The Art of Rhetoric: Persuasive Techniques in Advertising Ethos, Logos, Pathos

Introduction Where do you encounter advertising? What specific advertisements “stick in your head?” What makes these advertisements memorable? Do you think advertisements have an effect on your personal interests?

What Advertisers Do Advertisers carefully construct their ads to make them memorable & appealing to consumers (music, catchy slogans, celebrity appearances, appeal of the product, etc.). The ways they try to convince us, the consumers, to buy products is similar to the ways of persuasive writing.

One of Ms. Newton’s Favorite Ads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yql TMvp8

How They’re Manipulating Us What made that commercial endearing? What company was the commercial for? What does the company do? Hmm…. Let’s look at the background behind how advertisers convince us to buy their products.

Background Video http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom- resources/lesson-plans/video/persuasive- techniques-advertising-1166.html

Pathos = Emotion To make the audience FEEL something about what is presented to it (children, animals, illness, memories, etc. “tugs at your heart strings”) Positive emotion: an image of people enjoying themselves while drinking Pepsi Negative emotion: a person having back problems after buying the “wrong mattress” Fear/Guilt: images of starving children persuade you to send money to charity

Logos: Evidence & Statistics Logos = logic To make the audience THINK about what is presented to it (statistics, facts, authorities, etc.; very straight-forward & not “fluff”) Has a very scientific, factual approach One glass of Florida orange juice contains 75% of your daily Vitamin C needs Nine out of ten dentists agree that Crest is better than any other brand.

Ethos: Credible, Reliable, Honest Ethos: Ethics To make the audience decide RIGHT or WRONG about what is being presented to it (political issues, national beliefs, religious issues, etc.) Typically has contrasting colors symbolizing the differences between good & evil American dieters choose Lean Cuisine. Catherine Zeta-Jones makes us want to switch to T-mobile.

Can Advertisements Have More Than One Appeal? Yes! The more appeals used in an advertisement the more likely the consumer is to connect with it (and ultimately buy it).

Pathos, Logos or Ethos? A child is shown covered in bug bites after using an inferior bug spray. Tiger Woods endorses Nike. Sprite Zero is 100% sugar free.

Pathos, Logos or Ethos? A 32-oz. bottle of Tide holds enough to wash 32 loads. A commercial shows an image of a happy couple riding in a Corvette. Cardiologists recommend Ecotrin more than any other brand of aspirin.

Pathos, Logos, or Ethos? Advil Liquid-Gels provide up to 8 hours of continuous pain relief. Miley Cyrus appears in Oreo advertisements. People who need more energy drink Red Bull Energy Drinks. A magazine ad shows people smiling while smoking cigarettes.

Demographics What does “demographics” mean? Why do advertising agencies worry about demographics? Ad agencies see us as members of groups that tend to believe, behave, or purchase in certain patterns…NOT as individuals. Quickly define your demographic by completing the Demographics: Who Are You handout.

Networks At times, entire networks (shows & commercials) are created & geared toward a certain demographic. Consider who the following appeal to: Lifetime: Television for Women Spike or Tru TV BET Food Network/HGTV Cartoon Network

Prezi: Ad Logic Using a Prezi format, we are going to watch some advertisements from You Tube & analyze them. Answer the questions on your Ad Logic: Analyzing TV Commercials handout as we view the various commercials.

Commercial Dig At some point before class Thursday, watch a TV show & keep track of eight ads during that show (or watch ads on YouTube). Do not change the channel. Follow the directions on the handout. We’ll talk about what you saw Thursday in class.

Homework During class tomorrow, part of what we’re going to do is analyze print advertisements. Bring in a copy of a print ad (like what you’d see in a magazine). Please make sure it’s school appropriate (if in doubt, don’t bring it).