Unit 15: Advertising Production

Persuasive techniques in Advertising (Ethos,Pathos,Logos)

Preparation work
Name: Chris Nnaji

ETHOS, PATHOS LOGOS – Persuasive Advertising Techniques

Ethos advertising is the persuasive technique of appealing to the audience

by heightening credibility. The purpose of this is to make the advertiser
seem more reliable in the eyes of the audience.

In society many celebrities hold and maintain a special type of image and
often times this is a problem free image. By having someone famous and
well respected in an advertisement, you are making it easier for those
who look up to them to cling to their words and trust that the product is
as good as advertised whilst also being reliable

Ethos rhetoric is also used to tie a brand to fundamental rights. Brands

build trust with their audience when they stand with an important cause.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPmuEyP3a0

Gillette as brand makes products that centre on shaving and grooming for
men. Knowing that their adverts will typically be hard by men they chose
to speak about how men can be better in order to improve society. They
expressed how it’s important for men to take a stand when they see
sexism/sexual harassment around them and to stop bullying and make
sure the next generation are good people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iksaFG6wqM

Audi’s advert focuses around the gender equality in society. It speaks on

how a father realises that his daughter may have to deal with
discrimination because of her gender. It encourages people to bridge the
gap between how men and woman are dealt with in society. So that they
realise their own children won’t have to deal with the inequalities they
see around them.

The ‘Plain Folks’ technique falls under the category of Ethos advertising. It
is when the spokesperson is shown to be the same as you, an average
person. They can be seen doing everyday things an ordinary person
would do. This gives of the feel them being similar to us and sharing our
concerns and ideals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdKsA4q-FFA
Unit 15: Advertising Production
Persuasive techniques in Advertising (Ethos,Pathos,Logos)
Preparation work
Name: Chris Nnaji
With this Hilary Clinton advert, she was made to seem as down to earth
and human as possible. They started with a sad backstory that inspired
her to be great and work with for the children. They emphasise humility
by stating how she joined the cabinet of the president who defeated her in
the voting. This technique is applied here to show the audience she is an
ordinary woman who is trying to do great things. After seeing this they
may feel that voting for her is the correct choice.

Task 2: Advertising techniques (PATHOS)

Pathos advertising is when the advert uses emotions to persuade the

audience. This technique plays on people memory, nostalgia or a person’s
shard experiences.

Coke Print Advert: The design of this print is supposed to reflect

happiness. The slogan “open a coke, open happiness” is accompanied by
bright colours and images of fields with flowers. These things combined
are supposed to evoke feelings of happiness or joy.

Honey Nut Cheerios Advert: the advert is fast paced and exciting. The
music has a high tempo and the colour scheme is a bright yellow/golden.
This bright look and excitable editing is supposed to attract kids who love
to have fun and be active. It may also attract adults who have nostalgia
about being young.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D86RqDQiYc
As well as evoking positive emotions such as happiness in the audience,
pathos advertisements can also employ unpleasant emotions like fear and
worry just as effectively.

In this ad It begins by evoking joy, done by showing the joyous setting of

the wedding and then the sadness begins to set in. the facial expressions
become distraught and the background noise halts. Then the cover is seen
on the woman’s body. This cover is red and stands out significantly from
its surroundings. This completely changes the mood and suddenly the red
shows danger or problems.
Unit 15: Advertising Production
Persuasive techniques in Advertising (Ethos,Pathos,Logos)
Preparation work
Name: Chris Nnaji

This ad will make the audience realise the dangers of drink-driving. The
image of a person with one real leg and one prosthetic leg will make a
person acknowledge the dangers of drink-driving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=26

Sex appeal is of course also hugely successful among the pathos

advertising techniques. Although the common expression “sex sells” has
been debated, sexually provocative adverts do leave a lasting impression. 
This advert sends the message to men that cleaning with this product can
make you attractive to women.

Adverts that use Nostalgia (happy memories) as a persuasive technique

are examples of Pathos advertising. Adverts that are set in the past or
based around the family or happy childhood memories tend to evoke
happy feel good emotions in the audience that the advert tries to connect
to the brand or product it is promoting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxmnUSVWCOk
The use of the E.T character here is used to evoke feelings of nostalgia in
the audience. For the older generation who would have been young when
E.T was originally released, this would make them feel young and excited.
The purpose of this may be to imply that the audience can relive their best
TV/movie moments with Sky.

The bandwagon technique creates that impression that using certain

product will put you on the “winning team’’ It links to the pathos
technique because it plays off the viewers fear of being left out.

In this old spice advert from 2010, the male protagonist directly
addresses the girlfriend of the male target audience who has not yet
purchased the Old Spice product. This is effective it plants an idea of
smelling good in the girlfriends head. And now the man in the
relationship is put under pressure to meet her new standards. This is
good for targeting the male audience as it could convince them that using
this product will make them more attractive to the other sex. The
bandwagon appeal is used here to make is seem as if old spice product
Unit 15: Advertising Production
Persuasive techniques in Advertising (Ethos,Pathos,Logos)
Preparation work
Name: Chris Nnaji
will result in men being on the winning team. In this case the winning
team is one that smells good and has a greater chance at attracting
women. Women are the secondary audience as the product is not
intended for women’s use however it does appeal to women who may buy
it for their partner to guarantee the smell good all the time.

Use of humour to evoke positive lighthearted emotions in the audience is

another technique that is a good example of Pathos advertising. The AXE
‘Meet the Parents’ (2012) advert uses humour to influence men into
buying the product. It does this by showing several women walking
through the door to meet the parents. This will humorously suggest to the
male audience that the use of AXE will result in you having several sexual
partners.

Task 3: Advertising techniques (LOGOS)

Logos is the persuasive technique that aims to convince an audience by

using logic and reason. Also referred to as “the logical appeal,” logos
examples in advertisement include the citation of statistics, facts, charts,
and graphs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=&t=13s
This ad makes sure to refer ot the new features in the iPhone. Examples of
this include; wireless charging, a11 Bionic or most durable glass. The ad
uses these facts and phrases to convince the audience that this new phone
is the best on the market.

Logos advertising often uses memorable buzzwords to sell the product.

Great examples of this are advertisements for food. In recent years there
has been a rising demand for companies trying to cash in on the
consumer’s demand for healthier food options.
‘I can’t believe it’s not butter’ (2017)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6BirjMGteM
In the ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter’ (2017) ad the actors use the phrase ‘I
can’t believe…’ which suggests to the audience that the product is better
than they were expecting. Use of buzzwords like ‘great’ and ‘goodness’,
are used to portray the product positively. While others like vegan and
organic appeal to the wider audience. This is because it attracts those who
wouldn’t ordinarily eat butter as it doesn’t suit their lifestyle. While also
telling those who think that vegan food tastes bad that its good.