Ethical Appeal, Pathetic Appeal, Logical

Ethical Appeal, Pathetic Appeal, Logical Appeal

Logos, pathos, ethos: Three advertisements

Very few advertisements deploy only one type of appeal when attempting to solicit the attention of consumers. In the contemporary, media-saturated environment where ads must fight for consumer attention in print and on the television screen, purely logical advertisements seem to be in short supply. However, for functional items that are purchased primarily for their utility, logical appeals in advertising tend to be more common. For example, in the case of Dubarry riding boots, as advertised in Equus magazine, the boots are promoted as desirable because of their functionality for equestrians, rather than their style. The advertisement promotes the boots' meticulous craftsmanship and the fact that they are manufactured with Gortex waterproof material as the primary reasons a rider would wish to purchase them -- in addition to the trusted name of the company.

There is a stark contrast between the Dubarry boot advertisement and the magazine advertisement for Ralph Lauren clothing, even though both advertisement feature photographs of the country, and are filled with honeyed brown and dark green tones. While Ralph Lauren also promotes country living, health, and sport, his trademark image is focused upon fashion rather than function: hence he uses an emotional appeal in his advertisements. Ralph Lauren clothing and products are of reasonably high quality, but the magazine advertisement says nothing about the construction, durability, or material of the clothing. The advertisement shows a beautiful, all-American girl in a camel's hair coat with a yellow ribbon in her hair, sitting on a director's chair on a farm, holding a dog. The words above the image reads: "The Classic Ralph Lauren Beauty." There is no information about the product the advertisement is ostensibly promoting, there is only small image of cologne in the foreground. The advertisement's focus is upon the Ralph Lauren image and ambiance. It does not assume that the purchaser wants clothing that will withstand the elements, unlike the Dubarry boot advertisement. Instead, it merely assumes that the gazer wants to buy a perfume so he or she can feel a part of the Ralph Lauren healthy image of youthful American vitality. The effect of the advertisement, therefore, is based upon emotion, or pathos, rather than upon a consciously articulated wish for sturdy clothes, as in the case of the riding boots advertisement.

"I am running for my mom." The Susan J. Komen Race for the Cure advertisement similarly stresses the need for healthy living and a healthy life. But it showcases different voices and images of real people who are 'racing for the cure,' or racing to raise money to fund breast cancer research. The primary appeal of the advertisement is an ethical one, namely the need to devote more funding to breast cancer research, and to encourage the viewer to honor the survivors who run in the Komen race. The implication is that if real people suffer breast cancer, and real people are fighting for a cure, the viewer has an ethical responsibility to either donate to the Komen foundation, or even run him or herself in the race.