The Rhetorical Analysis Of Political Advertising In The Advertising Industry

III. Purpose and stance; Here’s where we “read” the ad and describe it – visual rhetoric

When it comes to the topic of commercials, most of us readily agree that commercials are irritating. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the purpose of the commercial. Whereas some are convinced that commercials are meaningless, others maintain that commercials tell a story. Effective commercials are repetitive and illustrate a story. Marketers use rhetoric marketing, the art of persuasive speaking and writing, when persuading an audience to buy a product. Rhetoric marketing is especially effective through the illustration of a story. It is effective because the marketer is able to relate to the consumer with a story or message. Advertisers also use the appeals of logic, credibility, and emotions to intrigue interest in a company. Coca-Cola’s advertisement, “Falling,” depicts the product as a confidence building companion suitable for young love through a series of logical and emotional appeals that visibly promotes the brand’s credibility.

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.

Many businesses and organization use the method of advertisement to sell their products. Ads enhance products and encourage the audience to buy its products. There are many strategies in which influence how successful an ad can sell its product. In this essay, I will be conducting a rhetoric analysis on a chip advertisement created by Popchips. This essay should identify the audience the ad is trying to reach; the message the ad delivers; and the three modes of persuasion (ethos, logos, and pathos) that are used in this ad. For reference, this ad can be found at the end of this essay.

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.

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.

In “Propaganda Techniques in Today 's Advertising” by Ann McClintock, the author discusses how Americans are being brainwashed by advertisements and the different techniques they use to catch our attention. Ads are simply everywhere we look, it is impossible to get through the day without seeing one. All advertising companies put tons of research into how consumers spend money or even vote. Once these companies finish their research, they create advertisements that appeal to the masses. The basic propaganda techniques that McClintock writes about are Name Calling, Glittering Generalities, Transfer, Testimonial, Plain Folks, Card Stacking, and Bandwagon. Each one of these propaganda techniques is used in specific ways by advertisers to sell their product or service to consumers. I have selected a political ad which uses the Glittering Generalities technique, a coffee ad that uses Transfer technique, a soda ad that uses the Testimonial technique, and a soup ad that uses the Name Calling technique.

It is very common among the United States’ political sphere to rely heavily on T.V. commercials during election season; this is after all the most effective way to spread a message to millions of voters in order to gain their support. The presidential election of 2008 was not the exception; candidates and interest groups spent 2.6 billion dollars on advertising that year from which 2 billion were used exclusively for broadcast television (Seelye 2008.) Although the effectiveness of these advertisements is relatively small compared to the money spent on them (Liasson 2012), it is important for American voters to think critically about the information and arguments presented by these ads. An analysis of the rhetoric in four of the political

American’s most savored beverage is beer. It’s one of the top consumed drinks and can be drank for different occasions. Budweiser, one of the most top selling beer companies puts out their commercials to advertise their beers. While their commercials are used to produce sales, what most don’t see is the message they associate when drinking a Budweiser. These commercials often use rhetoric to persuade us. Rhetorical devices are used to be the most effective way to persuade and audience into thinking. Pathos, ethos, and logos are used to make a powerful statement to be successful in their beer sales.

Today as we prepare for another election, posters, television, radio, and social media ads all proclaim the slogans of these candidates. Campaign slogans often highlight the major concerns, frustrations, and hopes of society. The intent of any political slogan is to capture and encompass a candidate’s message and ultimately frame the voter’s choice. These phrases are strategically crafted to meet the changing social conditions as well as the need for authorities to establish control. With a vast number of candidates running, slogans have become a way for individuals to separate themselves from one another. Additionally, in competitive fields slogans are crucial if they summarize

Commercial advertisements create a strong presence in the media due to the power of persuading the audience to buy a certain project. The commercial is promoting the use of diet coke and using Taylor Swift to do so. Diet Coke is a sugar free, soft drink that is very popular, it is promoted and distributed worldwide by Coca- Cola. Coca- Cola spends nearly $3.499 billion in advertisements yearly (Investopedia, 2015, 1). This ad catches the eye of the audience with the use of Taylor Swift and the adorable kittens. In this commercial, it is clear that with every sip the pop-culture singer takes of the Diet Coke, more kittens seem to appear in the apartment until the whole apartment becomes invaded with the tiny kittens. This advertisement efficiently delivers the point to the audience during the commercial video by encouraging them to drink their product Diet Coke while trying to increase the consumption of their product, attract more viewers, and sell more of their product.

     When candidates develop a plan of attack for campaign advertising, they tend to aim for at least four types of commercials. One form or type of commercial is those which play on the fears of countrymen. Fear

When analysing all of the advertising around us, sometimes we don’t look at what the true message of a commercial really is. We live in a world that is controlled by mass media and because of this advertisers are trying harder each year to outdo themselves and their competitors. Rhetors use techniques in their advertisements such as fantasies or surrealism to catch the attention of their audience. Companies like Audi pour millions of dollars into their marketing teams to make sure their cars look the best and attract consumers. Commercials that are shown on television today are great examples of rhetorical artifacts because of the many techniques being exercised by the rhetor. Analyzing this through the lens of rhetorical

Campaign Advertising Though clearly constant in the effort to win the electorate's vote for each candidate, campaign advertising since the 1950's has become more intricate. In each decade since television advertising for a candidate has begun, the messages have been designed in one way or another to play on the emotions of the electorate. However, over time the way in which this is done has changed constantly, most clearly in the utilization of "positive" and "negative" ads. Moreover, the utilization of information and statistics in ads has changed dramatically, delivering the core message of a candidate in concise, hard hitting, and effective way.

Many things about political advertising has changed since 1952. If Barack Obama's on-screen demeanor was as stilted and wooden as Dwight Eisenhower's in 1952 he probably would not have been elected. In 1952 no one expected the presidential candidate to perform well on television. The Kennedy Nixon debate in 1960 change that forever. From that moment candidates were also spokesmen for their campaigns. Although the style and the length of the political advertisements have changed, there are a number of themes which form the basis of political ads from those early days to the present present. Candidates try to introduce themselves to the public. They seek the endorsement of prominent people or they are tarred by association with others. They tout their records. The two dominant issues are national security and people’s standard of living, which focus on economy and taxes. Rather than selling a consumer product, political ads try to sell the voter a candidate.