McDougal 1

Simone McDougal Miss E. ENGL 1101-062 18 November 2013 The Naked Truth About Ads: A Rhetorical Analysis Ads; we see them everywhere. What are they for? Who do they apply to? And how do they even come about? Although there are millions of ads all with different messages, there is one sole purpose: to make those aware and desire a product or service (advertising). My ad of choice comes from The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or ASPCA. Since they have been in action since 1866, they have a name that can stand on its own (About the ASPCA). A name that speaks for itself is ethically sound. Take buying chips for example; which name has more of a credible background, Lays or Uncle Johns? If youre questioning who the heck Uncle John is, then its probably not the brand thats going to get your money. My ad is a direct approach to pathos. With tear jerking footage of animal cruelty and an equally sad song playing melodically in the background, theres no way around it. The narrator, Roberta Flack, includes emotional language such as they live in squalor with no food, no water and no shelter and suffering all alone and living in fear. Images of wet dirty animals, shaking and looking into the camera reflect across the screen. Please dont forget them, reach out and tell that animal youll be there, is the punch line message. Clearly stated to evoke emotion such as sympathy and sadness from the audience, the plea for you to support the animals

McDougal 2

serves as a challenge and almost makes you appear to be a monster if you dont donate to save these animals. During my analysis Ill be discussing how the Aristotelian Appeals in my ad can persuade the audience in some shape or form. So who exactly is the audience? In just about every commercial and ad you can think of, there is a primary and secondary audience. You could simply say those that watch television are targeted, but that would only be brushing the surface. We cant say that this ad applies to adolescents because they cant call in the next ten minutes with a credit card number ready to donate, so that age group is out. The audience targeted by this ad has to have some type of connection with it. Those that have pets or have lost a pet to abuse can connect physically and emotionally with this ad. Also, someone that can accept the cold truth about what is taking place and have enough fight in them to make that call can add themself to the millions of supporters of the ASPCA. Acknowledging the primary audience was kind of difficult, so who could possibly be the secondary audience? Well since the ASPCA is a nonprofit organization (About the ASPCA), where do you think they get their money from? Sponsors, venders and potential partners are targeted as the secondary audience. Often times you hear of sports camps sponsored by Nike or and Professional player or the actual league and schools normally have all types of sponsors. So, its not direct but more of a subtle target towards large companies that would be willing to give money or products to the organization.

Roberta Flack is a Grammy Award winning musician and has been internationally hailed as one of the greatest songstresses of our era (Biography). Using an ethical approach, the ASPCA chose this humanitarian to narrate this commercial with hopes that the audience would

McDougal 3

respect her views as a supporter of the organization and be encouraged to be active like she is. Flack also appears very sincere with the message shes delivering and very dedicated to the cause. The language is indeed appropriate for the message being conveyed. Words like save, provide and support are used to get the audience motivated. If thats not enough motivation if you call in the next ten minutes, youll receive a free t-shit appealing yet again to the pathos approach with an offer that will make the viewer consider the cause. The logical approach being used is the very purpose of this specific ad; all over the world, animals are being abused and neglected and are without a voice to save themselves. Giving the audience factual data about animal cruelty and taking the stand to rescue these animals evokes the rational response that the reason for this ad and organization makes sense. Also, with the photos and footage provided, the audience is given real life situations that animals are put in, showing logical evidence. This commercial does a good job of using all three of the Aristotelian Appeals. Clearly pathos was used the most with the sad music and graphic images of animals being rescued from unlivable conditions and missing body parts, but when looking past that you can really see how ethos and logos are incorporated. With a credible name and logical message, the ASPCA has made a commercial that makes sense to their viewers. The matter at hand is that animals have no voice and cant speak for themselves when abuse is taking place. No one wants their animal to experience such violence and thats why the ASPCA exists so we can take a stand and save these voiceless creatures. With our help and donations, we can turn the steady rising animal abuse statistics into a thing of the past.

McDougal 4

Works Cited
"Advertising." Entrepreneur. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013 "About the ASPCA." ASPCA. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. "Biography." Roberta Flack. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.