Throughout history, there have been several fads that gained a lot of popularity very

quickly and lasted for a very short period time. Most fads do not have a serious message at all;

they’re entertaining and they seem fun, therefore, people try it out for themselves. About 70

years after Gehrig’s world-famous “Luckiest Man” speech, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge swept

the nation like wildfire. Amongst the hundreds of trends that have occurred in the last 20 years,

the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is truly the only one that has had a lasting positive effect. The

‘ice bucket dump’ was not originally for ALS, but a video of a man named Anthony Senerchia

applying the concept to ALS awareness and challenging others to do the same went viral. It is

evident that Senerchia uses the opportune moment to implicate his concept. He posted his

version of the ice bucket challenge at the onset of its rise in popularity, causing people to

associate the challenge with ALS awareness. Unlike the meaningless videos of people dumping

cold water for no purpose, his message resonated with many and went viral. Videos afterwards

were shared via Facebook and Instagram by the thousands. Both Gehrig and the Ice Bucket

Challenge use pathos but do so in completely different ways by using opposing tones. Gehrig’s

tone was sad and full of emotion. His speech was so powerful, he brought an entire crowd to

tears. Whereas, the Ice Bucket Challenge utilizes comedy and levity to bring attention to a very

serious disease and situation. The challenge is meant to be taken as humorous and entertaining.

Rather utilizing compassion and emotion, it exploited people’s nature to pay attention to comedy

and follow popular trends. The challenge not only raised awareness of the disease but raised

millions of dollars for the cause. On the surface, it appears the purpose of this artifact is to raise

awareness of the disease and raise money, yet there seems to be a much deeper, underlying

meaning. The artifact had the ability to bring the world together, make people forget about their

differences, and work in harmony for a common good.

 What fads, and the Ice Bucket Challenge in particular, do very well is keep their audience

engaged. Although fads do not last long, they are great sources of entertainment. They provide

bursts of impactful support and can keep their audience involved. Unfortunately, they die out

due to the development of a new fad, overexposure, or both. The key difference between the Ice

Bucket Challenge and most typical fads is its ability creates a sense of unity in which everyone

can work together to make the world a better place. The challenge had the ability to bring people

of a variety of different backgrounds and beliefs to this commonplace where everyone can agree

and there exists a temporary peace. The challenge goes beyond serving simply as a fundraiser or

awareness raiser. The challenge was a perfect way for people to escape from, for example, a

dangerous political climate where no one seems to agree. While many people cannot agree on

immigration policy and tax cuts, there is universal belief ALS is a disease that needs attention

and eradication. Taking this into account, it is clear to see that the disdain for ALS’s impact on

society, and most commonplaces for that matter, are unifiers. The Ice Bucket Challenge is one

amongst several other events in history that have created unification in society. A more

heartbreaking example is the ‘rally around the flag’ effect after 9/11. The country was

devastated, but this mutual grieving brought the country together in its time of need. “During

wartime, or in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack, the normally complex world

becomes much simpler for most people, wherever they live: it's good-versus-evil, us against

them” (Burgo). Granted, this is a very violent example, but it unifies the country in the same way

the Ice Bucket Challenge did, just by utilizing an entirely different emotional appeal. The

emotions that unified the country after 9/11 are comparable to the emotions felt after Gehrig’s

speech. One can say that Gehrig’s speech created a commonplace for the fans, unified them, and

turned a sports franchise into a family; like the post-9/11 state of the country.
 The Ice Bucket Challenge makes several presumptions about its audience’s knowledge

on the subject. For example, the challenge seems to presume that the audience knows what ALS

is. In most videos, the challenger doesn’t even mention ALS, they simply state the person who

nominated them for the challenge and the people they plan on nominating. The only clear

example where ALS was explicitly mentioned was in the case with Senerchia who really started

the ALS part of the Ice Bucket Challenge. With that being said, the challenge also presumes the

audience knows the challenge had become associated with ALS awareness. At first, the online

challenge system emerged as a general fundraiser for any foundation. If a nominee didn’t

complete the challenge, they had to donate to a charity of their choice. Once it began to grow

more and more popular, and after Senerchia completed his version of the Ice Bucket Challenge,

the association to ALS awareness became engrained. This can serve as an effective form of

rhetoric and an effective way to spread awareness. The way ALS is associated to the challenge

is comparable to a social taboo. Through repetitive action and precedent, it becomes a

phenomenon most are aware of and participate in. Most individuals are aware of social taboos

simply because of daily interactions with others. Similarly, those who participate in social media

grew aware the Ice Bucket Challenge had adopted ALS awareness because of its viral nature.

Lastly, the challenge presumes that there should be a donation made along with the challenge.

As stated in the following citation, the Ice Bucket Challenge was not created in association with

ALS awareness: “In his Aug. 12 Slate piece, Oremus says the challenge ‘came from a dare that

was circulating among a group of pro athletes, including golfer Greg Norman and motorcycle

racer Jeremy McGrath’” (Levin). Therefore, not one of the ALS foundations across the globe is

responsible for starting the challenge, yet they still received millions in donations from the

growing popularity of the challenge with ALS awareness. This was, hands down, the greatest
unintended consequence of the challenge. Once people heard it was for ALS, many donated to

an ALS foundation of their choice to support the cause, despite donations never being explicitly

stated. As the challenge had a ripple effect, so did the donations. Once one person donated, the

floodgates opened. This is yet another example of how the challenge brought the world together

to help for a common cause.

The challenge is pure evidence society can come together and have a great time for a

great cause. After watching several videos, its clear everyone who participated in the challenge

is enjoying themselves and knew their actions and the actions of others go a very long way. The

Ice Bucket Challenge is very similar to what we do here at Penn State for THON. The whole

student body puts aside their differences and comes together to raise money and awareness for

the kids. THON gives a definition to what “WE ARE” means every time a Penn State student

says it. THON is truly what Penn State is all about, and it serves as our commonplace, as does

the Ice Bucket Challenge for the global community. It is clear to see there is a much deeper

meaning to the artifact than just dumping ice water on oneself, and it’s evident that the challenge,

being a commonplace, is a microcosm of overall unity and peace. If humanity can come together

for a specific and obscure common cause such as raising awareness for ALS, this method can be

applied to grander problems plaguing the world and improve the quality of life for many. By

appearing light-hearted in nature, the artifact is able to draw many people in, expanding its scope

of success. Further, despite its light-hearted nature the artifact elicits far more serious emotions

than those that are displayed in the videos. The means of achieving the goal of raising awareness

can be used for other problems in the world. The commonplace created by the Ice Bucket

Challenge can be expanded to other issues and create peace on a larger scale.
 Starting as a trend that didn’t have much purpose other than to entertain the public, the

Ice Bucket Challenge truly left a lasting impact. In fact, the ALS Association now sponsors an

Ice Bucket Challenge every August until a cure is found. The reason the challenge was so

successful is because it used the attributes of a trend to spread awareness of a deadly disease. By

the end of the summer of 2014, the challenge managed to raise over $200 million in donations

for research. At first glance, it seems the purpose of the artifact was to simply raise money and

awareness, but its hidden purpose was to bring different people to a commonplace. In this

commonplace, there exists a temporary peace between people of diverse backgrounds. If this

concept was to be applied to greater problems, humanity can take a giant leap towards creating

global peace. The commonplace, in short, creates unity and a new sense of community, as seen

in THON here at Penn State or, on a more violent scale, post-9/11 America. All of these

commonplaces provide unity, despite being on opposing sides of the emotional spectrum. In

relation to Gehrig’s speech, both artifacts use pathos to their advantage, just by using different

tones. Gehrig’s speech is sad while the challenge is uplifting and entertaining, yet both create

this commonplace where different people can finally get along and work in harmony towards a

greater good.

Works Cited
 Burgo, Joseph. “The Psychology of Unity After Tragedy.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media

Company, 22 Apr. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/the-psychology-of-unity-

after-tragedy/275158/.

Levin, Josh. “Who Invented the Ice Bucket Challenge? A Slate Investigation.” Slate

Magazine, 22 Aug. 2014,

www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/08/who_invented_the_ice_bucket_challeng

e_a_slate_investigation.html.