TOW #25 – “Black and Blue” by The Salvation Army

                At a time where there was much controversy over the color of the dress, The Salvation Army takes advantage of its popularity in order to raise awareness among an older audience able to understand as well as comprehend the issue at hand here and hopefully combat abuse toward women.

While the joke usually lies in the dress’s color itself, The Salvation Army uses the colors in their own small parody of the entire thing that sends a surprisingly powerful message. Considering how light-hearted—although some people grew very adamant over what they saw—the argument was over the dress, no one would usually expect to see it used for a serious concept such as abuse. It makes the impact of the shock more intense as well when we factor in the fact that the dress was actually proven to be sold in black and blue despite many people claiming it to be white and gold, so while our attention may initially be drawn to the dress under the assumption of that’s what the text refers to, it is actually the bruises the viewer begins to notice afterward instead.

The smaller text beneath it implies an underlying problem as well: that many women who are victims of abuse choose to be in that sort of relationship. The dress’s color being perceived as white and gold was considered an illusion, and so The Salvation Army parallels this with their own agenda by referring to a myth in which women choose to stay in an abuse relationship as an illusion as well. The delivery is intentionally blunt and direct, and the result is an overall sense of surprise for the viewer followed by what may be considered a small wake up call. The text at the bottom serves as a call to action after the viewer has most likely taken in the other aspects of the picture. It attempts to help people realize they can make the first step in changing this sort of situation whether they personally know someone dealing with it, or they are in one themselves.

Overall, the play on words in order to deliver a deeper message so directly appears well done, especially with the way The Salvation Army used a widespread idea to its advantage.