The ONE Campaign Message and Spokespeople

Today I got a personalized email from the one and only famous actor Colin Farrell urging me to support ONE's new campaign on hunger and poverty. He began reminding me of the last time he emailed me, when he was bringing attention to an earlier ONE campaign on famine. His message was simple, take the one easy step of clicking the link in the email to add your name to the petition that would be sent to world leaders, urging them to implement "a bold global plan to ensure 50 million people escape poverty through agriculture and 15 million children no longer endure chronic malnutrition." After clicking the link, I was re-directed to the website to learn more about the campaign and view the numbers of others who have signed and shared this petition. The email was signed by Colin, specifically as a ONE member and not referring to his movie star status.

These different rhetorical uses reminded me of some of the strategies that were mentioned in our reading of "Making the News" by Jason Salzman. Salzman mentions that it is important to "figure out the words, images, and phrases that will communicate most effectively to your target audience [and] which spokespeople your audience will believe. In the case of the ONE campaign, having Colin Farrell send me a customized message definitely caught my attention and his use of words and rhetorical strategies made me relate with him and the cause he was advocating. By referring to himself as a ONE member, made me feel that we had something in common and I wanted to take action like he did. He also supports his credibility on the subject by reminding us that he has supported similar campaigns in the past. ONE did a great job effectively communicating this message to ONE Members and it seems to be a success because over 72,000 people have signed this petition for this new campaign as of right now.

Another strategy Salzman suggests using is keeping in simple and identifying "one central message." It is easy to see Farrell's message in the email although they could have displayed the message into one phrase like Salzman suggests. The new campaign is called "Thrive" and after hearing what the campaign is about, it is easy to see why the word "Thrive" is a great representation of the thriving and sustainable global agriculture plan that they are advocating for. It would be better though, if they could simplify the entire message a little more though through a simple phrase like "End World Hunger" or "Help Feed 15 million children."

Overall, I thought this email was a great portrayal of how the ONE campaign uses spokespeople and rhetorical strategies to catch member's attention and continue creating and implemting these different campaigns.