Nike: The Brand of Champions

This week, especially because the focus of our class was on textual analysis, I thought it was only fitting to complete another textual analysis of a commercial that I thought did a great job of convincing viewers to purchase their product. If you cannot already tell from the title of the commercial, the commercial was produced by Nike marketers and their main rhetorical appeals revolved around ethos – building the ethos of the Nike brand by associating it with soccer players of high levels of ethos.

The commercial featured a variety of athletes that participate in variety of sports. These include Kobe Bryant, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Manny Pacquiao, and Xiang Liu. The commercial shows the aforementioned athletes preparing and completing rigorous training, lifting weights, boxing, and jumping rope to prepare for their respective competitions. The athletes regularly change clothes, displaying an array of Nike workout gear and uniforms. The athletes are shown exercising both indoors and outdoors, in a way indicating that the products are reliable and can be used in virtually every climate.  They work out sometimes with a coach and sometimes alone.  The commercial then shows a calendar quickly flipping through dates, fast-forwarding until the date of each competition. Bryant, Ronaldo, Federer, Sharapova, and the rest of the all-stars are then shown finishing and winning their respective competitions.

Nike shows the audience that its product chain can fit the needs of virtually every athlete, whether a track star or boxing master. The company demonstrates its ethos by showing that even the top athletes – with repeated victories tucked under their belts – use its products. It gives off the message that anyone, with determination, practice, preparation, coaching, and – of course – Nike products can become a champion and, ultimately win.

Check out the commercial below!

Be Mine, Valentine

Since this Tuesday was Valentine's Day - and because one of the topics that we discussed this week was the appeal to pathos - I thought it was only too appropriate to make my post about something slightly romantic. Initially, I was hoping to find a commercial from this year’s Valentine’s Day but caught my eye. So, I resorted to the one place that anyone can find a sappy, pathos-filled commercial: YouTube. And, voila, the third commercial on the page – a Nokia commercial seemed to be the perfect one to discuss.

The commercial tells the story of a young man overseas and a young woman, presumably his girlfriend, staring out into the rain, missing him. The man, in a sunny, tropical-looking city, snaps photos with his Nokia phone (a model that, nowadays, seems extremely outdated) that, when pieced together, form the sentence “Will you marry me?” and sends the message via text to his girlfriend. And, as in all feel-good commercials, she responds with a very predictable. “Yes.”

Nokia did several things right in the construction of this particular advertisement. The entire commercial revolves around an appeal to pathos. From the opening scene, with the girl staring out the window, it is clear that her mind is far away, and the audience cannot help but with that she is with the one that she is thinking so intently about. When the man is running around, taking pictures, it's initially not quite clear what he is trying to spell out. But, when the viewers realize what he is doing, they are excited to see how it will play out.

The slogan, “Nokia, connecting people,” is a fitting conclusion to the advertisement, suggesting to single viewers, that purchasing a Nokia phone could result in them finding their soul mates. And, for the viewers in relationships, Nokia assures it’s users that they too will have a happy ending, most likely with that picture-perfect proposal. The perfect advertisement to set the Valentine’s Day mood!

If you have time, check out the commercial below"

Halftime in America

This past weekend was the Super Bowl XLVI and while I was indifferent about the two teams playing (the Steelers - the only team that really matters - weren't on the field). The advertisements that aired during the game, however,provided for some interesting material to discuss in my blog post for this week.

One of the most popular advertisements this time around was on that played during half-time. "It's Halftime in America," released by Chrysler, serves as an example of kairos and also as a piece with exemplary use of logos, pathos, and ethos. Please watch the advertisement before continuing.

Immediately, one of the things that sets apart this advertisement is Eastwood's cool, raspy voice. Without the imagery in the advertisement, his voice alone makes his monologue extremely effective. And, as evidenced by Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address, his speech doesn't need to be long to be effective. Coming in at 247 words, Eastwood still conveys a powerful message with a few well chosen words.

Eastwood also makes use of several rhetorical devices. An example of this is the use of an anaphora (the repetition of an initial phrase). How do we come from behind? How do we come together? And how do we win? He also includes several metaphors within his piece, describing "the fog of division, discord, and blame," and asserting that "this country can't be knocked out with one punch." The first metaphor in the piece occurs in the first line of the advertisment with the quote "It’s half time in America."

Other methods that Eastwood uses to create a powerful argument include the use of repetition (especially when he repeats the word 'we') and the use of dramatic pauses (which are, conveniently filled with inspirational music).

The advertisement as a whole makes significant appeals to pathos, especially with references to American patriotism and powerful images of people with solemn faces, but unmistakable looks of determination. The ad draws the audience in, using images and video clips of routine activities that the average viewer completes daily.

The ad's use of pathos and his inspiring tone instill a sense of hope among the viewers and gives across the message that Chrysler and their branch motor companies in Detroit, Michigan will endure and that, if car owners buy Chrysler cars, they will endure as well. A powerful half-time message that, in my mind, set the  Super Bowl XLVI apart.

An Unsatisfactory Proposal

Having just watched one of my favorite movies of all time, Pride and Prejudice, this past week, I thought it was only too perfect to refer to one of the worst proposals of all time in my Rhetoric and Civic Life Blog this week. For all of you english buffs out there, that's right. I'm referring to Mr. Collin's insincere, infamous proposal to Elizabeth Bennet. 

Now, I'm certain that a proposal from a short, socially akward man, with the manners of a two year old would be the last thing that any female with a minute romantic notion would want. What makes things worse, is that Collins's proposal is heartless; he proposes solely out of duty.

In class, we recently discussed the term kairos - an ancient Greek term referring to the right or opportunte moment. In my opinion, Collins' proposal is an example of what kairos  is not. He approaches his cousin the morning after bustling ball, when she is evidently enamored by another Mr. Wickham. Already the scene is set for disaster.

Furthermore, Collins's appeal to rhetoric has much to be desired. He makes a heavy appeal to logos, beginning by listing his reasons for why she should accept his proposal, instead of complementing her and describing his feelings for her. By getting married, he, a clergyman, can set a good example, can make himself (again not showing concern for her feelings) happy, can fulfill the wishes of his patroness, and, finally, can allow the Bennet property to stay in the family. He speaks condescendingly of Elizabeth's meager dowry, even though he claims that it is inconsequential to him. He evidently has no real affection for her and, being the romanticist that she is, it is most evident that she doesn't either, and most definitely won't accept him.

When Elizabeth first rejects his proposal, Mr. Collins, the bumbling fool that he is, interprets her refusal as an attempt to cause him to share more of his sentiments with her. He is certain that after rejecting him twice, she will surely come around.

Elizabeth rejects Collins at least five times, yet he is still unable to believe that she doesn't want to marry him. At that point, he turns to insult, arguing that she may never receive a proposal, and continues to argue that she "isn't serious in her rejection of (him)."

Elizabeth has to resort to running out on Collins to turn him down.

Collin's inability to appeal to kairos, his excessive appeal to logos, and his ineffectual attempt to refer to pathos are all indicators of an ineffectual, hopeless proposal, one that, hopefully, will never be emulated in the real world.

Check out the proposal below:

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