Friday, January 27, 2012

Image for Rhetorical Analysis


Thesis Statement
By using emotional appeal, considerably attractive models, and the strategic placement of key text, the author successfully persuades the reader through all three aspects of rhetorical appeal, pathos, ethos, and logos, that Bud Light is the premiere choice in alcoholic beverages.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Thesis Statements for Three Advertisements


Figure 1

By using emotional appeal, considerably attractive models, and the strategic placement of key text, the author successfully persuades the reader through all three aspects of rhetorical appeal, pathos, ethos, and logos, that Bud Light is the correct choice in alcoholic beverages.


Figure 2

Logos, pathos, and ethos are all utilized to perfection in this advertisement through the persuading text, general envy of superpowers, and credibility of a superhero to convince the reader to purchase the product.



Figure 3

Michael Jordan is used as a backdrop to create an advertisement that uses logos, pathos, and ethos through  logical fallacies, the desire to be an elite athlete, and the credibility of the greatest NBA player of all time to remind athletes of the importance of drinking Gatorade.


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

My Daily Advertisement Encounters

My day starts no different from anyone else's. I awake from the blaring alarm and lazily shuffle my feet into the bathroom to take a shower. You would think up to this point that I had not experienced the power of advertising yet. You are wrong. On the way to the bathroom, signs are posted all over the walls of the dorm halls. They talk about the terrors of drinking alcohol, using drugs, and being noisy during quiet hours. I would say that these have little to no rhetorical impact on me. I see them everyday and quiet frankly, I do not believe them so I don't exactly live my life based on these scrappy looking pieces of paper. After my shower, I get dressed and turn on SportsCenter on ESPN. This is where advertising does implicitly impact me. Because advertisers know that mostly men watch this program, I see the same types of commercials everyday. I see ads for Old Spice, Nike, Under Armour, beer, soda, etc. I may not explicitly say to myself, "Wow I need to buy these products," but its safe to say that they do impact me. Looking in my closet you will find many Under Armour and Nike tees, Nike shoes, Nike shorts, and Old Spice deodorant and body wash. I believe that I think back to the advertisements when choosing which product I am going to buy. While standing in the aisle picking which deodorant I want to buy, I subconsciously think back to the Old Spice ads of the guy in constantly changing scenery and riding horses backwards. I like that ad, so I buy the product. Walking to class, I see posters everywhere telling me that I should join the drama club, or a fraternity, or telling me how I can get a job. Again, I immediately disregard these as I see so many each day that I don't even read them anymore. I think that everyone, myself included, is most impacted by television ads. They are repeated, funny, and most importantly, memorable.