Persuasive Art

‘Lord Kitchener Wants You’ Recruitment Poster – Alfred Leete

This image is a perfect example of persuasive art. This poster was created to recruit men for World War I and it has been said that it was so successful in doing so because of the way Kitchener’s eyes and pointing finger followed you as you would look at the poster. Also, the word ‘YOU’ is the first piece of text you see when looking at the poster which made men feel that Lord Kitchener himself was personally asking for help from these men, therefore creating a very powerful and effective image.

“The typography in this poster is rather undistinguished, as an electric variety of bold display type delivers its message, if nothing more” – Graphic Design: A New History

‘Uncle Same Wants You’ Recruitment Poster – James Montgomery Flagg

As you can from the image above this poster is an American take on Lord Kitchener’s appeal. If you try to compare them both you can see how much more modern the ‘Uncle Sam’ version is. Also the red, white and blue colours in the ‘Uncle Sam’ image represents the United States as well as making it look more appealing.