Mobile Phone Ad Rhetorical Analysis: Nokia N-Series Ad

Advertisements, like other man-made artifacts, utilize the concepts of logos, ethos, and pathos to persuade its target audience to subscribe to the idea or message presented in it. Ads are just one of the many artifacts that can be used for persuasion, and as such, being an artifact with a purpose of persuading people, it is also susceptible to being an object of rhetorical analysis (or in specific usage, can also be called rhetorical criticism). In rhetorical analysis, the artifact is analyzed based on the elements of logos, ethos, and pathos. These elements are critical in the analysis, since they complete the substance not only of the artifact itself, but also of the content or the message it conveys to its target audience.

For this paper's discussion, rhetorical analysis will be applied to an advertisement of a mobile phone company. The Nokia N-series ad, which was developed for the Asian...

Called "Rescue-Disaster," the N-series ad will be analyzed based on its communication and usage of logos, ethos, and pathos. Ultimately, the discussion will center on how these three elements work together to successfully persuade the target audience to believe in the claim of the ad and be enticed to buy the product based on the believability and attractiveness of the claim presented in the ad.
The ad shows an individual, who is presumably a doctor or disaster response personnel because of the white cross and red clothing he wears, looking at his phone just before he enters a cluster of houses. The area seemed to be an area for informal settlers, as indicated in the wide expanse of poorly maintained houses and shanties. Superimposed in this image is a close-up view of the area the medical worker/rescuer is supposed to enter. From the close-up…