Analyzing Pathos in the BCSPCA Animal Cruelty Commercial
This essay examines the rhetorical strategies employed in the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA) commercial featuring singer Sarah McLachlan. The paper analyzes how the two-minute spot uses pathos, ethos, and logos to persuade viewers to donate money to support animal rescue efforts. The analysis demonstrates that while the commercial incorporates all three Aristotelian appeals, it relies heavily on emotional connection through music, imagery, and McLachlan's credibility to create sympathy for abused animals, ultimately achieving its persuasive goals through emotional rather than logical appeal.
- Introduction and Commercial Overview: BCSPCA commercial uses rhetorical appeals
- The Role of Pathos in Emotional Persuasion: Music, imagery, and direct address create emotional connection
- Ethos: Credibility Through Celebrity and Organization: McLachlan and BCSPCA establish trustworthiness
- Limited Use of Logos in the Argument: Single statistic supports emotional rather than logical appeal
- Impact and Effectiveness of Emotional Appeal: Sadness and sympathy drive donation behavior
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What makes this paper effective
- Provides concrete textual evidence from the commercial (specific clips, music choice, dialogue) to support claims about rhetorical devices
- Systematically applies the classical rhetorical triangle (pathos, ethos, logos) to analyze persuasive strategy
- Clearly identifies the target audience and explains how each rhetorical element appeals to them
- Acknowledges the commercial's strategic choice to prioritize emotional appeal over statistical evidence
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates rhetorical analysis, a fundamental technique in composition and communications courses. The writer breaks down a visual/audio persuasive text into its component appeals, identifies specific techniques (music, celebrity endorsement, direct address), and evaluates their effectiveness. The essay moves beyond surface-level observation to explain the deliberate choices behind the commercial's construction.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a classical persuasive analysis structure: introduction that presents the thesis about rhetorical devices, followed by examination of each appeal (pathos, then ethos, then logos) with supporting examples, and concluding with an evaluation of overall effectiveness. This organized approach allows readers to follow both the argument and the evidence systematically.
Introduction and Commercial Overview
"Woof Woof"—do you hear that sound? Another one of those heart-wrenching animal cruelty commercials has appeared. If you are one of the many individuals who has encountered one of Sarah McLachlan's animal cruelty commercials, you may have felt the emotion radiating from it. The commercial is extremely sad and can transform a happy day into a depressing experience because of the disturbing clips of suffering animals. This two-minute commercial uses many rhetorical devices to persuade people to donate money, but it particularly focuses on the use of pathos, sympathy, and empathy toward the audience.
The commercial begins with a close-up shot of a sad-looking dog, followed by a statistic about animal abuse. A small donation is then kindly requested to help the organization prevent animal cruelty. The BCSPCA (British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) created this video to spread awareness about this ongoing issue and obtain donations to rescue animals suffering from abuse. The targeted audience consists of people over eighteen years old who are animal lovers and/or have disposable income, as the organization requests approximately sixty cents per day. Sarah McLachlan, a famous singer, appears in the video and uses one of her songs to stir emotional response in viewers. Her famous song "Angel" plays throughout the entire commercial. This song captivates audiences through her slow, soothing voice and meaningful lyrics. In the song, she asks listeners to be an angel; this creates a powerful connection to the audience by making them feel like better people knowing they can help like an angel.
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