The Domestic Abuse Wedding Advetisment

• The “ad” begins with a wide camera shot of a loving couple in a church getting married, with family and friends supporting them. There are colorful flowers decorating the church’s benches, making the scenery romantic and inviting.

• Once the vows begin, the camera angle zooms up on the bride and groom’s faces as they look into each other’s eyes with passion. The couple maintains eye contact which symbolizes the deep connection the couple has made together over time.

• Next, the camera turns the opposite direction and focuses on the parents/grandparents of either the bride or the groom. The elderly couple is smiling, honored to partake in the ceremony combining two families. The parents/grandparents are proud of the couple in front of them.

• As the sacred vows continue, the couple continues the intimate eye contact. The groom gently strokes his bride’s hand to comfort her and show affection as she continues her vows.

• The wedding scene in the “ad” doesn’t seem anything out of the ordinary… if you’re viewing the “ad” silently. However, once the commercial is viewed with sound, the entire dynamic of the situation drastically changes. The commercial isn’t portraying a loving, healthy relationship. The bride begins the vows with “I vow to make excuses when you humiliate me in public”. This sets the unusual tone for the video, having the audience wonder “Why would the bride say something like that?” The audience is now informed that there’s a huge problem in the couple’s relationship.

•  The bride continues her vows by saying “…forsake my friends and family when you isolate me, to devalue myself less when you belittle me. I vow to blame myself when you hit me and to fear for my safety and the safety of our children till death do us part”.
• It’s counterintuitive to think of a wedding in a church, a sacred place, as a place to conduct a ceremony for an abusive relationship. Weddings that take place in churches are filled with affection and warmth, not anguish and distress, shown through the words of the woman’s wedding vows.
•  I analyzed the video and concluded the bride’s vows in several different ways. The bride may have experienced abuse by her partner before and thought things would change for the better once they’re married. The bride may have also been thinking the words in her mind but the commercial told us her inner thoughts. The bride may actually love her partner but ignored the early warning signs of abuse and the vows foreshadow her depressing future.

• There are many ways to interrupt the Ad Council video on domestic violence. Regardless of which way you interrupt the domestic abuse scenario, there’s a powerful message at the end. It’s important to remember that things aren’t always as they seem. At the end of the commercial, the voiceover tells the audience not to ignore domestic abuse. The idea of “ignoring” the ‘red flags’ of domestic abuse fits symbolically with the video, considering the audience may have “ignored” the signs if they viewed the clip silently. The voiceover also says “speak now” referring to the audience speaking up about abuse at the end of the commercial. However, the video neglects to say “…or forever hold your peace,” which is an important part of wedding vows. The video is proving the point that a person in an abusive relationship doesn’t have to “forever hold their peace.” The message is to find help and end an abusive relationship, not to forever suffer through it.

• The couple in the “ad” looked happy on the outside to all their friends and family, but the audience knows that’s not the truth once the vows are stated. The video also displays the idea that “things aren’t always as they seem” perfectly by having the couple look happy the entire time at the wedding. The audience wouldn’t of viewed the couple with suspicion of an abusive relationship if the sound wasn’t attached to the commercial.

Domestic Abuse Wedding Video