State Farm Commercial Analysis

Dealing with death and the emotions that come along with it is common to humans. This is especially true when it involves a parent or grandparent. In the commercial, the woman is having to deal with her ill father who is bedridden. This is an event most will have to go through once in their lives and letting go can be difficult. However, there is one thing that can help soothe the process of death and that is the existence of deep love for the person. Despite the commercial presenting this sensitive topic, the advertisement effectively reminds the audience the importance of everlasting love because of the use of pathos and ethos.

In both ads A and C, Geico utilizes symbolism to imbue the commercials with positive values and associations, as well as create a sense of pathos. In ad A, in which the

In order to connect to audience emotionally, both of these commercials incorporate the exaggeration of a particular situation to ignite humor and laughter among the audience. In the Allstate commercial, a man is holding onto the side of a car to portray the driver’s blind spot, telling the driver that the coast is clear. Suddenly, a truck comes out of nowhere, causing an accident. This is humorous because the sight of the man hanging on the side of the vehicle, acting as the blind spot, provides an exaggeration that causes the audience to laugh (“Blind Spot Commercial | Allstate Mayhem” Internet). This displays the danger of driving in order to catch the audience’s attention. In the State Farm

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.

GEICO, the Government Employees Insurance Company, and Esurance Insurance Services, Inc are two auto insurance based in the United States. In their advertisement, GEICO features a piglet, Maxwell, attempting to obtain a driver’s license from a snarky old clerk using the insurance information on his phone. On the other hand, Esurance depicts an elderly woman, Beatrice, in the process of showing her friends her “wall”when, in good faith, her friends corrects her, causing Beatrice to “unfriend” her. GEICO and Esurance, in attempts of persuasion, use pathos, ethos, and logos to sell their product

In commercials for insurance agencies I have noticed a reoccurring theme. They will show you the very thing you would want protection from. They use fear to lure you into buying insurance from their agency. This happens in Allstate’s line of “mayhem like me” commercials.

Not everyone reacted in such a comical way. Nationwide attempted to defend their argument as to why the dark commercial was necessary, but were attacked in the process with angry mothers commenting on the article. Young mother, Jennifer commented under foxes article very angered by what she had just witnessed, “Do you really think that commercial saved any lives? I'm concerned at how many people seem to think that the fact that bathtubs and bleach are dangerous to babies is somehow new info. (@jennnn)” After arguing her case in a long well thought out comment, she gets to the main point that most viewers would agree with, “That ad was about shock value, not genuine concern for the well being of children.” (@jennnn) All 3 of these comments connect back to the main point of this essay, that advertising such as this creates the illusion that if you don't buy this product, something bad will happen. The fear factor makes works in Nationwide's favor because most of the people viewing this commercial have children, and the thought of losing them is enough to get them to purchase this

Watching the commercial for the first time, keeping in mind how it used pathos, ethos, and logos, I noticed that it does not utilize ethos nor logos to promote the commercials product. The commercial relies heavily on pathos to connect with its audience. The commercial plays on such emotions as: patriotism, encouragement, and inspiration. The advertisement also speaks to a comprehensive

The first ad I will talk about is the Nationwide ‘Baby’ ad. The ad starts off with a man washing his baby in his driveway the same way one would wash a car (Nationwide). The ad goes on to show car related situations with a baby like running into a fire hydrant, car repair shop, and in a grocery store parking lot. The ad shows how Nationwide will protect what’s precious to you by making it precious to them. Therefore, just like a baby is precious and people will do anything to protect their baby,

As in the previous example, the commercial emphasizes State Farm’s reliability. This time however, there is no desperation because the young woman is so certain that her agent will get things resolved. Just like the previous commercial, the ad uses pathos to convince their audience, assuring them that State Farm will allow them to be stress free. The granting of the friends wishes for the perfect man helps to reinforce the aspect of great service because it represents the company’s ability to go above and beyond for their customers. Again, pathos is presented through humor, making the ad memorable and reinforcing the company’s point: when you have State Farm there is no need for desperation because they have you covered. Ethos is also once again reinforced through the agent's professional attire, creating an ethical image for the company.

In this advertisement, the company should include a type of spokesperson that a viewer would think is reliable, convincing, and alike. This person could be a mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, etc. They would say something along the lines relating to the health of your family, then turn it personal with a story relating with theirs. “When we got the call from the doctor saying John is diagnosed with heart disease last year, the first thing we thought about was the countless amount of money we would have to be paying but if it wasn’t for Group Health Insurance we wouldn’t be covered.” After giving their personal story they would give additional information about the health company and the benefits. “If you were to be put in a life threatening situation… would you be covered?” They say finishing off, and then panning over to a scene of them with their family all happy, which possibly gives the company more

Everyone afternoon I tune into CNN on Sirius to get a brief update on the news. They air commercials from Term Provider, an insurance company. The commercials always have the tag line “Big Lou is just like you”. Big Lou is one of the founding agents of Term Provider (“Term Provider.com”, n.d.). Term is trying to say that they know you by presenting their tagline in a way which relates to their indented market. Perhaps, Term uses Big Lou in their commercials because he is a spokesperson for the brand who they hope people will think of as an expert on insurance (Cialdini, 2009, Kindle location 384). Here is the part of the content of one Term’s most recent commercials - “So your new trophy wife wants you to buy a life insurance policy bigger than all of the ones you bought for your three previous mistakes?” “Call Big Lou – he’s just like you, except he’s only on wife number 2” (“Tannerisms”, 2015).

The presence of the words in the advertisement reflect elements of pathos. The ad contains various descriptions, which are displayed in a green font and outlined in the color, white. The color, green, symbolizes progress, vitality, balance, and wealth, whereas the color, white “... aids mental clarity and encourages [individuals] to clear clutter or obstacles” (Kelly Smith). When one views the advertisement, his or her subconscious mind notices the font’s color and the white outlining which clarifies each individual word. The advertiser’s decision to utilize the color green, acts as pathos by highlighting qualities the majority of Americans strives to achieve, while acting as a subconscious play on the characteristics that a bad American fails to achieve, provoking the emotional response of discontent.

With technology being a stretch for this age demographic, more advertisements of products that deal with healthcare are more likely to attract the baby boomers. Life alert is a company who has develop a device that baby boomers may be intrigued to. This device is helpful if an elderly person lives by their self and somehow gets hurt, they can then use said device to contact help. Life Alert’s most famous slogan, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” is seen in the ad I’ve provided. Thus, is the main reason this ad targets the baby boomers. On the company’s webpage, it appears to be ethical because of the representation of the BBB, and other well-known organizations that give products their