Ethos Pathos Logos

Ethos, Pathos and Logos:

Who is effective and who isn't? 

INTRODUCTION:

                   Looking at commercials from Song and from Dwight D. Eisenhower, I have come to a conclusion. Sometimes, it is a catchy jingle mixed in with some credibility and a dash of logic that makes all of the sense to a commercial.

SONG:

                First off, I would like to start with Song's advertisement. They are trying to get at the core of our Pathos (emotions) but there is no logic to selling an airline with people running at a gate while they're in the middle of a field. They aren't telling me at all what they offer or why they are offering it. They just expect the public to "get it" and quite frankly, I don't. If you were to give me an ad that had say "Come Fly With Me" by Sinatra and a waitress handing me a martini, while the seat looked like it was from first class and not coach, and your header is stating something like "High Class Luxury for the cost of Coach" then I will definitely get it. It's short, sweet and very much to the point. Not some logo that says "Song" and people running in a field from all directions to a gate. If I'm confused, I'm pretty sure more than enough people are.

Photo By: wbaiv

ROSSER REEVES and DWIGHT:


            I won't lie to you. I got caught up in a catchy jingle that was used during this man's campaign, and it's no wonder that he was elected. It gets stuck in your head and all you can think of is "I like Ike" and it was a brilliant move. All of his other ads were involved with issues surrounding the country at the time, including: corruption, cleaning 'house' at all government levels, the Korean 'Conflict' and the cost of living. He addressed different people and made logical points to all questions. This worked on both Pathos and Logos. The fact that he was a Five Star General in the Army probably didn't hurt his Ethos much either. He came to the public, said "here it is" and left it at that. Straightforward answers and well to the point when it came to what he wanted done. Rosser Reeves was ahead of his time when he thought to put Eisenhower in front of the camera like that. I just wish more politicians would go back to the old school and stop the mud-slinging.

Photo By: Cliff 1066