a well-known organization, especially in Canada because the organization represents the political, clinical, and economic interests of Ontario physicians.
There are little constraints with the campaigns. The campaign is easy to understand, and it is clear what the argument is therefore there is not much room for error. However, the authors never include better alternatives to the pizza that could potentially benefit those who want to transition into a healthier lifestyle. They could potentially include healthier alternatives to the pizza. Providing this information could help more individuals who are reluctant to changing their way of life. The creators of this campaign do not utilize logos; there is no statistics, facts, data, charts, or graphs which is a constraint.
The campaign is successful since it is clear what the authors want the audience to get from it and it is easy for them to understand. Just by looking at the campaign, any person can see the dangers of these foods, even if they had no prior knowledge on OMA and what they stand for. Overall, the campaign is very effective and can help change lives. The information presented in the campaigns is crucial because humans need to alter the way they eat now before it is too late to go back to the right way of fueling their bodies.
Works Cited Page
Ha, T. T. (2018, May 9). Junk food needs graphic warning labels similar to tobacco, Ontario doctors say. Retrieved from
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/junk-food-needs-graphic-warning-labels-similar-to-tobacco-ontario-doctors-say/article4631243/
