Commercials
Assign a different advertisement to each group member. Watch individually
and identify examples of each rhetorical appeal (ethos, pathos, logos). Then,
explain the effect of the appeal on the intended audience.
Next time, share your analysis of each commercial and answer the follow-up
questions together.
1. “1959 First EVER Barbie commercial High Quality HQ!” 1959
Rhetorical Examples and Explanation
Appeal
Ethos Where the narrator said its matel by saying its name and the
appeal is getting their name out their so people start buying
thor toys. Other big brands do this now adays to get people
to buy their items.
Logos The narrator makes the thing that says its only three dollares
to try to show that its cheap and worth buying and trying to
make it seem like this doll is a great deal
Pathos They were trying to show that these dolls were perfect and
they're everything desirable that you would want to be it says
they have a small waist and they dress fashionably
2. “Barbie Totally Hair commercial 90s" 1992
Rhetorical Examples and Explanation
Appeal
Ethos The little girls in the ad playing with the dolls. the kids in the
ad have credibility because they are playing with the doll and
using it and having fun.
Logos The song and the girls playing with the dolls. If you have this
doll you will be hot and cool and you will have fun.
Pathos This appeals to kids emotions possibly because they would
want to be like their mom or models who have long hair and
are attractive. It says that this Barbie is totally hot and totally
cool which would make you want it even more because those
are things kids aspire to be. You get to change it yourself and
make it your own. Kids get to use their imagination for what
they could do to it. The kids playing in it seem happy which
means if you bought it you would be happy. Overall it shows
that it's good to grow up to be cool and have long hair and
that it is desirable.
3. "Imagine the Possibilities" 2015
Rhetorical Examples and Explanation
Appeal
Ethos The kids were doing their jobs and the adults were laughing
at the kids even though they were supposed to be the ones
teaching and having authority
Logos Convince us that this will make kids use their imagination and
let them grow up to be whatever they want
Pathos Kids were role-playing doing their jobs it was cute and it made
people laugh they were trying their best and they were
serious even though they were wrong
Follow-up Questions
1. Which rhetorical appeal do you feel was used the most and why?
Pathos because the last two seemed to use mostly emotion. Making the kids
want to be someone cool with long hair and appealing to parents saying that
kids could be anything. It is the most persuasive to girls. It has most likely been
proven the most effective through time by their ads.
2. Take a look at these slides showing the evolution of Barbie over the
years. With the advertisements in mind, what can you say about the
evolution of the brand?
They change over time. They evolve with the fashion trends and the hairstyles
and with society. People have been pushing for more diverse cast of Barbies
and recently they have gotten their wish. In the '90s the Barbies reflected the
clothes worn in that era.
3. Which advertisement do you feel could have been the most persuasive
for the intended audience? Why?
I think the second one with the long hair is the most persuasive to little girls. It
shows that Barbies are fun and cool and pretty. It doesn't inherently degrade
women and speaks directly to the children. The first ad seems a little too
grown up for children to care about and the last one is more of making fun of
children and it's for parents enjoyment. The second one also sold the most so it
is quite possible that the ad was very persuasive.
4. Some believe that advertisements can shape our perceptions of our
environment and of ourselves. How might these Barbie advertisements
influence the target audience?
They may influence how girls perceive their bodies. Constantly being shown a
tiny waist and unhealthy proportions can have a negative effect on their view
of their own bodies because they don't look like that.saying the outfits on the
dolls are cool and fashionable and the girls are pretty make little girls want to
copy that because they want to be all those things.
5. How do these advertisements connect to the poem “Barbie Doll?” Explain.
These advertisements show false realities and things to look up to that are not necessarily good. They promote
unhealthy lifestyles. They show that you can only be cool if you're fashionable and have long hair. More recently it is
getting better promoting different kinds of lifestyles and all kinds of jobs and body types. It is getting more diverse and
overall less toxic. In the newer ads it is trying to show that girls do anything they set their mind to.
