Ethos, Pathos, and Logos Based Arguments in Campaign Ads

Throughout campaign ads, ethos, pathos and logos based arguments are made.  Sometimes it can be obvious as to what kind of technique they use to draw the attention of the voters. In Political Science we learned that most voters do not take the time to actually research about each candidate. Most vote based on the campaign adds. That’s why it is so critical to know what each advertisement is trying to convey.

The first campaign commercial that I chose was from 1952, the presidential race against Eisenhower and Stevenson. Eisenhower won with majority of votes. I will have to admit, those who put this ad together were ingenious. The song was very catchy and can get stuck in your head pretty easily. (I had to watch it a lot to get information out of it). Anyway, because of its catchy tune, most will remember “Ike” just because of the song. The pathos behind this is through a technique of bandwagon. “You like Ike, I like Ike, and everyone loves Ike!” This in itself is super simple but so effective!! Pretty impressive actually. The idea that EVERYONE is behind Ike makes the voter say, “Hey! I want to be a part of this!” Even Uncle Sam, the poster trying to get people into the military is all for Ike. This ties in with Ethos too. Through saying “Everyone loves Ike,” they show a variety of those who are all for him. Doesn’t matter if your young, old, even whole families with their pets like Ike.  The logos claim in this campaign ad is that Ike will get us to be where we are going as a country. “Day and night” we will stick with Ike “all the way to Washington.”

In the second ad, it is against Bush and Kerry in 2004 presidential election. Throughout the whole ad there are no words spoken, just flashed on the screen. The pathos argument was simply the music, the kind of music that was playing gave off a serious kind of vibe. However, that’s what contributed to the main idea of this ad. “Raising to the challenge” and to “turn the corner” for a “safe and strong Nation.” The diction here is very powerful. Not only that but the ethos and logos behind the message was both “Strong” and “powerful.” The words on the screen describe what’s going on in our country dealing with the “economy”, “stock market”, and “tragedy” our country has gone through. The way this campaign addresses it, while saying we will remain “strong” while “turning the corner” implies Bush will help our country move and pick up the pieces.

Both of these ads were very right to the point with what they were trying to come across as. In the book “Thank you for arguing”, it really hit on the key points in which Ethos fit into the big scheme of things. Both ads hit on the “audience expectations for a leaders tone, appearance, and manners.” The advertisements were both serious, while conveying they were the best for the job. The decorum argument tool also fits in, especially with Ike’s commercial. The fact that he could get everyone to “follow his all the way to Washington” reflects positively while meeting the voter’s expectations.

 

"Blurred Lines"

I remember hearing this song on the radio when it first came out, and I have to say I liked it. The song has catchy lines and you sing it without even realizing what you’re saying.  Like most music that comes on the radio, most people don’t know what the lyrics actually are saying or mean. Now that I have taken the time to read the lyrics, I can say that I am very disappointed. Robin Thicke’s song, “Blurred Lines” created this tension to if this song is morally harmful and discriminating women in society, which I believe it does.

In the articles as well as the video, it is obvious to see that Thicke is talking about women, but in a negative way. The first article, I believe, got straight to the point with “The women are clearly being used as objects to reinforce the status of the men in the video.” The fact that the men have all the “control and status” over the women shows through because the men are fully covered.  Meanwhile, the women are very scantily dressed dancing around the men.  What’s interesting is that Thicke told VH1 that he didn’t think they weren’t “ogling and degrading them”, just “laughing and being silly with them.” I do not for one second believe that’s true. The lyrics prove that alone. “Talk about getting blasted, I hate these blurred lines, I know you want it, but you’re a good girl, the way you grab me, must want to get nasty.” The message behind female identity to these men, from these lines, defines the fact that the girls in this video come off as wanting to portray their "good girl" act, then Thicke tells her and the rest of the audience it's okay to be a bad girl. It’s okay and socially acceptable to “unleash” her “animal” side that all she wants is “crazy wild sex” and it is therefore in our “nature” to “get nasty though the song does not come right out and say that, but it is implied thought the context of this song.

The song name itself, “Blurred Lines,” brings across some questions as to what are the boundaries. Are they really not noticeable when it comes between what’s right and wrong? Although the view can also get another view off of this song title and the meaning behind it as well. “You're far from plastic” as Thicke sings, can have the impression that girls are hard to read. We all have heard from many that girls are so complicated and you never know the right approach as to what to say as a guy. Well, Thicke is saying that we are actually human beings, who have feelings and emotions. But then he precedes to go on about “getting blasted” and that he hates “these blurred lines “between using girls or actually treating them with respect as humans.