Prompt: The ad I chose is for Nike Air Jordans based on this video (24) Air Jordan II Commercial – YouTube
A rhetorical analysis asks you to explain how writers or speakers within specific social situations attempt to influence others through discourse (including written or spoken language, images, gestures, and so on). For this assignment, you will continue to develop your rhetorical and multimodal literacy by examining and analyzing an advertisment or ad campaign. The advertisment can be a commercial, print ad, social media ad, or a combination of these mediums in a campaign for a product/company.
How to Complete the Project
Engaging and Thoughtful Title that speaks to the piece itself
Beginning Includes (2-4 paragraphs)
explanation of rhetoric and the “rhetorical situation” of the text
Author- information on company/brand
Context: the when & where of its publication; the historical & social background of the text or cultural connotations
Audience: the “who” the text is intended for (target audience and secondary audiences)- Remember to sue demographics like gender, age, income level, etc.
Purpose: the intended message, or goal, of the text (direct response ad, branding ad, secondary purposes)
Middle Includes (3-8 paragraphs)
Analysis of Multimodal Elements
linguistic, visual, aural, gestural, spatial
Aristotelian rhetorical appeals
ethos, pathos, logos
Analysis of Elements/Appeals Must Include:
Description of the appeal found in the text
Evidence of the appeal from the text in whatever form makes the most sense: direct quotes, image, sound bite, etc.
Explanation of how the appeal affects the audience and/or the purpose of the text
Ending Includes (2-3 paragraphs)
explanation of writer’s final opinion on whether or not the text is effective, not effective, or a mixture of both when it comes to communicating its message, the purpose, to its audience based on analysis of appeals
Questions to consider:
Describe the ad (what you see, what is said, how it is organized and so on) and the ad’s overall effect or tone. Is the ad old-fashioned, somber, disturbing, serene, purposely confusing, busy, funny, sarcastic, ironic, understated, sad, sexy, vague and so on? Does it sentimentalize, glorify, What grabs your attention? How do your eyes move across the page? Are the objects interacting in some way- implied or obvious? Is there implied movement? Foreshadowing? What is excluded? Be detailed.
Find the argument. What is the argument? What kind of lifestyle do you think your advertising tries to promote? What kind of values? What are the implied values? The explicit messages? What is the context? Discuss how the audience and the ad’s message are linked. What kinds of knowledge or experience does the ad assume its audience possesses? What associations might the audience make with the images in your ad? How and why are these associations important? How do they connect with the product? How might these associations motivate viewers to purchase the product? Who do you think is the target audience and how do you know?
Prove the argument. Identify Rhetorical Strategies. What appeals are being used to support the argument? Ethos? Credibility by name or brand or endorsement Pathos? Emotions Logos? Logic Consider diction if there’s text! Consider context.
What can you deduce about American culture in general by looking at this ad? How should the target audience or public react to this ad?
