Advertisements are all around us: on television, magazines, billboards, and even on park benches. The advertising genre promotes a company’s product in a way that will appeal to consumers. Commercial advertising is one of the most influential ways to increase sales. Some common ads are Toyota, Budweiser, and Geico. Some commercials have a deeper message to give their company a positive image and connect with the audience on an emotional level to persuade them to purchase their product. This deeper message usually pertains to a global issue occurring at the time. One ongoing issue in the world today is feminism and women's empowerment. Beauty on Your Terms by Dove, Dream Crazier by Nike, and Like a Girl by Alway are all advertisements that have a deeper message of women empowerment while promoting the brand. These three artifacts consider their audience of women while creating their advertisements attempting to connect with them. Nike, Dove, and Always used the issue of gender inequality in commercial advertising to promote their brand through the use of rhetorical strategies such as ethos and pathos.
The Dove advertisement Beauty on Your Terms includes women being defined by how they look. Pathos is present in the Beauty on Your Terms commercial through women speaking about how society judges them based on physical appearance to connect with other women who encounter the same obstacles. The beginning of the advertisement is a series of women stating what society has defined them as and the end of the video shows the women’s reaction to their labels. A woman named Jessica was told she was “too fat, only skinny girls can dress well,” so she made a fashion blog to prove her peers wrong. An additional woman, Marcia, is a lawyer who gets faced with judgments daily. People look at her and wonder how she is a lawyer due to her appearance and Marcia responds by saying, “Her looks have nothing to do with her capabilities.” These statements connect with women in the audience who face these same judgments which will encourage them to choose Dove over other hair products. In the middle of the advertisement, the women are all stating labels, such as: “too chubby,” “too skinny,” “crazy,” “manly.” Following this the women say “he said” and “they said” and Dove puts an emphasis on “I said” to show the world that it does not matter what other individuals define women as, as long as the women know their value. The overall exigence is that labels do not phase women, they are more than just a label given to them by society. Ethos is also evident in the advertisement through the credibility of Heather Hardy. Heather Hardy was labeled as “too pretty to fight,” yet is ranked number one in the country and number two in the nation for boxing. At the end of the video, Harding stated, “My face has nothing to do with my boxing.” Other women athletes look up to professional athletes, such as Heather Hardy, so if Hardy uses Dove this will convince those women to purchase Dove. The commercial concludes with #MyBeautyMySay to remind women they are in charge of their beauty and capabilities. The advertisement is empowering and encourages other women to stick up for their beauty and use judgment as motivation.
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The Nike advertisement Dream Crazier touches on the fact that when women do the same as men they are labeled as crazy. Yet again, this commercial displays women as inferior to men. This Nike advertisement also uses pathos to trigger women’s emotions and agree with the message Nike is sending in hopes that women will purchase their products. Nike uses examples to display the unfair labels given to women that would not be the same for men. The commercial begins by declaring, “If we show emotion, we’re called dramatic,” with a clip of a woman athlete crying. Righeir brand a positive, uplifting image.
In conclusion, Nike, Always, and Dove effectively use exigence, ethos, and pathos to promote their company and promote women's empowerment..ht off the bat pathos is used to engage emotionally with women watching the advertisement who can relate to the crying woman. In contrast to Dove using everyday women, Nike uses women athletes which contributes to selling their sports gear. The commercial continues to focus on all the times women are considered crazy in sports: if women dream of equal opportunity they are delusional, when women stand for something they are unhinged, and when women get angry they are hysterical or just plain crazy. Nike is sending a message to their audience that to accomplish big goals, one must dream big, there is no such thing as dreaming too big. Additionally, Nike uses gender roles to grab the attention of the audience. “A woman boxing is crazy, a woman dunking is crazy, a woman coaching an NBA team is crazy,” Nike is using exigence to make it known that women are capable of the same things men are. Nike also uses ethos by having Serena Williams narrate the advertisement. Serena Williams is ranked number one in the world for tennis, winning twenty-three major single titles which is more than any other man or woman has ever won. Serena Williams is also used as an example in the commercial, “Winning twenty-three grand slams, having a baby, then coming back for more, crazy.” Serena Williams is an extremely popular woman athlete so using her in the commercial enhances Nike’s credibility. If a successful tennis player wears Nike, then viewers are persuaded to purchase Nike gear because they trust Serena Williams’s judgment. Nike ends the commercial with a black screen reading, “It’s only crazy until you do it. Just do it,” giving a dramatic effect. Nike created a social response and inspired women athletes all while promoting their company.
Always Like a Girl advertisement interviews men and women and asks them to describe what it means to do something “like a girl” to demonstrate how society views women. Pathos is used in the advertisement to trigger an emotional response from women. The director asked teenagers to run like a girl and the individuals exaggerated kicking their feet towards their back, worried about their hair, and flapping their arms around. When the teenagers were asked to throw like a girl and fight like a girl the actors pretended to drop a ball and throw their hands clumsily. Next, the director asked younger girls the same questions. When asked to run like a girl the younger girls ran with power and determination. Additionally, when the young girls were asked to throw and fight like a girl they did it passionately. By comparing the teenage actors to the younger actors the audience will engage with the advertisement and wonder what is different between the age groups. In the middle of the ad the words, “When did doing something “like a girl” become an insult?” “Essentially, there is nothing wrong with throwing like a girl. Always attempted to create a more positive connotation with the phrase “like a girl.” Always intends for the audience of this commercial to be girls between the ages of ten and twelve who are going through puberty. Always promoting feminine products, they want their audience to relate to their advertisements. This commercial was effective in communicating the message that acting “like a girl” is not a bad thing. Girls perform activities “like a girl” simply because they are a girl. The advertisement concludes with the phrase “Let’s make “like a girl” mean amazing things.” Always communicates the overall exigence that doing something “like a girl” is not an insult, but rather a compliment. By ending with such a statement it is initiating women's empowerment. Always encourages girls to be themselves and embrace being a girl while also giving t
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