Unit 15: Advertising Production

Persuasive techniques in Advertising (Ethos,Pathos,Logos)

Preparation work
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ETHOS, PATHOS LOGOS – Persuasive Advertising Techniques

1. What is an Ethos persuasive advertising technique?

An ethos persuasive advertising technique is used to invoke the superior
“character” of a speaker, presenter, writer, or brand. Its main purpose is
to convince the audience that the advertiser is reliable and ethical.

2. Explain why using a celebrity endorsement in an advert would be an

example of an ethos persuasive technique.
Celebrity endorsement in an advert is an example of an ethos persuasive
technique as it is good for playing up the strength of a brand or the
spokespersons character. Also, the celebrities are from a higher social
class so them promoting the products to the audience makes the product
more appealing, even if they do not actually own the product. The
audience knowing that the celebrity may use the product or that the
product can be linked to the celebrity’s lifestyle can be a unique selling
point. For example the brand Muller Corner use the celebrity Nichole
Scherzinger to sell the product as she is popular amongst the audience
making them want to buy the product as it is a part of her lifestyle to
consume the product.

3. 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.
Watch the following adverts for Gillette and Audi and explain how ethos is
being used to tie the brand to a particular social cause?

The advertisement for Gillette is using ethos to target the male audience
by explaining that men should break their stereotypes and focus on
teaching the younger generation how to be “the best a man can get”. As
they are the future conveying the emotions that the men who changed
Unit 15: Advertising Production
Persuasive techniques in Advertising (Ethos,Pathos,Logos)
Preparation work
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throughout the advertisement felt, to create an emotional connection with
the audience. Ethos is also used in the Audi advertisement which is
evident in the speaker’s voice who does a voiceover for most of the
advertisement. The speaker is talking about some of the stereotypes
about how women are viewed as inferior to men and have less power
whilst the camera focuses on speakers daughter, but at the speaker
speaks of breaking these views and that women should not be considered
less powerful as it is a fundamental right, ethos is used to tie the brand to
that particular statement. Both advertisers are relevant and use social
issues to promote the brands image and appeal to the audience to the
changing attitudes of their target audience.

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

4. The ‘Plain Folks technique is when a spokesperson or a brand appears to

be common and sensible. This appeals to the audience because they
appear to concerned and come from the same place as the audience.
5. The Hilary Clinton political election advert uses the ‘Plain Folks’
technique to appeal to the audience. This is done focusing on her as a
person to make her more relatable to the audience by talking a bit about
her personal life. By doing this it is effective in making the audience listen
to her cause whilst also making her appear more persuasive, making what
she stands for relate to the audience’s values. For example, in this advert
she talks about her home life and experiences which are easier for her
target audience to relate and sympathise with her.

Task 2: Advertising techniques (PATHOS)

1. A Pathos persuasive advertising technique is used to try and convince the

audience through their emotions. For example to purchase a product or to
‘buy’ into it’s the message being promoted.

2. Some of the basic human emotions that the Pathos persuasive technique
plays on is the senses, memory, nostalgia, or shared experiences. These
are used to make the audience feel, by appealing to their basic emotions
such as joy, envy, fear, and happiness.

3. The coke print advert uses language to create positive feelings towards
the audience by the positive word, ‘happiness’, which elicits a positive
emotion within the audience. The print advert also includes an image of
Unit 15: Advertising Production
Persuasive techniques in Advertising (Ethos,Pathos,Logos)
Preparation work
Name:
the product next to the text trying to tell the audience that if they drink
this product, they are drinking happiness which is something most people
want. This emotion is also reflected in the background which consists of a
green field with the sun shining down to further portray a positive
atmosphere.
Similarly, in the Honey Nut Cheerios advertisement it uses language to
evoke positive feelings in the audience. This is evident from the voiceover
that sings/talks as it makes positivity by using phrases like ‘good goes
around and around’, which makes the audience refer to things like
sunshine, rainbows, and happy things, whilst encouraging the audience to
consume the product at the same time. The advertisement also starts by
showing the lifecycle of how the product is made from honey and bees,
using bright colors to persuade the audience that the product is good for
them as it uses natural ingredients, creating a positive feeling within the
audience, attracting them to buy the brands products.

4. This British heart foundation advert uses a sympathetic feeling as well as

fear to get its point across, as the advert is trying to warn the audience
about heart disease which can be a silent killer. This is portrayed through
the short story the advertisement, showing us a woman dying at her
sister’s wedding because she had heart disease and that heart disease can
harm/kill anyone at anytime making the audience sympathetic so they
take the message being portrayed more seriously, whilst encouraging
them to do something. This is effectively portrays by using a direct mode
of address to the audience from the narrator who becomes the victim in
the advertisement.

5. The BMW print advert makes the audience feel more aware for when they
are driving they should be careful to ovoid drink driving as it could result
in serious consequences that have the potential to make a person loose
their limbs. This print advertisement is successful in creating awareness
Unit 15: Advertising Production
Persuasive techniques in Advertising (Ethos,Pathos,Logos)
Preparation work
Name:
as it gets its point across in the text, by telling the audience that we are
not like cars where we can get replacements and the damage is
permanent, so don’t drink and drive. The text is then supported by an
image next to it of someone with a prophetic leg which makes the
audience take it seriously.

6. 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. 

In this advertisement Mr Clean is wearing tight white clothes to highlight

his muscular form to create a sex appeal to his character. This is further
shown in his actions when he is cleaning with the woman, ‘Sarah’, as he is
positioned to be close to her to show some intimacy in their characters
relationship. However, this is viewed as humours to the audience from
the music, dialogue, and the way Mr Clean behaves creating a comedic
effect. For example at the start of the advertisement Mr Clean is
introduced in slow motion, as the camera slowly moves up his form from
his feet as he walks and as he squeezes the sponge there is some focus on
his muscles as we see him ‘smile’, which is comical for the audience whilst
also challanging Mulvey’s male gaze theory.

7. 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
Unit 15: Advertising Production
Persuasive techniques in Advertising (Ethos,Pathos,Logos)
Preparation work
Name:
happy feel good emotions in the audience that the advert tries to connect
to the brand or product it is promoting.

In this advertisement for Sky nostalgia is used as a persuasive technique,

as it uses a well known film that most of the older generation know and it
brings the audience memories as we see the young actor of the original
film now as an adult with his own family we witness, alongside the family
onscreen ET’s heartwarming return, and by doing this it persuades the
audience to want to watch the film again through Sky. This evokes the
emotions of happiness and joy within the audience to promote Sky’s
brand as now when the audience thinks of a film, they will think of Sky
because of the nostalgic films that they have now tied to their brand.
Intertextuality is being used to appeal to the audience as in the
advertisement it refers to an older text that most people recognize
making it memorable and the audience can feel a sense of awe at their
memories of the film being referred to, and sharing their childhood
experiences with their own children.

8. Bandwagon advertising is used to create a certain impression that using

certain products will put you on the ‘winning team’ and plays on of the
audiences fear of being left out.

9. For this advertisement the male protagonist uses a direct mode of

address to the girlfriend of the male target audience as it make the advert
more interactive with the audience as it will make the females question if
their boyfriends smell masculine enough, and encourage them to buy the
product. This is also effective in targeting the male audience as it can
create some jealousy that they are not being directly spoken to but their
girlfriend is, and it makes them question them self about how they smell
whilst giving the idea that all females enjoy the smell encouraging them to
purchase the product.

10. Bandwagon appeal is used to target the primary male audience as it

makes the need to impress females, whilst also ‘speaking’ to the females,
as it creates a need for men to want to smell like Old Spice Guy to satisfy
the need to impress the female audience. By doing this in a comical way it
makes the male audience feel included by buying this product because
they won’t be the only one who doesn’t smell like Old Spice Guy
Unit 15: Advertising Production
Persuasive techniques in Advertising (Ethos,Pathos,Logos)
Preparation work
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11. In this Axe commercial the product is promoted using humor and sex
appeal, for example the commercial uses the typical situation where the
boyfriend is introducing his girlfriend to the parents but then we see that
he has many girlfriends who walk in the door casually and the camera
focuses on the parents shocked faces that are in disbelief, telling the male
audience that the product will give them enough sex appeal that they
could have the potential to get many girlfriends. However because of the
parents faces that are in disbelief, as well as the audience, that is what
creates humor in the commercial.

Task 3: Advertising techniques (LOGOS)

Read through the section on LOGOS and answer the following questions.
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/ethos-pathos-logos/

1. Logos is a persuasive technique that aims to convince the audience by

using logic and reasoning, for example an advertisement might show a
graph or statistics to make a product seem crediable.

2. The Apple iPhone X advert uses Logos advertisement techniques to

appeal to the audience, for example we see all the new features that they
highlighted in words and on the product, like its new durable glass and
facial recognition. By featuring the products new features in this way, it
makes it more memorable to the audience as well as making us want to
purchase it, making logos a successful way to advertise. Another way in
which The advertisement appeals to the audience is by using people to
show the audience that they enjoy using the product, for example we see
a woman and a man having fun with the Animoji which encourages the
audience to want the product as its evident they are having fun.
Unit 15: Advertising Production
Persuasive techniques in Advertising (Ethos,Pathos,Logos)
Preparation work
Name:

3. 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.

Some of the key buzzwords used for this advertisement are, ‘vegan’,
‘organic’. This is appealing to audiences as they are words describing the
product which is what the audience want to know. These buzzwords also
portray to the audience that the product is good for them further helping
them to persuade the audience to get the product, making it seem like the
more logical choice to buy it which will then also make the brand more
popular