Rhetorical Analysis Ad: Joe Biden “Heal America” 2020 Presidental Campaign Ad
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.
Shamima, I agree with much of what you’ve said about this ad, but I think there is more to consider about how the ad has been constructed. Whose voice do we hear in this ad? How is the audio put together? What difference does that make? What about the images of the White House that we see at the very beginning of the ad? What do you notice there? You correctly suggest that the ad uses pathos, but be more specific and let us know what emotions are being evoked. What is the argument that is being made about Biden and Harris in this ad?