The argument here is that you need to watch Midnight Spank, or else bad things will happen (i.e., butterfly will open the horrible bag). The target audience is a little more difficult to pin down, but it's mainly late teenagers and early twenty-year olds; namely, college youth. The ad includes a young man (20-something) in a restroom at a club or party at a nice house, and he appears to be enjoying himself. His location, his dress, even the ambiance of the room appeal to people of college age, and perhaps a little beyond that age as well.
The best part of this ad is the wacky way that it uses the tools of persuasion. The ad appeals to ethos in that the ad is on national TV and is endorsed by a real channel. Furthermore, and appealing to the target audience, the main authority in the advertisement is a butterfly that alone holds the ability to open or close the horrible bag. Her domineering style of speech, a combination of her no-nonsense approach to the subject matter, her repeated descriptions, and her repeated use of Richard's name, make her a formidable authority in what she is persuading Richard to do.
The appeal to pathos is much stronger in this ad than its appeal to ethos. The disturbing sound effects and the slight echo to the speech certainly appeals to fear, but the true appeal to the emotion of fear comes from the sight of the horrible bag. The greatest fear that human beings have is the fear of the unknown; that fear is tapped by the shapeless, shifting, bleeding pile that is encased in the burlap bag. That fear is somewhat augmented by the seemingly innocent butterfly threatening to unleash the contents of the bag unless its demands are met unconditionally. The absurdity of the situation adds the element of comedy to the ad, and the 'slap!' sound effect near the end of the commercial and the jovial dictation of the details of the program confirm the humor that has been hinted at during the entire advertisement.
There is not much appeal to logos in this commercial, except to give the information about the show times of Midnight Spank (Weeknights @ 12 Midnight, only on G4). No more information is given on the content of the show. This also appeals to the target audience and their inherent curiosity: Since the ad is humorously absurd we can infer that the corresponding show must have at least the same characteristics, if not more. The curiosity of the audience, brought about by the lack of information, can be a stronger incentive to watch the show than a preview of the show's content - especially if the show is less than desirable.
The credibility of the butterfly, the appeal to fear, and the distinct lack of information in this ad all appeal to the target audience of college-age youth, and encourages us to stay up just a little later and watch Midnight Spank, only on G4.
No comments:
Post a Comment