Persuasion in AdvertisingPersuasion in Advertising

Why study persuasion?

Once you know how the advertisers do it, you will be more aware of why certain products are

persuasive!

Why study persuasion?

If you know why you are persuaded by something, you will be able to make a less-biased decision

and form your own opinion. You can also use it to fight for a cause you believe in.

How do they do it?

There are three basic categories that persuasive techniques fall into. Those are...

Ethos Logos Pathos

Ethos Logos PathosCredible Logical Emotional

Ethos: Credible or Ethical Appeal●Means convincing by the character of the author

●Someone who has authority, someone who is likable or respected

●Goal is to convince people you are someone worth listening to

●People tend to believe people whom they respect.

Logos: Logical or Fact-Based Appeal●Means persuading by the use of reasoning.

●Often uses things such as Statistics.

●Focus on facts, recorded evidence, historical data

●Mentions things like studies, surveys, and research.

●Uses Buzz Words

Buzz Words: Logos words that really “mean” nothing, but sound

factually important●Examples:

● “Pure” ● “Natural” ● “Freedom”● “Tasty”

●Words that end in -er

● Better, Cleaner, Longer, Faster● Technically not the best, but better than it was!

Buzz Words:

Sometimes they are complete nonsense words associated with a fun statistic for logos humor.

Pathos: Emotional Appeal

● Persuading by appealing to the audience's emotions

●Language choice affects the audience's emotional response

● Can be positive(Love, excitement)

● Can be negative (Jealousy, hatred)

Pathos can play on...Fear

Worry

Sadness

Nastalgia

Sense of Adventure

Horror

Affection

Which One Will You Use?Which One Will You Use?

Look for these while exploring your persuasive Look for these while exploring your persuasive techniques!techniques!

Original Slide:Original Slide:

Knoll, D. (2013). Logos, ethos, and pathos in advertising. Slideshare. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/dianaknoll/logos-ethos-and-pathos-in-advertising