Commercial Analysis

Commercial: https://youtu.be/26VsnTXWyEM

Within this commercial, the FDA speaks about the use of tobacco and how it is taking over teens’ lives. When beginning to analysis this commercial it is clear The Federal Drug Administration is the author sending out a powerful message. Due to the amount of credibility the FDA has you can trust they have evidence to back their commercial. In this commercial, the FDA is targeting teens who have an addiction to tobacco. Overall the purpose of this commercial is to show the impact that tobacco has on teens. When the dirty man tells the teens to stop what they are doing to take a smoke break they have to or their body will go into withdrawal. The FDA is trying to get the point across that tobacco has power over you once you become addicted.

Not only does this commercial have a strong overall purpose, but it also implements many of the rhetorical appeals as well. Ethos, logos, and pathos are used strongly throughout this commercial while mythos does not apply. Since mythos is the appeal to tradition, it does not apply in this commercial. The FDA’s goal is to stop teens from smoking not make it a recurring tradition and theme. Ethos is used because the FDA is the author raising awareness of this drug to the younger generation. Logos is based on fact. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, “In 2016, an estimated 15.5% (37.8 million) of U.S. adults were current cigarette smokers. Of these, 76.1% smoked every day.” This quote proves logos within the commercial because it gives factional proof that tobacco does affect thousands of lives. Lastly, pathos is predominantly used. The FDA purposely used bullying in comparison to the addition of tobacco. Bullying is a topic almost every teen has either experienced or witnessed. Pathos is used to leave a lasting emotion on the audience. This commercial would not be effective without these appeals and the effect they have on the audience in terms of credibility, fact, and emotion.