Love Your Hair Longer
The commercial, "Love Your Hair Longer," promoting the benefits of Pantene Conditioner is essentially targeted at women who, as the name of the commercial suggests, experience problems regarding the growth of long hair.
Accordingly, the credibility of the advertisement and its central assertion is strategically cemented by deliberately employing the celebrity status of renowned actor/singer—Selena Gomez—in an effective fashion that contributes to the ethos rhetoric of persuasion. Subsequently, the fact that Gomez herself voices the statements regarding the product itself is pivotal in augmenting the authenticity of the content of the advert as it better convinces the audience of the gravity of the statements being made by celebrity Selena Gomez due to her glorious presence elevating the central message of the advert.
In terms of the pathos facet of the advertisement, the central concept thrives on appealing to the desire of women who wish to have longer hair, by accenting Gomez's perfectly set and radiating hair, which could be their own if they were to purchase the Pantene product. This illusionary play on the emotions of the audience elicits a hopeful response as the Pantene Conditioner is illustrated to be the panacea to one's hair growth problems. The use of exceptionally bright colours, specifically yellow, in the advertisement also stimulates a more positive aura in the entirety for the audience's perception, which works in favour of increasing product sales due to the optimistic connotations complimenting the advert. The psychological impact of the advert has also been critically considered as visual animations of the Pro-V formula working its way through brittle hair miraculously transforms the hair to strengthen it. Furthermore, the incessant reiteration of the formula being "new" psychologically influences how the audience absorbs the product as 'better than ever', simply due to the label of the formula being new.
The advertisement itself was released in the United States of America, however, Selena Gomez is a globally recognized figure, thus making the advertisement impactful on a global scale. Furthermore, the use of one of her greatest hits, "Hands to Myself," as the playback music of the commercial evokes a sense of familiarity in an audience, despite the fact that they may not be acquainted with Selena Gomez herself, her song is well-known, making it an effective choice to use it in the advert itself. The use of the single"Hands to Myself" also highlights the advertisement being fairly recent as this song was only released in 2015.
The final persuasive element that can also be observed in this advert is the use of logos, which is the appeal to logic and reason. Gomez iterates how the novel "pro-v" formula of the Conditioner "micro-targets weak spots" and therefore makes the hair stronger. The use of critical scientific jargon can provoke an audience regarding the argument sounding legitimate and therefore make the advert more successful. The use of impressive animations that visually display the functioning of the Conditioner to strengthen the hair also enhances the overall message of the advertisement by making good use of the structural liberties of the medium it was delivered in.
Hi Shriya, i liked how you thoroughly examined the 3 rhetorical appeals. I liked how you added in an extra 'fun fact' as to how Selena's song that played triggered a sense of familiarity in the audiences, so that they enjoy watching the ad and it might also attract others. The language you used was good, which showed a mature understanding. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHi Shriya, I agree with the fact that even though this advertisement was published in USA, the company can grab a wider audience as she is a "global recognised figure". I liked how you have structured your paragraphs because it made it easier to understand the ad. as it broke down Pathos, Ethos and Logos. Overall, it was a pleasure to read!!
ReplyDeleteHello Shriya,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great read of a blogpost as you are able to critically evaluate the use of three rhetoric appeals in immense detail. Something I really found quiet amusing is your style of writing as you write in such a sophisticated and well structured manner that clearly demonstrates a direct purpose towards the readers to understand. This is evident when you say: "the use of critical scientific jargon can provoke an audience regarding the argument sounding legitimate and therefore make the advert more successful." Not only have you identified and justified the use of the scientific jargon but also, its effect towards the audience which is what makes your writing so effective. However I would suggest writing in shorter manner by condensing the amount of words you write. This would allow you to write in a even more specific manner that allows you to directly express your understanding of the ad. Other than that, keep up with your effective analysis that is evident in your blogpost! Well done on such successful approach towards the task. Looking forward to your future blogposts.