The ad I chose to analyze was Apple’s ad for their iPhone 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4p6njjPV_o
Apple’s advertisement is designed to capture the audience’s attention so that they can maximize their sales. To do this, they employ mainly one form of rhetoric: ethos. Because the company wants to sell their products to the masses, they must include facts about the new phone in an enticing way to appeal to the audience. The video starts off with a phone alarm, a sound we are ALL very familiar with. The man in the video proceeds to lift up the phone, revealing its dual camera, a feature that is completely new. The video shifts to different frames of different people putting the iPhone 11 into their pockets. Yellow, white, teal, red, and lavender colored phones are showed, letting the audience know that in this new release, there will be colors that were not previously offered with older models of the iPhone.
Many of us are too familiar with dropping our phones; we never mean to do it, but it somehow happens anyways. The next couple of scenes show various situations in which the iPhone is being handled aggressively: a pet accidentally knocking the phone off the table, a woman throwing her phone in her purse and running down the steps in a rush, a man dropping his phone between his car seats. Before making a purchase as large as a phone, consumers are always curious about the durability and lifespan of the product, and Apple knows that and includes it in their video to gain our trust and have ensure the durability of the phone.
The new iPhone 11 introduces a new dual camera, with more features than in previous models. The following scene allows the audience to understand that the dual camera is not just for show; it allows you to take better photos in a better quality, something that many of us want nowadays.
Whether we accidentally drop our phones in the toilet or spill a drink over it, the concern of liquid interfering with the phone’s lifespan is a genuine concern for many consumers, so Apple addresses that concern in the next scenes. From the bathroom sink to a coffee shop, these scenes reveal to the audience that the iPhone 11 is water resistant for a certain amount of time, which appeals to consumers, considering this allows the phones to have a longer lifespan.
The entire video is based around facts and logic that the company has carefully selected to appeal to our ethos. They include so many facts to gain our trust while also enticing us with their new product.
I agree that Apple as a company tends to cover all bases when making their commercials. I remember one commercial i watched was a limit testing ad where the iphone was hit by multiple “household ” or “kitchen” items and remained scratchless. This is definetly a good way to market their item as phones tend to be one of the things that people break the most, so durability is definetly a big factor in people’s decisions when purchasing a phone.
I really liked this commercial when I saw it and I also think that this commercial also applies the appeal of logos since Apple is using facts and showing why their new phone with dual cameras is better.
I agree that there is a usage of ethos when speaking about the Iphone however I do think that pathos is also prevalent as the ad’s rationale for buying a Iphone over devices. This is becuase the ad’s rationale is deploy rooted in the emotions of taking photos/videos.
The commercial is really simple but gives the consumers the idea that their new products are even better the their previous ones.