Name of commercial: Arbys Commercial, bacon brisket

Rhetoric:
When looking at this commercial it is easy to see that the persuasive technique Arbys is
using is pathos. The commercial is cueing at your emotion to satisfy your craving for food. This
emotion is very powerful because in the commercial it uses words like smoked, hickory, and
succulent. This is the same technique used in stores when they put the candy and drinks right
next to the check out.

Overall message.
In this commercial Arbys is promoting and trying to sell their new bacon brisket
sandwich. The commercial starts with a big smoker with a big juicy smoked brisket that has been
“smoked low and slow over hickory for 13 succulent hours”. After viewing the finished brisket
the commercial jumps to an Arbys restaurant where it has the completed sandwich filled with
bacon, lettuce, tomtatoe, and brisket toped with a type of sauce. There is no one in the
commercial and the only person you hear is the narrator. The commercial doesnt show you the
emotion of any person trying the sandwich for lunch, but instead is focusing on the
characteristics that it takes to produce a quality and tasty meal. When you see the completed
sandwich your brain starts to remind you of what all the different ingredients taste like, the
crunch of the lettuce, the smoke and saltness of the bacon, the juice tomatoes, and finally the
smoked to perfection hickory with a touch of hickory smoke. Then the commercial finished with
the incoming motto “Arbys we have the meats” as it zooms in on the sandwich showing every
little detail of the meal.

Production:
The commercial creators are suggesting one thing, come try our sandwich. The commercial is
designed to play off hunger and makes your mouth water. The overall message is very simple,
here is our new sandwich made from our already “low and slow smoked brisket for over 13
succulent hours” and we are going to throw on some bacon just to drive your taste buds crazy.

Distribution.
I was sitting at home watching Tv at around 5:30 when this commercial started playing. The
reason why this commercial probably comes on around this time is because it wants to target
families right before dinner time to try and entice them to come get the new sandwich. Most
families start eating dinner anywhere from 5-7 and Arbys knows that. They are trying to target
families that are just getting home from work, maybe don't want to cook anything or don't have
anything planned to try to get them to come get their sandwich. Using pathos technique it really
shows how power hunger can be especially when you are already tired from work.

Persuasive techniques.
The two techniques I choose are pathos and the loaded language techniques. In the commercial
the narrator uses words like “smoked low and slow over hickory for 13 succulent hours” and this
uses specific words and phrases with strong emotional implications trying to influence the
audience. The commercial is filled with words and phrases that cues the emotion of hunger to try
and get the audience to come try their sandwich. Using both words ands visuals makes the
commercial stay in your mind and you think about the phases, you being to create a mental
image of the sandwich thinking about the hickory smoked brisket with bacon, lettuce, tomato,
cheese, and a sauce all coming together to create a special sandwich.

Reflection
In this activity I learned how powerful and moving the use of different persuasive
techniques can be. Using pathos, ethos and logos especially in the classroom can really be
motivating and engaging for students. For example, I could use these persuasive techniques in
our social studies class when creating a narrative on the Triangular Trade. As a teacher I can
show different videos and use different phases to cue students' emotions on how life may have
been for the slaves being brought from Africa into the new world. Using these persuasive
techniques I can get my student to relate more to the content and feel more passionate about what
they are doing because it is connected to their emotions. I like doing this when we look at
recycling in science. I show a picture of the plastic island in the pacific ocean, most students are
like ehh doesn't affect me, but then I show them a picture of an endangered sea turtle with a
plastic straw stuck in its nose, causing the turtle difficulty breathing and pain. This image plays
with the students emotions and drives them to do something about what causes that sea turtle
harm.