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.