COMMERCIAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF9t2rFmTVE
You will analyze a commercial of your choice in order to determine how and
if it is effective. The commercial must be recent (published within the past year) and no longer than 3 minutes—no
exceptions. You will need to post the link to the video at the end of the essay on a Works Cited page. If you know
MLA format, use it. If not, we’ll be reviewing MLA briefly before the second essay.
When analyzing your commercial,
it is NOT your objective to agree or disagree with the commercial’s subject
matter (Don’t use 1
st
person!).
We’re not looking at what the commercial says, but how it says it. By the end of the
paper it should be clear that you understand how to identify the rhetorical context and the rhetorical strategies at
work in the speech, and
that you are able to determine if those strategies are effective,
and if so
, how they work
together to make the commercial persuasive.
In other words, how does the commercial use logos, pathos, and ethos
to make it appealing and effective for the target audience? Provide specific examples from the commercial. You do
not need to discuss every rhetorical strategy. You can choose one or two to focus on. If the commercial you chose is
not effective, explain how the commercial falls flat using the terms above.
Your analysis should be between 1250-1500 words long