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 “‘You can tell Mattel, It’s swell” ; they think that it is a good
company because it rhymes and people agree with them.
Logos Tells price of the doll and the price of its accessories. Doesn’t
have many facts, demonstrating that the audience doesn’t
care about the facts because they are little girls.
Pathos They have a song that is telling people they could play with
them and imagine the people who they can become.
Evokes feelings of want also in the girls, making them want to
become better/ more beautiful.
2. “Barbie Totally Hair commercial 90s" 1992
Rhetorical Examples and Explanation
Appeal
Ethos The barbie is seen as a reliable toy, which further emphasizes
the name recognition and all the kids growing up would
recognize it.
Logos Given basic information about what you get when you buy the
doll. It is seen as a deal by people looking at the video.
Pathos Could create emotions in the girls watching the ad who want
the toy for themselves/appeals to the buyers so that they can
have the toy also.
3. "Imagine the Possibilities" 2015
Rhetorical Examples and Explanation
Appeal
Ethos I noticed that I felt kind of happy throughout the whole
commercial. I felt like the message that they were sharing had
credibility since it felt like it was relatable. The pink and
natural things associated with girls incorporated into this ad
will give it credibility with those who watched it, since those
things are associated with the watchers.
A lot of the credibility to this ad comes from the message it
passes across, connecting imagination to real life. That is
something that everybody experiences, kids especially. This
really connects with the target audience since this is
something that they do every day.
A final example of credibility is the posing a question that
people already know the answer to, what happens when a girl
uses her imagination. Then, people answer that question in
their mind subconsciously. That question reinforces a
response by the person that girls can indeed do whatever
they want, especially in the U.S.. Their response, or bias, is
continuously reaffirmed throughout the message.
Logos This message logically connected with occupations that girls
still occupy today and are naturally attracted to. Because of
the separation of occupations into “boy” and “girl”
occupations, girls naturally gravitate towards certain
occupations and therefore, occupations that women are
generally participants in really showed through in this one.
The logically correct occupation between occupations in the
video: professor, vet, and coach, gave credibility or ethos also
to the video since we see those occupations in real life.
The video didn’t disrupt any previous social norms that we
already expect, rather it pushed a new idea into something
we already experience. The desired audience therefore feels
that this makes sense for them logically.
The logical disconnect also keeps people interested (girls
teaching college classes) and the message only connects
when Barbies are in the picture. This poses Barbies logically
as the gateway for girls’ success, even though that isn’t really
possible.
Pathos The positive vibe of this message added to the
persuasiveness of the message it was sending. The music,
humor and laughing in the background really made the
message feel happy. The desired message that this passes on
is: playing with Barbies makes you happy.
I think a message that a lot of girls would feel watching this
video is that girls can do anything, but they need barbies to
achieve that. They feel all these happy goals, (girls becoming
professors and professional coaches), but the ad provides the
message at the end, that in order to achieve that, they need
to play with Barbies.
The “unicorns” as well as some simple screenplay (such as
seeing a woman nudge her husband when a girl is teaching
them about a dinosaur) push a further and deeper message
that this message is “cute” and discredits anything to parents
or men who might be buying things that this women goes
against social norms, being unacceptable.
Follow-up Questions
1. Which rhetorical appeal do you feel was used the most and why?
Pathos was used the most, however it was mostly used in a subconscious tense.
People feel happy or sad, especially little girls and are influenced to achieve
their dreams and become a better person, of course by buying barbies. This is
because pathos is most effective.
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?
There is more diversity, and less and less become conservative. There is a lot
more diversity about what happens to them. The occupations also become
increasingly diverse and they are liberal as to how they design them.
3. Which advertisement do you feel could have been the most persuasive
for the intended audience? Why?
The second advertisement. It had the catchy song and was persuasive. Little
kids have a small attention span and can really relate with that one because it
was short and straight to the point. It also made them really want the doll.
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 influenced girls to want something. If the ad makes girls feel like
everybody wants it, then the ad makes girls see the pressure of buying a
barbie doll and to follow stereotypes.
5. How do these advertisements connect to the poem “Barbie Doll?” Explain.
They somewhat connect to the poem “Barbie Doll”. Each shows what the girl
should want of her future. In the poem, she also saw what she should want later
in life being a girl, but couldn’t find that in herself. The ads show that barbie
dolls help push a better future. They both push gender stereotypes to push
girls to conform to peer pressure.
