Ethos In Advertising Campaigns

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the methods of persuasion that are used in this commercial, and how the use of ethos, pathos, and logos has made the commercial from ASPCA persuasive and successful.

The application of logos, ethos, and pathos are commonly utilized in rhetorical concepts that are used in any print advertisement to win the attention of the customer. They primarily is to convince the customer of the credibility of the persuader as well as creating an emotional response as well as trying to persuade an audience by reason. Print advertisement should be smart, containing a clever message, and with a curious image that will fascinate the thought of the expected readers at first-hand. For any advertising print to be credible and captivating there must be examples of evidence that whatever is displayed on the print is legitimate.

Television advertisements have been a part of pop culture for years, these quick minute long clips gain the popularity of its viewers through humor, shock, or simply good salesmanship. The ShamWow infomercial has become one the most well known television ads in America. Its popularity came from its snappy dialogue, believable offer, and enthusiastic spokesman. But what made this infomercial so successful? Today I will be analyzing how the ineffective use of the appeals of ethos and kairos, and the highly effective appeal of logos and pathos effect the audience in the ShamWow commercial.

Rhetorical analysis of 7-Up ad 1957 “Youngest Customers in the Business” reads an ad from the Ladies’ Home Journal magazine, published in 1955. Even though the headline might be a bit odd, a person might consider the context and understand why the ad was believable. The 1950s were known to use little kids in print ads. In the ad, 7-Up appeals to reader’s emotions, especially mothers would pause to see what the baby was drinking and if it could benefit them. The advertisement utilizes the three rhetorical appeals of pathos, logos, and ethos through its image and implied meanings, through this, the image is able to convey a vivid sense of nutritional value from drinking a 7-Up.

Logos, ethos, and pathos are essential components used in advertising. By learning to recognize logos, ethos, and pathos in advertising, we are able to understand the message and what is being portrayed. (Albert et al, 2014), suggested that Aristotle postulated that a speaker’s ability to effectively convince an audience is constructed on how well the speaker appeals to that audience in three different areas: logos, ethos, and pathos. These appeals together form what Aristotle calls a rhetorical triangle.

Advertisements are everywhere. From billboards, to magazines, to newspapers, flyers and TV commercials, chances are that you won’t go a day without observing some sort of ad. In most cases, companies use these ads as persuasive tools, deploying rhetorical appeals—logos, pathos, and ethos—to move their audiences to think or act in a certain way. The two magazine ads featured here, both endorsing Pedigree products, serve as excellent examples of how these modes of persuasion are strategically used.

What captures the attention of people when they view an advertisement, commercial or poster? Is it the colors, a captivating phrase or the people pictured? While these are some of the elements often employed in advertising, we can look deeper and analyze the types of appeals that are utilized to draw attention to certain advertisements. The persuasive methods used can be classified into three modes. These modes are pathos, logos, and ethos. Pathos makes an appeal to emotions, logos appeals to logic or reason and ethos makes an appeal of character or credibility. Each appeal can give support to the message that is being promoted.

In this rhetorical analysis, the value of uniqueness and the use of flavors are expressed in an ad by Dr. Pepper, a well-known and popular company. These values are found within the appeals of logos, pathos, and ethos.It also states the history of how this soft drink was created, the creator, and the year it was created. Logos is expressed when the brand states that it contains 23 flavors and also includes an image of a bottle with the number 23 as well with other phrases. Pathos is used in the ad when the company states that no other drink has these flavors, which means the drink is unique, targeting the audience and persuading them to be special and different. Lastly, ethos is used by us knowing the history behind the 23

Advertisers all have one goal in common, that is an ad that is catching to a consumer’s attention. In today’s fast paced society there are so many selling products and charities. As I exam the advertisement for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty for Animals (ASPCA), I will show how they use the pathos, ethos, and logos – also known as Aristotle’s Theory of Persuasion.

The main purpose of commercials and advertisements is to persuade the viewer to purchase the product that is advertised, but not all commercials are successful in this endeavor. Companies, such as Budweiser and Kleenex, appeal to the viewers’ ethos, logos, and pathos in order to influence them to buy the advertised product(s). In order to appeal to each of the categories, companies use different tactics to catch viewers’ attention. The use of ethos, logos, and pathos can make or break an advertisement based on how it is being used.

Another woman brings up to a little girl how smoking can increase your risk of aging. This advertisement shows logos into play. Logos is shown when it is stating the reasoning on why children should not start smoking. Pathos is also shown when the adults state the reason why one should not pick up a cigarette. The different kind of effects creates a sense of fear and avoidance of the product.

Nowadays, commercial is becoming a major part of mass media. It does not only try to inform people about the availability and attractiveness of industrial good productions but also contribute to build an awareness of resources and alternatives for customer in daily life. There are thousands of commercials, so to attract customer, advertisers use various kinds on their commercial to make people aware of the firm's products, services or brands. Though they use various kinds on the commercial, the main goal of advertising tries to convince customer to buy their products, or do what they want. An excellent commercial will create a deep impression on their customers, or who want to become their customers by using three classical appeals:

Pathos is the main rhetorical device used throughout this commercial. Pathos is a quality that evokes emotions. It all begins with the puppy coming out from under the hay and the audience falling in love. Pathos is then used to tug on emotions when the puppy gets lost in the back of the truck. We soon see the emotion of the owner, but also the horse. Then we see the puppy all alone in the rain trying to take shelter. Towards the end, the puppy tries to find a home, but gets himself in trouble with the wolf. We then see the ending, we want, we see the puppy is saved and returns home to end the commercial with the owner enjoying a Budweiser. Throughout this commercial pathos creates a sense of happiness, pride, worry, and then happiness all over

During this very typical, day in the life, I never realized how much effort it would take to process the copious amounts of advertising that is present in my surroundings. This effort that includes: noticing an ad, processing the ad in my brain, and taking note of its existence was, at some moments, very hard to keep up. Not to mention, while I was conducting this ethnography I had the constant debate of, “does this count as an ad?” For instance, when I was riding public transportation, if a person was wearing a Nike sweatshirt, I initially questioned, “does that count as a form of advertising?” Furthermore, during my crowded commute on public transportation, I felt that even when I was merely looking out the window, the influx of advertisements

When an advertiser places one of their advertisements into a newspaper, they want their advertisement to appeal to the readers of that particular magazine. They could have the exact same message, but considering their audience, they could make it more effective if they use a different strategy to market their product. This is very common for advertising strategies to change when the content of the magazine changes. You can relate the way that the magazine producers choose their ads by when Steve Craig says that "…program producers and schedulers must consider the target audience needs of their clients" (162). The types of advertisements are driven by the content of the magazine. Sports Illustrated provides a