Following Wednesday’s class discussion about how campaign ads make use of language, sounds, and images in order to communicate their messages, please prepare a rhetorical analysis of a campaign ad of your choosing. Your ad should be drawn from the 2020 presidential campaign, and it should NOT be an ad that was shared in Wednesday’s class by me or by one of your classmates. (If YOU shared an ad during Wednesday’s class, you are welcome to continue working with that ad for your rhetorical analysis.). Your analysis should be approx. 500 words or two double-spaced pages and should be shared, together with a link to the ad itself, as a blog post by Sunday, September 27th.
As you compose your analysis, you may want to consider the following:
–Who is the audience for this ad? How do you know?
–What is this ad’s message? (i.e. what argument is it making?)
–What feelings does it evoke?
–Is this a positive or negative ad? How do you know?
–How do the visual elements of the ad contribute to its messaging? These may include shots, framing, lighting, color, backdrops, clothing, and other visual signifiers.
–What persuasive techniques are used in the ad? (Here you want to think about the three persuasive modes identified by Aristotle and described in the “Rhetorical Triangle” reading: Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. Which are employed by your ad?)
–How successful do you think your ad is? Explain your reasoning here.
Any questions? Post them here or ask them on our SLACK channel!
