Justus Heizer

11/5/14
Professor Padget
UWRT 1101
Genre Study
My genre study is about Barack Obamas television ad. If you dont know,
Barack Obama is the first black president of the United States and is a democrat.
This television commercial was put on the air in 2008 before Obama was elected
president of the United States of America. I want to prove that the genre is
informative and inspirational campaign ad towards both democratic and republican
voters in America. Obama uses credibility a lot to help display him as a person that
you can depend on and trust. The advertisement also has a certain level of
persuasion to it. Does this campaign ad persuade people to vote for Obama?
The advertisement uses facts about Obamas life and personality to help
display a vision of respect and responsibility. After college and law school. This
section shows that he is intelligent; this is also displayed when one of his professors,
Laurence Tribe, from Harvard University and speaks highly about Obama. By
utilizing these specific references Obama gains a great deal of credibility from his
viewers. Also, Obama could have cashed in, instead he fought for change is another
fact about Obama that persuades the viewers of the video that he is a good, caring,
and responsible man, somebody that you would want to run the United States. This
perception of Obama creates an image that he could become a president that cares
about the people.

Persuasive evidence, factual events, and beneficial information are

expectations for an informational and inspirational campaign ad. Campaign ads are
constructed to persuade viewers into voting for their democratic, republican, or
libertarian candidate based on their beliefs and views on how society should be run.
This ad is meant to describe Obama as a dedicated American with the dream of
change. In Illinois he brought republicans and democrats together, two groups
with opposite beliefs together to help cut taxes for workers and health care for
children. By displaying his involvement with both sides, the ad is meant to deliver
the message that he cares about more than one political party. This can also be
displayed from Senator Kirk Dillard, who is a republican, saying that Obama was
successful and helped in a good way. This shows Obamas unity with the
republicans and the democrats.
Documents in this genre hope to influence the observers that their candidate
is the correct person to choose for the election. The documents goal is to persuade
viewers to elect their candidate with influential facts about them and to show that
they will help the people more than the other that they are opposing. Obama uses
the voice of respected people in his campaign video to help influence his viewers. He
wants to push the idea that he is the best solution for America. The ideas that he is
introducing to the public are influential towards the well being of the people and
will benefit everyone positively. The goal is to influence the viewers to choose
Obama over the other candidates by displaying him as the superior choice.
The audience of this piece is the people of America, specifically the
republicans and democrats. This can be shown with the quote I used in one of my

paragraphs above, In Illinois he brought republicans and democrats together. By

saying this he introduces the notion that he isnt just democratically or republican
based and so broadening his range of voters that will choose him for the election. In
the beginning he states, I am Barack Obama and I approve this message meaning
that he agreed to post the campaign ad about himself which reaches out to the
people that support his beliefs and theories. Obama wants to reach out to the voters
of America and persuade them to follow his ideas for the better of the USA.
I would evaluate this genre as rhetorically effective because it uses Pathos,
Ethos, and Logos to help push Obamas ideas and to create a good report for his
campaign. Pathos is used because emotion is introduced through the music being
played and the emotional images used to help portray Obama as caring and
respectable. This leads into Ethos where the video helps to make Obama seem
creditable for his viewers. He is proven to be creditable because he has one of his
professors from Harvard University speak for him explaining that Obama is an
intelligent and caring man. Logos is shown in the video
In conclusion this is a rhetorically effective video that helps convey to the
public that Obama is the correct candidate to vote for. It displays a perception of
Obama that creates an atmosphere for his followers that will vote for him in the
future. Since he is allowing this campaign ad to be shown he is advocating that he
the public should vote for him. Obama is not targeting one specific group, but the
nation as a whole. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and
stripes. Insisting that we as a nation are all the same, we are all humans and
should be treated equally. Bringing everyone together is Obamas goal, to reach out

and help the needy, feed the poor, and give jobs to the jobless. His video
demonstrates his devotion towards the people of the United States. He addresses
the major issues in America and declares do everything he can to fix them. The
people of the United States want someone that will make the right decisions and
devote him or herself to helping the people of the United States. Obamas video
depicts him to be the correct candidate to choose. His effectiveness and credibility is
superb and he doesnt criticize his opponents, he sounds passive and intelligent,
which a good president should be.

Video: Barack Obama Inspirational TV ad,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKGqyMtnO7E