Social Progress Commercial

Rhetorical Analysis

1.With your partner, choose one commercial to analyze.

2. Watch the commercial several times to make sure you understand and catch all important
elements, including the purpose. Paste the link to the commercial in the space provided below.
3. Complete the chart below, analyzing the commercial’s rhetorical features and citing specific
evidence from the commercial to support your analysis.

Company: Coca-Cola Commercial Title and link: “The Change”

Length of commercial: 1:00 Purpose (primary and secondary): advocate for change, sell
product

Rhetorical Analysis of the Commercial

(Give specific examples in response to each set of questions)

Situation: What is the specific situation Swim meet, opera rehearsal, robotics testing, digital art
happening/existing in the commercial? analyzing, making free lunches, free haircut salon- all focus
on one person in these places/doing these activities.

Audience: Who is the target audience? Teens and adults, men and women, people of color, people
Be as specific as possible (age, gender, who like change, coca-cola drinkers.
marital status, race, social class,
hobbies, etc.)

Context/Exigence: What is the time and
place of this piece? What is happening
in the world? What was the spark or
catalyst that moved the advertiser to
create this commercial?
Published June 27, 2020. Around this time, a lot of protests
and riots were happening dealing with racial issues. The
Black Lives Matter movement was really big around this
time. Especially because this ad focuses on people of color,
the worldwide focus on these people would contribute to
the exigence. They wanted to add to the change.

Tone: What is the overall attitude Positive, supportive, motivational. It pushes for change and
communicated by the commercial? supports the people who have pushed for that already. It
encourages people to continue to make change, motivating
them to do so, and saying that the outlook is positive.

Sounds: What words, sounds, music are “Stand for Change” and “Together we Must”, Coca-Cola on
used in the commercial? How are they the bottom, very slow and inspirational music, titles of
used? Is the overall sound euphonious people/names and occupation throughout the video,
(pleasing) or cacophonous (jarring)?
Actors: Does the commercial use human It uses mainly humans, showing real people and real-life
actors, animals, machines? (invoked experiences. It uses a variety of people and makes them
audience) seem less like actors and more like genuine and real people.
Setting: Is the setting realistic? Sci-fi or
fantasy? Present time? Past? Future?
Appeals to Ethos, Logos, Pathos: Give
examples. Why?
Choices: What are the rhetorical
choices made in the commercial? Think
about overall structure, devices, diction,
syntax, etc.
Overall, how effective was this
advertisement at achieving its purpose?
Both primary and secondary.
sounds of people laughing and cheering, starts off with
narration, conversation between people. Overall, it sounds
pleasing/euphonious, the music isn't too busy that it
distracts from the other sounds (laughing and talking),
overall it sounds cohesive and simplistic.
It has a realistic setting and is set in the present time. It
portrays people in realistic jobs and realistic scenarios,
there is no new or unreal technology, people seem to be
normal. They use modern technology and relate to modern
problems.
Ethos- big brand, so that comes with inherent trust. The use
of real people builds trust with the audience because they
feel like they can relate, it's not unrealistic. Professional
people, professional production quality (both audio and
video), uses famous people in the video, etc.
Logos- Real-life examples ground the video and message in
reality and fact.
Pathos- real stories, real people, real emotions.
Motivational music and instrumentation evoke emotion.
The powerful narrations, powerful overall message. They
have conversations, making the ad feel more personal,
private, and real. Showing people being happy shows the
impact of the message, shows that change makes people
happy.
Emotional stories, powerful music choices, consistent use of
interpersonal conversation, display human emotion.
Structure- start with the stories, then at end show the
impact of these stories, then move to advocate for change,
showing that it is the cause of these stories.
In the narration, they focus on the good things about the
people, highlighting their success. The narration is calm but
powerful. The conversation, laughter, and cheering
immerses the audience in the story.
Primary purpose (to inspire and invoke change): 8/10- they
effectively get the audience immersed and invested in the
story, making them more likely to listen to the message.
They build up a lot of pathos throughout the ad, building on
the viewers' emotions.
Secondary purpose (to sell a product): 3/10- they don't
really highlight their product other than just subtle product
placement, more like a sponsor rather than an
advertisement. Doesn’t really encourage people to buy
their product, mostly just mentions it and associates it with
the primary message.