Monthly Archives: September 2020

In this presidential ad for Biden, it brings to light the current issues in our country. Mainly the racial injustice black Americans have been facing due to brutality. The audience for this ad is black Americans and those who are against racial injustice. While watching the video I saw many people of different backgrounds with Biden which shows that he is here for all people. The message this ad sends is that America will not tolerate racism or the injustice shown by the police department.  It also shows that a part of having freedom is being free from brutality. Biden is striving to make it so everyone knows they are being heard. This invokes a welcoming feeling where people can come together and not have to be afraid for their lives. It’s hard to place your trust in a system that abuses its citizens, so showing that the system is there for the people would allow them to put more trust in your cause. This is a positive ad because it doesn’t discredit any candidates, but reveals issues our country is currently facing. There were lots of pictures with infants of different races showing that life is precious no matter where you were born. The use of infants also gives a sense of protectiveness because no normal person would want to hurt a child. I also noticed that there was a clip of students in a classroom which could mean that we can’t spread hate to the next generation. If people were to come together now, it would make it much easier for the next generation to fit in because racial issues wouldn’t be a problem. Biden’s plan for law enforcement and how we can reduce the violence is shown by the “Biden Harris Plan”. He intends to create a national standard on the use of force and adjusting federal funding of the police. The techniques this ad uses are pathos and logos. Pathos was mostly used because you feel a sense of sympathy for all those being mistreated, which in this case would be black Americans. Logos was used because it shows problems were are currently facing in our country and points out that necessary political action will be taken when Biden becomes president. In my opinion this ad is very effective because it directly addresses the issues we’re going through. The ad also helps us to sympathize with the people being directly affected by police brutality. It isn’t like most ads which are meant to discredit other candidates, it’s meant to show what’s being done about our current situation.

The audience this ad was meant for was people of color and specifically African Americans and anyone that supports the idea that they are not being equally treated. Throughout the ad Biden and Kamala Harris address the fact that Black Americans should not be treated the way that they are and that they are being heard. So this was meant to show them that their problems are being heard and not be overlooked. The reason I know this is because when watching the ad they said black Americans as well as saying that they hear the problems and they want to help fix it. 

The argument this ad is making is that they want to reform the policing in this country and creating a standard that they have to uphold. As well as conditioning federal funds and holding police officers accountable for their actions and to now try and fix racial justice. I thought there argument was good because they made sure they connected to the audience and showed that they cred by talking about the issues that we want to hear. 

The feeling that this ad evoked for me when I was watching was relief, happiness, sadness, and excitement. The reason I was feeling relief was that once I heard him talk about how black people are being treated in America and how this should not still be going on was relieving to me because he’s listening to what we have to say which is more than what our current president is doing. he’s talking about police brutality and the fear that these black Americans have to go through with me of every single day thinking that their life is in danger and I appreciated that he talked about that. the reason I was feeling sadness was that when he was talking about the police brutality and the fear that they have to go through every day made me so sad that after all this time they’re so racist and Injustice in our country after all we’ve been through. makes me sad that we still have to fight for equal rights because of a person’s skin color. I was happy when watching the ad because I was just so glad that he’s trying to change the Injustice in America and talk about what he’s going to do when he’s elected to try and fix the racism and Injustice and the police brutality. And the reason why I was excited is that I’m hoping that if Biden does win the election that we see change, and we see the change happening in a good way to try and fix the damage that Trump caused those four years of him running as president.

 The side is positive because he talks about the Injustice in America and what he’s trying to do to fix it and hopefully make it better for the people of color and specifically the black Americans. He and Kamala talk about hearing the people and talk about all the things that they’re going to try and do to hopefully make a change and try and make these black Americans feel safe. I know that this is a positive ad is because they only talk about what they can do for the better and how they’re going to do it.

The visual elements of the ad really help catch my eye because when I was watching the ad I wasn’t distracted in any way and I watched the ad fully through without having to look away or look on my phone because I was bored by it.

The way they use ethos was by talking about how they feel for the audience and they connected to them by the thing that they understand what they’re going through is rough and they’re trying to help and maybe fix that and make a change to hopefully make it better. The way they use logos was by talking about the things that are going to do so hopefully fix our problems like conditioning federal funds and holding police officers accountable. Pathos is used by bringing in other people of color to show that they are trying to connect with them and are trying to put to show that they are trying to establish change.

I think the ad was successful because it caught my attention and had strong points about things that a lot of people want to see a change in. I also think that showed compassion and delivered the message well by connecting with the audience. 

Feel The Bern  – Bernie Sanders

The presidential campaign ad I will be analyzing is from a former presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. This ad is titled “Feel The Bern” which is narrated by Barack Obama. This ad was directed to those who have supported Barack Obama in the past, and those who want their voices heard. I could tell the ad was directed to Barack Obama supporters because he is the narrator and he is speaking highly of Bernie which will get the attention of those who voted for Obama in the previous elections. This ad was also targeted to minorities and other marginalized groups because a lot of people from those groups supported Obama when he was running for election.

The argument that is being made in this ad is that Bernie Sanders is a well-experienced man who has done many good things for our country before and he will fight for the people of the United States. After watching this ad I felt trust in Bernie Sanders, I think that it was because of the credibility this ad built up by having a man like Barack Obama who many trusts to narrate and speak good things about the former presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. Another feeling this ad evokes is hope, because of the visuals being shown as Obama speaks about Sanders. There were images and videos of Bernie Sanders out speaking to the people, and him working alongside Obama. This ad was a positive ad because the message was not to bring down another running candidate, instead, it was a message to get voters to see why they should vote for Bernie Sanders and display the good things he has done and the impact he has on this country. For example, the ad listed that Bernie Sanders is an “Authentic, Passionate, and Fearless” man who “served on the veteran’s committee and got bills done” said Obama.

The persuasive techniques used in this ad are ethos and pathos; like mentioned previously, since Obama is a trusted man by many in this country, he builds credibility in the ad which means ethos was used as a persuasive technique. Pathos, however, was used in the visuals because they portrayed very positive emotions which make the viewers feel like there might be hope for this country after all. These two techniques were used very well in the ad to spread an overall very positive message and allow viewers to trust and vote for Bernie Sanders. I think this ad was very successful because as a viewer, I was able to gather a lot of information about this former presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders in exactly thirty seconds. I also found that using Barack Obama for a campaign ad is genius because of the amount of trust and credibility he holds on certain groups in the United States.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/campaign-ads-2020/joe-biden-tweets-ad-responding-to-trump-interviews-with-woodward/2020/09/10/19b1be59-7515-431f-97a3-f0fcac18c644_video.html

In this campaign ad by Joe Biden, we hear a recorded phone call that Trump had in private, confirming that he knew how dangerous the Coronavirus was before it grew as big as it got. Next to it, we see Trump in public three weeks later, downplaying the virus saying it’s not too bad, when in reality he knew how deadly it can be. The intended audience for this ad is for all people who live in the United States. Specifically, people who were really affected by the coronavirus. We can tell by the way the ad shows us he knew how deadly the virus can be, but publicly did not warn us about the consequences and downplayed it. The argument that this ad is making is that Trump had a chance to publicly warn and control the virus before it got out of control. He knew about it for a long time and did not use that time to tell us or do something about it. Joe Biden is trying to show people that if he had Trump’s position, he would’ve done something instead of not warning anyone or not doing anything to control the virus. One feeling that this ad evokes is anger. The fact that we now know that this whole coronavirus situation could have been handled better but nothing was done about it can anger many people. Since this virus negatively affected most people and nothing was done about it early on, it angers them. Another feeling that this ad evokes is sadness. Many people died or now have long term health issues due to this lack of virus control and many of us lost family members or family friends. It can sadden many people knowing that the people that died could have been saved. This is a negative ad because Joe Biden paints Donald Trump as someone who did not want to help the people when they most needed the help. This puts a bad image on Trumps part making it a negative ad. One rhetorical appeal that Joe Biden uses is ethos. He establishes authority by showing us Donald Trump’s private conversation. This establishes authority by showing us clear evidence that Trump knew about the virus and lied about it when he downplayed it to the public. Another rhetorical appeal that Joe Biden uses is pathos. He attempts to sway the audience emotionally by showing us how things could have been prevented but they were not. Towards the end of the ad, Biden puts up “He knew. He didn’t warn us. People died.” This shows us how Trump had the opportunity to save people, but chose not to do anything about it except lie. I think this ad is really successful because it shows clear evidence and it can show people how Donald Trump can lie about a very serious situation. This can persuade people to want to vote for Joe Biden because in the future, they would not know wether or not to trust Trump.

After watching this ad, I know this ad is directed to all American voters, but most importantly those who are afraid of the current social climate. He highlights that he doesn’t want people to  see him as someone who condones or encourages the riots and looting but he does support the actual protest and marches for change. He also highlights to voters that a vote for Trump will only continue to fuel the fires.This ad is highlighting the fact that under another four years of Trump’s America, Trump will instigate more fear and violence in the country as he did these past four years. Biden begins this ad by denouncing the the looting and rioting because Trump’s extremely gullible following have been attempting to make people believe that Biden supports rioting and looting they want to make it seem as though the protest that have been happening are not protest but in fact looting and rioting, in this ad Biden clearly differentiates the two because he knows the difference, he is aware that people are trying to put words in his mouth and he wants to make it clear that he will not allow people to do that. Biden promises that if he were to become president he wouldn’t continue spouting destructive and divisive rhetoric as Trump does when he tweets things like “when the looting starts the shooting starts” threatening the lives of his own American citizens who he claims to love so much. This ad gives the audience a feeling of clarity and relief, when he talks about what he will do in his presidency versus what trump is already doing you feel a great sense of relief that if he were to become president he wouldn’t allow his supporters to become “armed militia” highlighting the fact that Trump’s supporters are extremely violent and a danger to society.  This ad is both positive and negative, its positive because he talks about all he will try to do to make this country better for the people fighting for a better social climate, it’s also very positive when he makes it clear he does not support the violence being done in this country whether is be from rioters and looters or the trumps supporters aka “armed militia” or the armed forces being put in the streets to attack even peaceful protesters. It’s very negative when there are clips of these rioters and looters as well as armed forces attacking the citizens in this country fighting for change, he uses pictures from the affects of the riots and looting which gives people a negative feeling. Biden uses pathos by calling on people emotions through these extremely sad time he wants people to know that he will stand for what’s right and won’t be fear mongering as trump does he amplifies the fact that trump wants the run this country with fear by using swat teams in states with protesters even if they are peaceful Over all this ad is the polar opposite of the majority of Trump’s ads, there is a lot of lighting and brightness in this ad, whereas in Trump ads he is being very dark and trying to fear monger the audience he also tries to demonize Biden and a lot of liberals in his ads. Whereas in Biden’s ad although he does use three clips of trump, he just uses the actual clips and doesn’t try to edit or change them in any way them to demonize him, Biden probably does this to amplify the fact that he doesn’t need gimmicks or editing to make Trump look like a monster because trump does that all in his own. The background music is very uplifting it gives the vibe of positive and ready for change. I think this ad is successful in that it tells the audience the truth in what the current president is doing and how damaging it is. This ad makes the watcher feel ready for change and that change would come with electing Joe Biden as president. 

After watching the ad I know that is targeted to all of the American citizens who plan on voting in the November 2020 election. In this video we see a mother who is holding up cards that represent everything that she is afraid to say out loud. She is suppose to represent the silent majority who want to speak out but are afraid to do so. I know this message is targeted to anyone who is second guessing on voting for Trump. In this ad Biden’s name is shown but not in a good sense. The biggest message that this ad is trying to send out to the public is that Biden isn’t fit to be president. It mentions things he’s done or plans on doing. For example it says that he plans on raising taxes, plans on giving amnesty to 11 million illegal immigrants and that his trade deals have already ” emptied our factories.” I believe that whoever is watching this is suppose to be afraid and concerned. The main goal is to raise red flags when it comes to voting for Biden. Although I don’t agree with some of the points that this ad makes many people might actually be concerned after watching it.

This ad is definitely negative. Throughout the whole ad negative things about Joe Biden are continuously brought up.The lady in the ad doesn’t look happy and the music throughout the whole ad is really suspenseful and sad. Although there isn’t much going on in the actual video you can get a lot from it. In the video the lady is sitting all alone in a room with postcards and as she goes through them the camera gets closer and closer. The clothing she’s wearing is also really dark. All these different details all set a serious mood. From my understanding this is a serious topic no matter who’s ad we are watching but for this ad its making it really crystal clear that Biden is the wrong choice. If Biden does win the presidential election the ” future is at risk.”

Personally I believe that the ad used some persuasive techniques. The visuals is one thing but they also did a good job setting the mood which would be considered Pathos. They tried to use some logic in the ad but it wasn’t very persuasive. In order to be successful in using Logos your evidence for a statement should be well researched. The things that were shown on the video looked more opinionated than anything else. If specific statistics would’ve been used the evidence would’ve felt more reliable.

Before Watching this ad I already had my opinions formed about both presidential candidates so for me the ad wasn’t too successful. But from a non bias view the ad did have a good way of giving off that concerning and sad mood which is very effective if that’s your goal. My main concern was that the statements that were being used weren’t specific enough. Everything always sounds better when numbers are involved.

Rhetorical Analysis Ad: Joe Biden “Heal America” 2020 Presidental Campaign Ad

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/campaign-ads-2020/joe-biden-heal-america–campaign-ad-2020/2020/08/24/7dc52dca-fae2-4b78-976b-9893f17e3c11_video.html

Joe Biden’s “Heal America” 2020 Presidential Campaign Ad addresses the four major issues arising in America today: public health, economic, climate, and racial injustice. The overall message together- if Biden was voted into office, he would be able to confront all these issues. Even though there is no direct message, Biden’s Ad brings up all the failures of our current president using that as his biggest playing card. His strategy plays well into evoking emotions of people who were affected by either four of the issues brought up. It gives them a sense of hope that something can change. Just as the title of the ad states: “Heal America”, Biden’s main goal is to do just that. 

When Biden’s Ad addresses the four major issues, there is tense ominous music in the background. However, when it starts to break down how he specifically can address the issues one by one the background musics shifts to more uplifted and motivational. This technique can once again alter the person watching to have more in Biden and his campaign. The Ad also uses the classic method of Biden appearing on the screen when the narrator gives the positives. The persuasive technique used in the ad is pathos. Biden’s ad evokes strong emotions using clips of disaster and the issues stated. Overall Biden’s main target was instilling trust emotionally into future voters where now they might feel conflicted. 

The message was positive as the ad was more hopeful giving a sense of security. There was no direct bashing to any political party or person rather more considerate of what the people want. This has made the ad successful focusing more on important issues than bashing others to get the upper hand in this presidential campaign like others normally would do. The ad was also successful in getting Biden’s ideas out to those who might not be familiar with it. It was direct and clear so the message was easy to get through to anyone.