essay on persuasive advertising

"More Than OK" poked fun at how Pepsi usually takes a back seat to Coke, especially at restaurants. And by featuring a star-studded cast that included Steve Carell, Lil Jon, and Cardi-B (who hilariously and fervently backed up Pepsi’s OKness) their boldness to call people out for undermining Pepsi’s quality got a lot of laughs and persuaded a massive audience to reconsider their own perception of the soft drink.

7. Match.com

The year 2020 was challenging for countless reasons. Online dating company Match.com channeled the collective feeling towards the year with an ad depicting Satan meeting his perfect match – 2020.

Informative Advertising

Informative advertising is a form of persuasive advertising that focuses more on the facts. The main goal of informative advertising is to educate the audience on why they need your product instead of appealing to their desires.

It highlights how your product’s features and benefits solve your customers’ problems and can even compare your product to your competitors' products. Although this type of advertising relies on facts and figures to trigger the desired action, the ad’s message is usually framed in a compelling way.

To better understand the difference between informative and persuasive advertising, check out these examples.

Informative Advertising Examples

• Miller Lite
• Siskiyou Eye Center
• Burger King

1. Miller Lite

After Bud Light took some jabs at Miller Lite for using corn syrup in their beer during their Super Bowl 53 ads , Miller Lite decided to throw a few punches back. A day later on Twitter, they revealed that their beer actually has fewer calories and carbs than Bud Light, which helped them persuade people that drinking Bud Light and Miller Lite actually have similar health benefits.

2. Siskiyou Eye Center

There’s an old folk tale that carrots can improve your eyesight, but science has actually debunked this myth . That’s why this Siskiyou Eye Center ad is such a creative informative advertisement.

While it pokes fun at this common fable, it’s still relying on the facts of carrots not being able to improve your vision and the Eye Center’s ability to provide quality treatment for your eyes to persuade people to do business with them.

Popular meditation app Calm experienced an increase in downloads by sponsoring CNN's coverage of the 2020 US Presidential Campaign. Through clever product placement in front of an audience that was experiencing stress, the app was positioned as helpful a resource ready to educate on mindfulness during a turbulent time.

In addition to creating popular body and skincare products, Dove has set out to educate its audience on the importance of body confidence, and the harmful impact fabricated social media imagery can have on the self-esteem of young people.

In the reverse selfie campaign, Dove depicts how social media users may be inclined to change their appearance for public approval. Other materials provided by Dove also share facts and statistics related to social media usage and body image.

Last year, Google released a Black History Month ad called "The Most Searched" that was equally informative and inspiring. Showing clips of famous Black figures, each clip read "most searched" to indicate each person shown and event shown was a history-maker.

Persuasive advertising vs. informative advertising: which one is better?

Persuasive advertising and informative advertising definitely focus on different aspects of persuasion, but they still aim to achieve the same goal: convincing your audience to take the desired action. So whether you pursue one advertising strategy or another, remember that if you can trigger an emotional response, regardless of the stimuli, your ad will be a success.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Essay On Advertisement

500 words essay on advertisement.

We all are living in the age of advertisements. When you step out, just take a quick look around and you will lay eyes upon at least one advertisement in whichever form. In today’s modern world of trade and business, advertisement plays an essential role. All traders, big and small, make use of it to advertise their goods and services. Through essay on advertisement, we will go through the advantages and ways of advertisements.

The Various Ways Of Advertisement

Advertisements help people become aware of any product or service through the use of commercial methods. This kind of publicity helps to endorse a specific interest of a person for product sale.

As the world is becoming more competitive now, everyone wants to be ahead in the competition. Thus, the advertisement also comes under the same category. Advertising is done in a lot of ways.

There is an employment column which lists down job vacancies that is beneficial for unemployed candidates. Similarly, matrimonial advertisement help people find a bride or groom for marriageable prospects.

Further, advertising also happens to find lost people, shops, plots, good and more. Through this, people get to know about a nearby shop is on sale or the availability of a new tutor or coaching centre.

Nowadays, advertisements have evolved from newspapers to the internet. Earlier there were advertisements in movie theatres, magazines, building walls. But now, we have the television and internet which advertises goods and services.

As a large section of society spends a lot of time on the internet, people are targeting their ads towards it. A single ad posting on the internet reaches to millions of people within a matter of few seconds. Thus, advertising in any form is effective.

Benefits of Advertisements

As advertisements are everywhere, for some magazines and newspapers, it is their main source of income generation. It not only benefit the producer but also the consumer. It is because producers get sales and consumer gets the right product.

Moreover, the models who act in the advertisements also earn a handsome amount of money . When we look at technology, we learn that advertising is critical for establishing contact between seller and buyer.

This medium helps the customers to learn about the existence and use of such goods which are ready to avail in the market. Moreover, advertisement manages to reach the nooks and corners of the world to target their potential customers.

Therefore, it benefits a lot of people. Through advertising, people also become aware of the price difference and quality in the market. This allows them to make good choices and not fall to scams.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of Essay On Advertisement

All in all, advertisements are very useful but they can also be damaging. Thus, it is upon us to use them with sense and ensure they are entertaining and educative. None of us can escape advertisements as we are already at this age. But, what we can do is use our intelligence for weeding out the bad ones and benefitting from the right ones.

FAQ on Essay On Advertisement

Question 1: What is the importance of advertisement in our life?

Answer 1: Advertising is the best way to communicate with customers. It helps informs the customers about the brands available in the market and the variety of products which can be useful to them.

Question 2: What are the advantages of advertising?

Answer 2: The advantages of advertising are that firstly, it introduces a new product in the market. Thus, it helps in expanding the market. As a result, sales also increase. Consumers become aware of and receive better quality products.

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Ethos, Pathos & Logos — Definition and Examples of Persuasive Advertising Techniques

• What is Pathos
• What is Logos
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• What is Ethos
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E thos, pathos and logos are techniques of persuasion that form the rhetorical triangle. A compelling argument, sales pitch, speech, or commercial ideally uses elements of all three strategies. We’ll show you how to employ each of the techniques and present some awesome examples along the way.

Ethos, Pathos and Logos: How to Create Persuasive Ads

Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Definition

The rhetorical triangle.

Rhetoric is a type of communication a writer or speaker uses to persuade, inform or motivate. We can see rhetoric everywhere — politics, law, advertising, creative writing, and even our everyday conversations.

Rhetorical devices include irony , metaphor , hyperbole and many other techniques writers and speakers employ to great effect.

A subset of these devices are known as rhetorical appeals , often attributed to Aristotle, and include: ethos , pathos and logos .

This is also known as the Rhetorical Triangle and we still depend on it today.

Ethos, pathos and logos are the three categories of persuasive advertising techniques

Each category invokes a different appeal between speaker and audience.

Ethos calls upon the ethics, or what we'd call the values, of the speaker. Pathos elicits emotions in the audience. Finally, logos puts logic into play by using evidence and facts.

Good persuasive advertising technique is when you balance all three.

But using ethos, pathos and logos in commercials sometimes means featuring one advertising technique prominently.

Learn More Logos Ethos and Pathos

Comparing other techniques.

There are many types of rhetorical strategies. To get a full picure on how they work together, or when to use which rhetorical strategies, explore the full guide below.

Everything About Rhetorical Appeals

Basics & terminology, appeal to credibility , appeal to emotion, appeal to logic, appeal to purpose, appeal to timeliness.

Each of these rhetorical strategies can be effective in its own way. When combined, their potential effects grow exponentially. To fully understand the power of persusaion, these are the tools you need.

ETHOS DEFINITION

What is ethos.

Ethos is the persuasive technique that appeals to an audience by highlighting credibility. Ethos advertisement techniques invoke the superior “character” of a speaker, presenter, writer, or brand.

Ethos examples aim to convince the audience that the advertiser is reliable and ethical. It’s easier to make a decision when someone you respect signs off on it, right? This is broadly the function of ethos in commercials.

When an esteemed public figure endorses a product, it validates it to the end consumer. An ethos advertisement plays off the consumer’s respect for a given spokesperson.

Through that respect, the spokesperson appears convincing, authoritative and trustworthy enough to listen to. Of the types of persuasive techniques in advertising, ethos is best used to unlock trust.

USE OF ETHOS IN ADVERTISING

How is ethos used in advertising.

So what does ethos mean?

It’s all about credibility. Famous people enjoy a high status in our society. So they’re the ones selling products to us — whether or not they have product-specific expertise.

Example of ethos in advertising: Jennifer Aniston in a campaign for Glaceau Smart Water

For example, an Infiniti commercial featured Steph Curry. Even though he’s not known for his taste in vehicles, his stature validates the product.

This is ethos in commercials at work.

Example of ethos in commercials: Steph Curry in a recent spot for Infiniti

Ethos rhetoric is also invoked to tie a brand to fundamental rights.

Brands build trust with their audience when they stand with an important cause. Anheuser-Busch illustrated this in their “Born the Hard Way” ad.

Ethos examples: This ethos advertisement by Anheuser-Busch underscores the value of multiculturalism

This spot focuses on the origin story of Anheuser-Busch’s founders.

It shows Busch’s turbulent immigration from Germany to St. Louis, and speaks to the importance of immigration and multiculturalism.

This is how ethos rhetoric is used in advertising.

Of the many types of persuasive advertising techniques in advertising, ethos is best for playing up the strength of a brand or spokesperson’s character.

ETHOS EXAMPLE IN COMMERCIALS

Ethos advert case study.

If you want a really strong example of ethos that also has a pretty funny meta quality to it, check out the shot list for this Heineken spot. See how many times they use foreground elements and OTS shots in this spot:

Ethos Examples • Shot Listed in StudioBinder

This Heineken commercial shows famous actor Benicio Del Toro at the bar enjoying a Heineken. Benicio chats about how both he, and Heineken, are world famous and instantly recognizable.

Then, a pair of goofy tourists spot him in the bar, and they call out for him to pose for a photo, but... they actually think he's Antonio Banderas.

Ethos Example in Heineken Commercial

This commercial not only uses ethos as a way to tie the celebrity of Benicio to the celebrity of Heineken, but it uses humor and the bold faced usage of ethos to make fun of the brand, people, and fame. 

THE "PLAIN FOLKS" PERSUASIVE ADVERTISING TECHNIQUE

How is "plain folks" used in ads.

Ethos rhetoric often employs imagery of everyday, ordinary people.

Known as the  Plain Folks persuasive advertising technique,  in this approach a spokesperson or brand appears as an Average Joe to feel common and sensible. In doing so, they appear concerned and cut from the same cloth as you.

This approach is very common in political ads. Consider the “Family Strong” ad from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Ethos Examples: Hillary Clinton underscores the “Plain Folks” definition in her campaign videos.

Despite her status and wealth, Clinton draws on imagery of her family and upbringing to make her feel more relatable. In this way, “Plain” folks is propaganda and also a logical fallacy.

But it’s also an effective and persuasive advertising technique.

Of the types of persuasive techniques in advertising, Plain Folks aligns your brand with the values of the everyday consumer.

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Pathos DEFINITION

What is pathos.

Pathos is persuasive technique that try to convince an audience through emotions. Pathos advertisement techniques appeal to the senses, memory, nostalgia, or shared experience. Pathos examples pull at the heartstrings and make the audience feel.

A quick way to appeal to a viewer’s emotions? A cute animal. A devastated family. A love story. Overcoming great odds. An inspirational song and imagery. A good zinger. 

Emotions create responses and, in our increasingly consumer-driven culture, the response is to buy something. Pathos appeals to an audience’s basic emotions like joy, fear, and envy. All are easily triggered in many ways.

So what is pathos?

Well, it's a model enjoying a refreshing Coke. Or a frustrated infomercial character desperate for a better remedy. And "tired" of the "same old blah-blah-blah."

The many different pathos advertisement examples not only evoke your feelings but anticipate your responses too. If you want to explore pathos in advertising, language is the best place to start.

Because the words we hear and read trigger specific feelings. Positive words conjure feelings of love, excitement and wonder.

What is pathos? Cutting to the emotional core, really

Look at how General Mills and Cheerios achieved this in their “Good Goes Round” campaign.

Example of pathos: This Cheerios pathos advertisement injects good vibes with positive words

We see sunshine, smiles and bright colors while we hear the words “good goes around.” It invites positivity and encourages us to associate Cheerios accordingly.

On the other hand, pathos advertisements can also employ unpleasant emotions like fear and worry just as effectively.

Pathos examples: this somber pathos advertisement says don’t let heart disease happen to you

This ad by the British Heart Foundation underscores the dangers of heart disease. As the spot unfolds, you start to realize that the narrator suddenly died at her sister’s wedding.

Her tragic story encourages you to not let it happen to you.

Pathos examples: BMW warns against drinking and driving in this pathos advertisement example

Pathos example in commercials, pathos advert case study.

If you want a really strong example of pathos is an advertisement, check out this shot list from a particularly emotional Zillow spot. Notice how the shots on the son are often singles and medium close-ups :

Pathos Examples  • Shot Listed in StudioBinder

This Zillow commercial shows a father and son who have just suffered the terrible loss of their wife/mother. The father tries to cheer his son up by finding a new home, one preferably near the boy's grandparents. 

The son seems disinterested, but then the father finds his son and the family dog looking up at the stars, one of which is particularly bright. The son decides that the star is his mother, looking down on him.

That gives the father an idea:

Pathos example in Zillow Commercial

The father searches on Zillow, finds a home, and buys it. We then learn that the home is not only close to the grandparents, but it also has a skylight in the son's room, allowing him to see his Mother's star at night.

This commercial uses the emotions of the father, the son, the grandparents, and of course the viewer to suggest that Zillow is the type of website that can balm grief through its functionality.

USE OF PATHOS IN ADVERTISING

The appeal of pathos in advertising.

Sex appeal is of course also hugely successful among the pathos advertising techniques. Open any  Cosmopolitan  magazine and you’ll find scantily clad models, muscular men and sexual innuendo.

Although the common expression “sex sells” has been debated, sexually provocative ads do leave a lasting impression. Mr. Clean , for example, spiced up their eponymous mascot for comedic effect.

Pathos Examples: This Mr. Clean pathos advertisement gave their mascot a sexy upgrade

Their brawny Mr. Clean upgrade wears tight clothes and turns mopping the floor into something more... sensual?

Humor, patriotism and snob appeal are also all common in pathos advertisement examples. The pathos definition even extends to nostalgia and the strategic use of music in ads.

Pathos Examples: The pathos definition extends to evoking emotions with music ... even *NSYNC

The bandwagon advertising technique, what is the "bandwagon advertising".

“Bandwagon advertising” is commonly categorized under pathos advertisement examples. While it may sound unfamiliar, you're probably pretty familiar with it. It creates that impression that using certain product will put you on the “winning team.” It adheres to the pathos definition because it plays off your fear... of being left out.

Old Spice used this in their “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” spot.

Bandwagon advertising: to be The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, you buy Old Spice

In its comical way, it puts pressure on men to smell as good as the Old Spice Guy. Like the “Plain Folks” technique, Bandwagon advertising is a very popular form of propaganda.

Of the persuasive advertising techniques, “Bandwagon” puts your brand on the right side of popular opinion. Remember the "Be like Mike" Ads?

Pathos example: Talk about putting the consumer on the "winning team"

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LOGOS DEFINITION

What is logos.

Logos is the persuasive technique that aims to convince an audience by using logic and reason. Also called “the logical appeal,” logos examples in advertisement include the citation of statistics, facts, charts, and graphs.

Logos Examples: This Samsung ad puts the Logos persuasive advertising technique to work

Ever told someone to “listen to reason” during an argument? This is what logos does. The best logos advertisement examples are when a speaker appeals to logic. Statistics, surveys, facts, and historical data can make a product seem like a more reasonable decision. Whether the data is sound or not is another story.

LOGOS EXAMPLE IN COMMERCIALS

Logos advert case study.

If you want a really strong example of logos is an advertisement, check out this shot list from a recent Nissan Commercial. You'll notice how the camera angles and shot size change when the "ProPilot" system clicks on:

Logos Advertisment Examples  • Shot Listed in StudioBinder

This Nissan commercial shows a daughter and father driving on a highway. The daughter is about to drive past some scary construction, but then the father uses his sage like wisdom to instruct her to turn on the "ProPilot" system that Nissan now features in their cars.

Once the daughter does this, we see a Star Wars battle scene playing out in front of out eyes, and she becomes so distracted that she begin to veer off the road... but guess what? The "ProPilot" system saves her by auto-correcting the trajectory of the car based on the sensor system. 

So how is this logos? Well, the commercial places the daughter in a relatively common situation and uses the machine logic behind having a guided system in the car to keep your distracted children safe.

Now... is it logical that this Star Wars homage suggests the daughter reach out to use the force by using a guided machine? Of course not! That's the opposite of what Luke does in the movie. Is it logical for your kid to be scared of driving past construction at 40mph? Of course not!

Is there anything in this spot that is logical? The basic fact that young drivers get distracted, and the Nissan "ProPilot" system might just save their lives one day, well that is how you use logic to sell cars.

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LOGOS TECHNIQUES

How is logos being used in advertising.

Technology advertisements use logos because their goal is to showcase cool new features. Consider the example of logos in Apple’s ad for the iPhone:

A logos advertisement example: In Apple’s iPhone spot, the features pop out at you

In logos rhetoric, you have to the sell best reasons to buy your product..

How does Apple do that?

They have their new innovative features pop out at you. From durable glass to Face ID software. It effectively asks you why you would choose any phone but iPhone. Logos often use buzzwords to sell the product. 

What's a great example of this?

Food companies capitalizing on the rising demand for healthy choices.

Logos Examples: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter underscore the health benefits

This I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter ad hinges on the health benefits to prove their point. Of the types of persuasive techniques in advertising, logos will build your brand as the most logical, functional and helpful option.

Explore more rhetorical devices

Ethos , pathos , and logos are highly effective rhetorical appeals but there is much more to explore, including kairos and telos . Or dive into more rhetorical devices that help construct and support these appeals, including metaphor , hyperbole , and metonymy . When you've mastered these techniques, your ability to convince and persuade in your writing will be unmatched.

Up Next: Rhetorical Devices Index →

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14 comments

The Mr. Clean commercial was so inappropriate! It showed something weird at the end it. Naughty but funny.

Is it an article , or essay or an extract from a book? If it is a book than please share the title of this book and authore name.I want to read this book.

ahhh thats hot thats hot

Very interesting iam very interested

Thanks for a clear understanding

When you are studying for CLEP English Comp 1 final exam – but can't remember anything about pathos, logos, and ethos.

pretty sure most the people that get on this website are here for a school assignment

Whats good my fellow school students

Pretty good commercial.

Thank you for so generously sharing this information. It's fascinating and helpful.

here in 2023 and yet im studying for my exams in year 8

This was a simple and informative read. Thank you

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Marketing and Advertising — The Rhetoric of Advertising: Analyzing Persuasive Techniques and Ethics

The Rhetoric of Advertising: Analyzing Persuasive Techniques and Ethics

• Categories: Marketing and Advertising

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Published: Feb 7, 2024

Words: 673 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

The purpose of advertisements, the rhetorical triangle, language use, visual design, target audience, the ethics of advertising.

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Persuasive Techniques in Advertising

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Students will learn persuasive techniques used in advertising, specifically, pathos or emotion, logos or logic, and ethos or credibility/character. They will use this knowledge to analyze advertising in a variety of sources: print, television, and Web-based advertising. Students will also explore the concepts of demographics and marketing for a specific audience. The lesson will culminate in the production of an advertisement in one of several various forms of media, intended for a specific demographic.

Featured Resources

The Art of Rhetoric: Persuasive Techniques in Advertising : This online video describes how advertisers use pathos or emotion, logos or logic, and ethos or credibility/character in order to persuade consumers.

Persuasive Techniques in Advertising Video Transcription : A transcript of the video provided by Chelsea Majors

From Theory to Practice

Students encounter advertising at every turn of their lives: on public billboards, during nearly every television show, on the Internet, on their cell phones, and even in schools.  They are undoubtedly aware that these ads have a specific purpose: to sell something to them.  Rarely, however, do teenagers think precisely about how the text, sounds, and images in these advertisements have been carefully crafted to persuade them to purchase a product or service-and that these techniques are not far from those they have already used in their own persuasive writing. We emphasize the need to make our students more literate, and this lesson aims to improve their critical media literacy.  By reducing advertising to its basic rhetorical components, students "can begin to understand how to construct their own messages to convey the meanings they intend and to evoke the responses they desire" (173).  Becoming more media literate allows our youth to "create messages of their own so that they can communicate clearly, effectively, and purposefully" (176). Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Video of television program, including commercials  
• TV with VCR/DVD player  
• Advertisements from magazines  
• Persuasive Techniques in Advertising online video
• Persuasive Techniques in Advertising Video Transcription  
• Internet-connected computer with speakers and projector  
• Web Resources for Finding Example Advertisements
• Demographics: Who Are You?
• Advertising Advantages: Television vs. Print vs. Online  
• Targeted Commercials  
• Commercial Dig  
• Commercial Dig Reflection Questions  
• Analyzing Ads  
• Planning Your Advertisement  
• Commercial Assessment  
• Persuasive Techniques in Advertising Reflection Questions

Preparation

• Make copies of the necessary handouts.  
• Gather advertisements from magazines-ideally, two per student. Look for ads that lend themselves well to the assignment, with a balance of text and images and with fairly discernable examples of pathos, logos, and ethos. Consider asking your school library media specialist for issues of magazines he or she plans to discard.  
• Record at least part of a television program, including the entirety of one commercial break, for showing in class.  
• If students will be using the Venn Diagram , Comic Creator , or Printing Press , arrange for them to have access during the appropriate sessions.  
• Preview the Persuasive Techniques in Advertising online video and obtain proper technology for projecting it in the classroom or computer lab. Also check out the  Persuasive Techniques in Advertising Video Transcription .  
• Arrange for students to have access to computers for Sessions Three and Four.  
• Bookmark the Web Resources for Finding Example Advertisements and preview the sites before recommending which ones students visit for example advertisements.  
• Familiarize yourself with the technologies discussed in the final session, deciding which you are prepared to ask or require students to use in the production of their own ads. Contact your school library media specialist or technology specialist for assistance.

Student Objectives

Students will

• demonstrate an understanding of three persuasive techniques (pathos, logos, and ethos) and other advertising strategies.  
• analyze advertisements according to their employment of these techniques.  
• demonstrate an understanding of the concept of demographics and specific audience.  
• synthesize this knowledge into advertisements of their own creation.

Session One

• Where do you encounter advertising?  (They will likely mention television, billboards, radio, Websites, school hallways, and so on.)  
• Which specific advertisements "stick in your head?"  
• What makes these advertisements memorable?  (They might mention music, catchy slogans, celebrity appearance, the appeal of the product itself, and so forth.)  
• Do you think advertisements have an effect on your personal interests?  
• Explain to students that advertisers very carefully construct their ads to make them memorable and appealing to consumers, and that the ways in which they try to convince them to buy products are similar to the ways they have been taught to write persuasively, using certain techniques and aiming toward a particular audience.  
• Distribute the Persuasive Techniques in Advertising handout and introduce the concepts of pathos, logos, and ethos, defined at the top of the handout.  Students should understand that these rhetorical strategies are similar to those used in a persuasive writing assignment, and that they will use these strategies when creating their own commercial by the end of this unit.  Encourage students to make connections to examples of each of the terms they have used in persuasive writing of their own. Note: This is an appropriate time to clarify that the word logos in this context should not be confused with a brand-specific image or insignia referred to as a logo.  
• After explaining the concepts of pathos, logos, and ethos, have students practice identifying the three techniques by placing a P , L , or E in the blank next to the examples at the bottom of this handout.  Have students share their responses with a partner and check for understanding by conducting a brief discussion of the examples.  
• Although most of these examples were designed to have one clear answer, be sure to emphasize to the students that pathos, logos, and ethos are not always separate entities and may often overlap with one another. For example, "Nine out of ten dentists choose Crest," suggests that the dentists are credible experts (ethos), and also includes a statistic (logos).   
• Deepen students' understanding of the concepts of pathos, logos, and ethos with visual examples by sharing with them the Persuasive Techniques in Advertising online video . You may want to pause and have students explain how the television, print, and online advertisements utilize the three rhetorical strategies.  The narration in the commercial further explains their use in each advertisement. There is also the  Persuasive Techniques in Advertising Video Transcription .  
• Briefly discuss the "Other Advertising Strategies" section of Persuasive Techniques in Advertising handout.  Explain that these are more specific types of strategies that advertisers use and that many overlap with pathos, logos, and ethos.   For example, you may mention that patriotism is a strategy meant to evoke certain emotions, and would therefore constitute a use of pathos.  
• Close the session by explaining to students that in future sessions, they will be examining existing advertisements with their new analytical skill and applying it to creating ads of their own.  
• Encourage students to begin looking at advertisements they encounter in terms of these three techniques.

Session Two

• Begin with a brief review of the concepts of pathos, logos, and ethos from the previous session.  Ask students to demonstrate their growing understanding by providing examples of each of the techniques from advertisements they have recently seen.  
• Now introduce the term demographics to students: the characteristics that make up a human population such as gender, age, and race.  Have students discover which demographic group(s) they fit into by completing the Demographics: Who are you? handout.  When creating their group commercials in a later session, students will need to consider the demographics for their product. Explain to students that this is how advertisers think of consumers: not as individuals, but as members of groups that tend to believe, behave, or purchase in certain patterns. Even when an advertisement is appealing to the idea of individuality (such as Burger King's "Have It Your Way" promotion), advertisers are appealing to the demographic group of "people who like to be thought of as individuals," not to any single consumer.  
• Continue the discussion of demographics by distributing the Targeted Commercials handout, which will further explore the concept of demographics. Ask students to begin applying their understanding of demographics and targeted advertising by showing the first part of a television program of your choice.  Since the purpose of this activity is to show how advertisers cater to a show's intended audience, you may want to make sure you are presenting a show with commercials that very obviously target a specific demographic.   
• Before watching, share with students a brief description of the show they are about to see, including race/gender/class of the main characters, genre of the program, and the time/date/channel on which the program aired.  Have students use these factors (and any other prior knowledge they may have of the show) to determine the probable demographics.  Students should indicate their choices on the handout .  
• While students watch the commercial break(s), have them take brief notes to remind them of the products being advertised.  
• Have students complete the "After the program" response question at the bottom of the Targeted Commercials handout.  Then discuss the degrees to which the advertisements match the demographics of the likely intended audience of the television program.   
• This would be an appropriate time to talk about clear evidence that programming and advertising are marketed to specific groups.  Lifetime: Television for Women, Spike! TV, Logo, and Black Entertainment Television all exist not only to give viewers programming they might like, but also to allow advertisers to target their audiences more specifically.  
• Distribute the Commercial Dig activity, explaining to students that this is a long-term assignment that requires them to keep track of eight commercials viewed during one television program and to explain briefly the purpose of each advertised product. Remind students that the commercials they record on this chart should all come from the same show, as the completed chart will be used to re-emphasize the concepts of demographics and targeted advertising. Inform them that this assignment should be completed by Session Four and ask if there are questions before closing the session.

Session Three

• Remind students what they have learned so far in this lesson: techniques advertisers use to persuade consumers to buy their products and the concept of "targeting" certain audience demographics to make the process of persuasion more efficient and focused.  
• Explain to students that they will have the opportunity to apply this knowledge by looking at some real ads for real products.  Share that the goal of this activity will be to examine how advertisers skillfully use multiple strategies to persuade their audiences.  
• Distribute the Analyzing Ads handout and discuss the expectations and format for response.  Students will analyze six advertisements: two print ads, two television commercials, and two Internet advertisements.  The Internet advertisements should take the form of marketing Websites featuring a particular product, or pop-ups/embedded ads in Websites unrelated to the product.  
• This activity will allow students to practice their recognition of pathos, logos, and ethos in three different modes of advertising, preparing them for the creation of their own commercials.  Students should also record any of the "other strategies" explained on Persuasive Techniques in Advertising handout, also required as part of the final project.  
• Share with students the print ads you already collected as well as the Web Resources for Finding Example Advertisements and have them look for ads. Point out to students that they may wish to access television ads on their own time, including during their work on the Commercial Dig activity. Depending on how efficiently students work through this activity, this part of the lesson will likely extend into the next session.

Session Four

• At an appropriate time in student engagement in the continuation of the analysis activity from the previous session, distribute the Commercial Assessment rubric and explain that you will use it to evaluate the commercials they will produce in an upcoming session. Ask students, in small groups, to review one of the teacher- or student-selected commercials and apply the rubric to the commercial.  Students should determine whether the commercial effectively utilizes pathos, logos, and/or ethos, and note their score on the rubric . Students should also indicate the effectiveness of any of the "other strategies" on the second page of the rubric .  
• When students are ready, check for understanding by several volunteers present one of the advertisements they analyzed, briefly discussing the effective use of persuasive techniques.  
• Wrap up this section of the lesson by using the Advertising Advantages: Television vs. Print vs. Online to engage students in a discussion of the advantages of each mode of advertising, using the examples on the handout as a guide.  This discussion will help students decide which modes of advertising they might use when creating their commercials in the next session.  You may wish to use the Venn Diagram to facilitate this discussion.  
• Remind students that they will need to have their completed Commercial Dig activity ready for discussion in the next session.

Session Five

• Ask students to get out their completed Commercial Dig activity sheets.  Give students the opportunity to solidify their understanding of the concept of demographics by working through the analysis tasks in the Commercial Dig Reflection Questions .  Have students use their completed charts to answer the reflection questions . Students should talk through their responses with a partner before producing a written response.  
• Which advertisements could be viewed as harmful or unfair to a group of people?  
• Can targeting a specific demographic sometimes encourage stereotyping?  
• When do you see stereotyping used in advertisements?
• You may wish to give students access to the online articles Target me with your ads, please and Mixed Messages , which discuss how Websites use technology to target consumers and the use of billboards in impoverished and minority neighborhoods, respectively, as part of this discussion.

Session Six

• Students will use this session to begin to synthesize all they have learned about advertising and begin creating a commercial for a fictional product.  First ask students to form small groups and decide on a product to advertise.  
• Next, students should determine the target audience for their product, remembering previous lessons on demographics.  
• Depending on available time and resources, ask students to create a print, filmed, live, and/or Internet advertisement for their product.  They should take into account their observations from the Advertising Advantages: Television vs. Print vs. Online .  
• Have students use the Planning Your Advertisement sheet to plan for an advertisement that will target the previously determined demographic, and demonstrate pathos, logos, ethos, and three of the "other strategies." This may also be an appropriate time to review the expectations set forth in the Commercial Assessment rubric.  
• Give students access to the Comic Creator and/or the Printing Press to create the print advertisement.  Free software such as iMovie and Windows Movie Maker may be used to edit any filmed commercials.  Web creation sites such as PBWorks and Google Sites may be used to create Internet-based advertisements.

Session Seven (after students have had time to prepare their advertisements)

• Give students time to meet in their groups and plan the presentation of their ads.  
• Have each group present, allowing time for discussion with the class about the effective use of persuasive techniques in each advertisement.  
• After the presentations and discussion are complete, distribute the  Persuasive Techniques in Advertising Reflection Questions and give students time to solidify their learning by responding to the four questions.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Use the lesson reflection questions to allow students to think about what they have learned about advertising and persuasion.  
• Use the Commercial Assessment rubric to assess student work on their advertisements.
• Professional Library
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The Comic Creator invites students to compose their own comic strips for a variety of contexts (prewriting, pre- and postreading activities, response to literature, and so on).

The interactive Printing Press is designed to assist students in creating newspapers, brochures, and flyers.

This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

Students analyze rhetorical strategies in online editorials, building knowledge of strategies and awareness of local and national issues. This lesson teaches students connections between subject, writer, and audience and how rhetorical strategies are used in everyday writing.

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One of the main roles of an advertiser is to persuade a specific audience to make a decision, whether it’s to complete a purchase, click on and watch a video, or sign up for a monthly newsletter. However, persuasive advertising doesn’t work like a hypnotist trying to put their customer in a trance. 

There’s no way an advertiser can talk someone into being interested in a brand just by saying “You are becoming very interested in SEO marketing services.” Marketers have to actually pay attention to their audience’s emotions and goals to successfully persuade them. 

So how does it actually work? Well, we’re here to solve the mystery — show you what’s behind the curtain, if you will. Want to learn the art of persuasive marketing for your next campaign? Let’s get this show on the road.

What Is Persuasive Advertising?

Persuasive advertising is a type of marketing that focuses on the target audience’s emotions, rather than specs or value propositions, to convince them to do something. It’s designed to shine a light on the benefits the brand can offer the end user rather than the actual make, model or efficiencies of the product itself. 

Persuasive Advertising vs. Informative Advertising

While persuasive and informative advertising have the same goal — to get consumers to complete a desired action — they achieve that target differently. Persuasive advertising uses various techniques to convince the audience of a certain belief that leads to a purchase. Informative advertising uses facts and figures to educate consumers on why their brand is the best choice. For example, a software company may update potential users on new features and functions and how they increase efficiency and performance. 

Benefits of Persuasive Advertising in Marketing

Do you want to make your advertising more persuasive and effective? While all types of marketing have a time and place, here are some advantages to using this approach for your brand:

• Improved brand awareness: Engaging and compelling marketing campaigns may resonate with the target audience, leaving a lasting impression and increasing brand recall.
• Enhanced customer loyalty and experience: Building strong relationships with customers by focusing on their emotions and tangible needs can foster loyalty and repeat business. When customers have positive experiences with a brand, they’re more likely to become brand advocates. In fact, Deloitte found that customers who have a positive experience will spend 140% more than those who have a negative one. 
• Competitive edge: Effective persuasive marketing differentiates a brand from competitors and positions it as a preferred choice among consumers. 

Persuasive Advertising Techniques

Carrot and the stick.

Like a horse chasing after a carrot, people are hardwired to move toward things they desire. On the flip side, we’re also prone to move away from pain and hardship. This approach is meant to showcase your ad as the carrot, offering the prospect potential feelings of pleasure. Sticks are the possibilities of loss, which can also be used to make the prospect fearful of pain and go in the other direction. Both the carrot and stick approaches can make potential customers feel emotions that inspire action. 

Bandwagon Appeal

Bandwagons are popular for a reason. Products and services are more appealing when a crowd of people can vouch for their advantages. I mean, would you rather go to a restaurant that has a long line and great reviews or the establishment that’s oddly quiet? Besides being extremely hungry and in need of a meal pronto, you most likely would want to go to the place everyone else is trying to eat at. Social proof — or showing that your brand is widely liked — shows that your company is respected and can be trusted. 

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The Scarcity Principle

If supply and demand principles have taught you anything, it’s most likely that rare objects and experiences are valuable. In your advertising efforts, when you use words like “exclusive” and “limited availability,” people may become more interested in what you’re selling. 

Product Comparison

As the name suggests, product comparison takes your brand and a close competitor’s offering and puts them head to head, focusing on a particular emotional response or benefit that the user will receive. 

Let’s say you’re an eReader company looking to boost sales. Using this persuasive technique, you’d compare your product with another top seller in your industry by looking at the battery life. But instead of talking about the actual battery power, you’d highlight your product’s ability to let your customers read for longer periods of time without needing to pause and find an outlet; whereas the other company’s product may only allow half the reading time in between charging. 

Almost everyone loves comedic relief, making humor a positive advertising move when you want to bring people joy. Often, people share funny marketing campaigns with their friends and family, boosting these ads’ popularity and views. 

Second Person

A potential customer cares about what you’re going to do for them, meaning using pronouns like “you and “your” can make your messaging feel as if it’s speaking directly to them. For example, which one sounds more personable?

“Increase your user engagement with SEO content marketing solutions designed for your industry.”

“Businesses can increase their user engagement with SEO content marketing solutions designed for their industry.”

The first example can help readers insert themselves into the narrative you’re creating, making it easier for them to picture benefiting from your services. 

It’s common knowledge that if you hear the same word or phrase over and over again, you’re more likely to remember and believe it. If you read a blog that consistently talks about the brand’s top-notch customer service, you’ll take away that the company knows how to treat its users. Whether this is true doesn’t necessarily matter at that moment because the reader may believe it until proven otherwise. 

Plain Folks

The plain folk advertising technique is a way for advertisers to promote products using ordinary, everyday people, showing that it offers a value that anyone could benefit from, whether by featuring photos of “plain” people in campaigns or sharing stories of normal people using the product. 

Snob Appeal

On the other hand, the snob appeal technique indicates that the product makes the consumer better, smarter or richer than everyone else, drawing in a particular type of person as their audience. Take a luxury car company for example: People may be drawn to the rarity of owning this particular car because it allows them to make assumptions about them just by being associated with the brand. 

Types of Persuasive Ads

Aristotle wasn’t a marketer by any stretch of the imagination. However, he did come up with a theory for how persuasion happens: Either through the character (ethos) of the speaker, the emotional state (pathos) of the hearer or the argument (logos) itself. 

Let’s dive into these three types of persuasion a bit deeper: 

• Ethos Ads: Appeal to the credibility, authority and trustworthiness of the brand, spokesperson or endorser. These ads aim to persuade by establishing a positive perception of the company’s character or level of expertise. 
• Pathos Ads: Focus on the emotions of the audience, aiming to make them have feelings that influence decisions. Ads of this nature will often create content that taps into happiness, fear, nostalgia or empathy. 
• Logos Ads: Look at reason, logic and rational thinking as the main drive to persuade the audience. These ads often emphasize the product’s features, benefits and unique selling points. 

7 Persuasive Advertising Examples

What do these types of persuasive ads and techniques look like in practice? If you want real-world samples, you’re in luck. We have several examples of successful marketing campaigns using these methods:

1. Miller Lite

Miller Lite uses a product comparison to showcase how they offer a beer with half the carbs of Bud Light. This uses peoples’ desire to be healthier as a way to put their product above the competition. This post got a lot of attention on social platforms like X (formerly known as Twitter) from people looking for the drink they love without all the carbs. 

We don’t know if Heinz is a fan of Ed Sheeran, but he’s definitely a fan of Heinz. At least, that’s the approach of a hilarious commercial for the beloved ketchup brand. It used humor and the bandwagon effect to promote its product. I mean, if Ed Sheeran likes it, you’re bound to, right? 

3. Old Spice

In just 30 seconds, Old Spice tells viewers that if their partner used the brand’s body wash, they would offer them tickets to “that thing they love,” a boat or even diamonds. Using both the snob appeal and the carrot and stick advertising technique, this campaign states Old Spice can turn anyone into “the man your man could smell like.” 

Airbnb found out that its users want to live like locals while on vacation. They created a campaign spurring people to not just go there, but live there, focusing on the frustration of being a tourist and dealing with large crowds. It highlighted how Airbnb is the solution for people wanting a more authentic travel experience. 

5. Wonderbox

Wonderbox is a French company that creates experiential gifts. It leveraged Spotify for an audio ad campaign focused on “out-of-the-box” gift-giving during the holiday season. The company used its marketing efforts to persuade people that presenting loved ones with special experiences is more meaningful than things that can be wrapped. 

6. Budweiser

Budweiser is known for tugging on people’s heartstrings (remember the puppy and horse commercial?). Its 2017 Super Bowl Commercial focused on an emotional story of how the company’s idea came to fruition. The inspiring video ends with the line, “When nothing stops your dream, this is the beer we drink,” making even the toughest person get a little teary-eyed. 

Clorox understands the power of the plain folks and bandwagon techniques with an ad that simply states its product is “trusted by moms.” Whether someone is a new mom or is a pro with adult children, seeing an ad like this will feel personal and trustworthy, especially for people needing a cleaning solution ASAP.

Put Your Persuasive Techniques to the Test

Now that you know the secrets to persuasive ad creation, there’s nothing stopping you from mesmerizing potential customers. But rather than using pendulum watches and hypnotic swirling screens, you can persuade them with content focused on their emotional wants and needs. 

Madelyn Gardner

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Madelyn Gardner is a content writer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Off the clock, she loves being outside, hiking, reading, baking and eating Mexican food — specifically burritos.

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40 Strong Persuasive Writing Examples (Essays, Speeches, Ads, and More)

Learn from the experts.

The more we read, the better writers we become. Teaching students to write strong persuasive essays should always start with reading some top-notch models. This round-up of persuasive writing examples includes famous speeches, influential ad campaigns, contemporary reviews of famous books, and more. Use them to inspire your students to write their own essays. (Need persuasive essay topics? Check out our list of interesting persuasive essay ideas here! )

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Persuasive Essay Writing Examples

From the earliest days of print, authors have used persuasive essays to try to sway others to their own point of view. Check out these top persuasive essay writing examples.

Professions for Women by Virginia Woolf

Sample lines: “Outwardly, what is simpler than to write books? Outwardly, what obstacles are there for a woman rather than for a man? Inwardly, I think, the case is very different; she has still many ghosts to fight, many prejudices to overcome. Indeed it will be a long time still, I think, before a woman can sit down to write a book without finding a phantom to be slain, a rock to be dashed against. And if this is so in literature, the freest of all professions for women, how is it in the new professions which you are now for the first time entering?”

The Crisis by Thomas Paine

Sample lines: “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”

Politics and the English Language by George Orwell

Sample lines: “As I have tried to show, modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug.”

Letter From a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Sample lines: “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was ‘well timed’ in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word ‘Wait!’ It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’ We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied.'”

Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

Sample lines: “Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men.”

Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Roger Ebert

Sample lines: “‘Kindness’ covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime.”

The Way to Wealth by Benjamin Franklin

Sample lines: “Methinks I hear some of you say, must a man afford himself no leisure? I will tell thee, my friend, what Poor Richard says, employ thy time well if thou meanest to gain leisure; and, since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour. Leisure is time for doing something useful; this leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never; so that, as Poor Richard says, a life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things.”

The Crack-Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Sample lines: “Of course all life is a process of breaking down, but the blows that do the dramatic side of the work—the big sudden blows that come, or seem to come, from outside—the ones you remember and blame things on and, in moments of weakness, tell your friends about, don’t show their effect all at once.”

Open Letter to the Kansas School Board by Bobby Henderson

Sample lines: “I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. … Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. … We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him. It is for this reason that I’m writing you today, to formally request that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the other two theories.”

Open Letter to the United Nations by Niels Bohr

Sample lines: “Humanity will, therefore, be confronted with dangers of unprecedented character unless, in due time, measures can be taken to forestall a disastrous competition in such formidable armaments and to establish an international control of the manufacture and use of the powerful materials.”

Persuasive Speech Writing Examples

Many persuasive speeches are political in nature, often addressing subjects like human rights. Here are some of history’s most well-known persuasive writing examples in the form of speeches.

I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Sample lines: “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

Woodrow Wilson’s War Message to Congress, 1917

Sample lines: “There are, it may be, many months of fiery trial and sacrifice ahead of us. It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts—for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free.”

Chief Seattle’s 1854 Oration

Sample lines: “I here and now make this condition that we will not be denied the privilege without molestation of visiting at any time the tombs of our ancestors, friends, and children. Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished. Even the rocks, which seem to be dumb and dead as they swelter in the sun along the silent shore, thrill with memories of stirring events connected with the lives of my people, and the very dust upon which you now stand responds more lovingly to their footsteps than yours, because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch.”

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights, Hillary Rodham Clinton

Sample lines: “What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations do as well. … If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all.”

I Am Prepared to Die, Nelson Mandela

Sample lines: “Above all, My Lord, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy. But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination. Political division, based on color, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one color group by another. … This then is what the ANC is fighting. Our struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by our own suffering and our own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live.”

The Struggle for Human Rights by Eleanor Roosevelt

Sample lines: “It is my belief, and I am sure it is also yours, that the struggle for democracy and freedom is a critical struggle, for their preservation is essential to the great objective of the United Nations to maintain international peace and security. Among free men the end cannot justify the means. We know the patterns of totalitarianism—the single political party, the control of schools, press, radio, the arts, the sciences, and the church to support autocratic authority; these are the age-old patterns against which men have struggled for 3,000 years. These are the signs of reaction, retreat, and retrogression. The United Nations must hold fast to the heritage of freedom won by the struggle of its people; it must help us to pass it on to generations to come.”

Freedom From Fear by Aung San Suu Kyi

Sample lines: “Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying. So free men are the oppressed who go on trying and who in the process make themselves fit to bear the responsibilities and to uphold the disciplines which will maintain a free society. Among the basic freedoms to which men aspire that their lives might be full and uncramped, freedom from fear stands out as both a means and an end. A people who would build a nation in which strong, democratic institutions are firmly established as a guarantee against state-induced power must first learn to liberate their own minds from apathy and fear.”

Harvey Milk’s “The Hope” Speech

Sample lines: “Some people are satisfied. And some people are not. You see there is a major difference—and it remains a vital difference—between a friend and a gay person, a friend in office and a gay person in office. Gay people have been slandered nationwide. We’ve been tarred and we’ve been brushed with the picture of pornography. In Dade County, we were accused of child molestation. It is not enough anymore just to have friends represent us, no matter how good that friend may be.”

The Union and the Strike, Cesar Chavez

Sample lines: “We are showing our unity in our strike. Our strike is stopping the work in the fields; our strike is stopping ships that would carry grapes; our strike is stopping the trucks that would carry the grapes. Our strike will stop every way the grower makes money until we have a union contract that guarantees us a fair share of the money he makes from our work! We are a union and we are strong and we are striking to force the growers to respect our strength!”

Nobel Lecture by Malala Yousafzai

Sample lines: “The world can no longer accept that basic education is enough. Why do leaders accept that for children in developing countries, only basic literacy is sufficient, when their own children do homework in algebra, mathematics, science, and physics? Leaders must seize this opportunity to guarantee a free, quality, primary and secondary education for every child. Some will say this is impractical, or too expensive, or too hard. Or maybe even impossible. But it is time the world thinks bigger.”   

Persuasive Writing Examples in Advertising Campaigns

Ads are prime persuasive writing examples. You can flip open any magazine or watch TV for an hour or two to see sample after sample of persuasive language. Here are some of the most popular ad campaigns of all time, with links to articles explaining why they were so successful.

Nike: Just Do It

The iconic swoosh with the simple tagline has persuaded millions to buy their kicks from Nike and Nike alone. Teamed with pro sports-star endorsements, this campaign is one for the ages. Blinkist offers an opinion on what made it work.

Dove: Real Beauty

Beauty brand Dove changed the game by choosing “real” women to tell their stories instead of models. They used relatable images and language to make connections, and inspired other brands to try the same concept. Learn why Global Brands considers this one a true success story.

Wendy’s: Where’s the Beef?

Today’s kids are too young to remember the cranky old woman demanding to know where the beef was on her fast-food hamburger. But in the 1980s, it was a catchphrase that sold millions of Wendy’s burgers. Learn from Better Marketing how this ad campaign even found its way into the 1984 presidential debate.

De Beers: A Diamond Is Forever

A diamond engagement ring has become a standard these days, but the tradition isn’t as old as you might think. In fact, it was De Beers jewelry company’s 1948 campaign that created the modern engagement ring trend. The Drum has the whole story of this sparkling campaign.

Volkswagen: Think Small

Americans have always loved big cars. So in the 1960s, when Volkswagen wanted to introduce their small cars to a bigger market, they had a problem. The clever “Think Small” campaign gave buyers clever reasons to consider these models, like “If you run out of gas, it’s easy to push.” Learn how advertisers interested American buyers in little cars at Visual Rhetoric.

American Express: Don’t Leave Home Without It

AmEx was once better known for traveler’s checks than credit cards, and the original slogan was “Don’t leave home without them.” A simple word change convinced travelers that American Express was the credit card they needed when they headed out on adventures. Discover more about this persuasive campaign from Medium.

Skittles: Taste the Rainbow

These candy ads are weird and intriguing and probably not for everyone. But they definitely get you thinking, and that often leads to buying. Learn more about why these wacky ads are successful from The Drum.

Maybelline: Maybe She’s Born With It

Smart wordplay made this ad campaign slogan an instant hit. The ads teased, “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.” (So many literary devices all in one phrase!) Fashionista has more on this beauty campaign.

Coca-Cola: Share a Coke

Seeing their own name on a bottle made teens more likely to want to buy a Coke. What can that teach us about persuasive writing in general? It’s an interesting question to consider. Learn more about the “Share a Coke” campaign from Digital Vidya.

Always: #LikeaGirl

Talk about the power of words! This Always campaign turned the derogatory phrase “like a girl” on its head, and the world embraced it. Storytelling is an important part of persuasive writing, and these ads really do it well. Medium has more on this stereotype-bashing campaign.   

Editorial Persuasive Writing Examples

Newspaper editors or publishers use editorials to share their personal opinions. Noted politicians, experts, or pundits may also offer their opinions on behalf of the editors or publishers. Here are a couple of older well-known editorials, along with a selection from current newspapers.

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (1897)

Sample lines: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias.”

What’s the Matter With Kansas? (1896)

Sample lines: “Oh, this IS a state to be proud of! We are a people who can hold up our heads! What we need is not more money, but less capital, fewer white shirts and brains, fewer men with business judgment, and more of those fellows who boast that they are ‘just ordinary clodhoppers, but they know more in a minute about finance than John Sherman,’ we need more men … who hate prosperity, and who think, because a man believes in national honor, he is a tool of Wall Street.”

America Can Have Democracy or Political Violence. Not Both. (The New York Times)

Sample lines: “The nation is not powerless to stop a slide toward deadly chaos. If institutions and individuals do more to make it unacceptable in American public life, organized violence in the service of political objectives can still be pushed to the fringes. When a faction of one of the country’s two main political parties embraces extremism, that makes thwarting it both more difficult and more necessary. A well-functioning democracy demands it.”

The Booster Isn’t Perfect, But Still Can Help Against COVID (The Washington Post)

Sample lines: “The booster shots are still free, readily available and work better than the previous boosters even as the virus evolves. Much still needs to be done to build better vaccines that protect longer and against more variants, including those that might emerge in the future. But it is worth grabbing the booster that exists today, the jab being a small price for any measure that can help keep COVID at bay.”

If We Want Wildlife To Thrive in L.A., We Have To Share Our Neighborhoods With Them (Los Angeles Times)

Sample lines: “If there are no corridors for wildlife movement and if excessive excavation of dirt to build bigger, taller houses erodes the slope of a hillside, then we are slowly destroying wildlife habitat. For those people fretting about what this will do to their property values—isn’t open space, trees, and wildlife an amenity in these communities?”   

Persuasive Review Writing Examples

Book or movie reviews are more great persuasive writing examples. Look for those written by professionals for the strongest arguments and writing styles. Here are reviews of some popular books and movies by well-known critics to use as samples.

The Great Gatsby (The Chicago Tribune, 1925)

Sample lines: “What ails it, fundamentally, is the plain fact that it is simply a story—that Fitzgerald seems to be far more interested in maintaining its suspense than in getting under the skins of its people. It is not that they are false: It is that they are taken too much for granted. Only Gatsby himself genuinely lives and breathes. The rest are mere marionettes—often astonishingly lifelike, but nevertheless not quite alive.”

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (The Washington Post, 1999)

Sample lines: “Obviously, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone should make any modern 11-year-old a very happy reader. The novel moves quickly, packs in everything from a boa constrictor that winks to a melancholy Zen-spouting centaur to an owl postal system, and ends with a scary surprise. Yet it is, essentially, a light-hearted thriller, interrupted by occasional seriousness (the implications of Harry’s miserable childhood, a moral about the power of love).”

Twilight (The Telegraph, 2009)

Sample lines: “No secret, of course, at whom this book is aimed, and no doubt, either, that it has hit its mark. The four Twilight novels are not so much enjoyed, as devoured, by legions of young female fans worldwide. That’s not to say boys can’t enjoy these books; it’s just that the pages of heart-searching dialogue between Edward and Bella may prove too long on chat and too short on action for the average male reader.”

To Kill a Mockingbird (Time, 1960)

Sample lines: “Author Lee, 34, an Alabaman, has written her first novel with all of the tactile brilliance and none of the preciosity generally supposed to be standard swamp-warfare issue for Southern writers. The novel is an account of an awakening to good and evil, and a faint catechistic flavor may have been inevitable. But it is faint indeed; novelist Lee’s prose has an edge that cuts through cant, and she teaches the reader an astonishing number of useful truths about little girls and about Southern life.”

The Diary of Anne Frank (The New York Times, 1952)

Sample lines: “And this quality brings it home to any family in the world today. Just as the Franks lived in momentary fear of the Gestapo’s knock on their hidden door, so every family today lives in fear of the knock of war. Anne’s diary is a great affirmative answer to the life-question of today, for she shows how ordinary people, within this ordeal, consistently hold to the greater human values.”   

What are your favorite persuasive writing examples to use with students? Come share your ideas in the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, the big list of essay topics for high school (120+ ideas) ..

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101 Interesting Persuasive Essay Topics for Kids and Teens

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8.7: Tips for Writing Academic Persuasive Essays

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The previous chapters in this section offer an overview of what it means to formulate an argument in an academic situation. The purpose of this chapter is to offer more concrete, actionable tips for drafting an academic persuasive essay. Keep in mind that preparing to draft a persuasive essay relies on the strategies for any other thesis-driven essay, covered by the section in this textbook, The Writing Process. The following chapters can be read in concert with this one:

• Critical Reading and other research strategies helps writers identify the exigence (issue) that demands a response, as well as what kinds of research to use.
• Generate Ideas covers prewriting models (such as brainstorming techniques) that allow students to make interesting connections and develop comprehensive thesis statements. These connections and main points will allow a writer to outline their core argument.
• Organizing is important for understanding why an argument essay needs a detailed plan, before the drafting stage. For an argument essay, start with a basic outline that identifies the claim, reasoning, and evidence, but be prepared to develop more detailed outlines that include counterarguments and rebuttals, warrants, additional backing, etc., as needed.
• Drafting introduces students to basic compositional strategies that they must be familiar with before beginning an argument essay. This current chapter offers more details about what kinds of paragraphs to practice in an argument essay, but it assumes the writer is familiar with basic strategies such as coherence and cohesion.

Classical structure of an argument essay

Academic persuasive essays tend to follow what’s known as the “classical” structure, based on techniques that derive from ancient Roman and Medieval rhetoricians. John D. Ramage, et. al outline this structure in Writing Arguments :

This very detailed table can be simplified. Most academic persuasive essays include the following basic elements:

• Introduction that explains why the situation is important and presents your argument (aka the claim or thesis).
• Reasons the thesis is correct or at least reasonable.
• Evidence that supports each reason, often occurring right after the reason the evidence supports.
• Acknowledgement of objections.
• Response to objections.

Keep in mind that the structure above is just a conventional starting point. The previous chapters of this section suggest how different kinds of arguments (Classical/Aristotelian, Toulmin, Rogerian) involve slightly different approaches, and your course, instructor, and specific assignment prompt may include its own specific instructions on how to complete the assignment. There are many different variations. At the same time, however, most academic argumentative/persuasive essays expect you to practice the techniques mentioned below. These tips overlap with the elements of argumentation, covered in that chapter, but they offer more explicit examples for how they might look in paragraph form, beginning with the introduction to your essay.

Persuasive introductions should move from context to thesis

Since one of the main goals of a persuasive essay introduction is to forecast the broader argument, it’s important to keep in mind that the legibility of the argument depends on the ability of the writer to provide sufficient information to the reader. If a basic high school essay moves from general topic to specific argument (the funnel technique), a more sophisticated academic persuasive essay is more likely to move from context to thesis.

The great stylist of clear writing, Joseph W. Williams, suggests that one of the key rhetorical moves a writer can make in a persuasive introduction is to not only provide enough background information (the context), but to frame that information in terms of a problem or issue, what the section on Reading and Writing Rhetorically terms the exigence . The ability to present a clearly defined problem and then the thesis as a solution creates a motivating introduction. The reader is more likely to be gripped by it, because we naturally want to see problems solved.

Consider these two persuasive introductions, both of which end with an argumentative thesis statement:

A. In America we often hold to the belief that our country is steadily progressing. topic This is a place where dreams come true. With enough hard work, we tell ourselves (and our children), we can do anything. I argue that, when progress is more carefully defined, our current period is actually one of decline. claim

B . Two years ago my dad developed Type 2 diabetes, and the doctors explained to him that it was due in large part to his heavy consumption of sugar. For him, the primary form of sugar consumption was soda. hook His experience is echoed by millions of Americans today. According to the most recent research, “Sugary drink portion sizes have risen dramatically over the past forty years, and children and adults are drinking more soft drinks than ever,” while two out of three adults in the United States are now considered either overweight or obese. This statistic correlates with reduced life expectancy by many years. Studies have shown that those who are overweight in this generation will live a lot fewer years than those who are already elderly. And those consumers who don’t become overweight remain at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes (like my dad), known as one of the most serious global health concerns (“Sugary Drinks and Obesity Fact Sheet”). problem In response to this problem, some political journalists, such as Alexandra Le Tellier, argue that sodas should be banned. On the opposite end of the political spectrum, politically conservative journalists such as Ernest Istook argue that absolutely nothing should be done because that would interfere with consumer freedom. debate I suggest something in between: a “soda tax,” which would balance concerns over the public welfare with concerns over consumer freedom. claim

Example B feels richer, more dramatic, and much more targeted not only because it’s longer, but because it’s structured in a “motivating” way. Here’s an outline of that structure:

• Hook: It opens with a brief hook that illustrates an emerging issue. This concrete, personal anecdote grips the reader’s attention.
• Problem: The anecdote is connected with the emerging issue, phrased as a problem that needs to be addressed.
• Debate: The writer briefly alludes to a debate over how to respond to the problem.
• Claim: The introduction ends by hinting at how the writer intends to address the problem, and it’s phrased conversationally, as part of an ongoing dialogue.

Not every persuasive introduction needs all of these elements. Not all introductions will have an obvious problem. Sometimes a “problem,” or the exigence, will be as subtle as an ambiguity in a text that needs to be cleared up (as in literary analysis essays). Other times it will indeed be an obvious problem, such as in a problem-solution argument essay.

In most cases, however, a clear introduction will proceed from context to thesis . The most attention-grabbing and motivating introductions will also include things like hooks and problem-oriented issues.

Here’s a very simple and streamlined template that can serve as rudimentary scaffolding for a persuasive introduction, inspired by the excellent book, They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing : Definition: Term

In discussions of __________, an emerging issue is _____________________. issue When addressing this issue, some experts suggest ________________. debate In my view, however, _______________________________. claim

Each aspect of the template will need to be developed, but it can serve as training wheels for how to craft a nicely structured context-to-thesis introduction, including things like an issue, debate, and claim. You can try filling in the blanks below, and then export your attempt as a document.

Define key terms, as needed

Much of an academic persuasive essay is dedicated to supporting the claim. A traditional thesis-driven essay has an introduction, body, and conclusion, and the support constitutes much of the body. In a persuasive essay, most of the support is dedicated to reasoning and evidence (more on that below). However, depending on what your claim does, a careful writer may dedicate the beginning (or other parts of the essay body) to defining key terms.

Suppose I wish to construct an argument that enters the debate over euthanasia. When researching the issue, I notice that much of the debate circles around the notion of rights, specifically what a “legal right” actually means. Clearly defining that term will help reduce some of the confusion and clarify my own argument. In Vancouver Island University’s resource “ Defining key terms ,” Ian Johnston offers this example for how to define “legal right” for an academic reader:

Before discussing the notion of a right to die, we need to clarify precisely what the term legal right means. In common language, the term “right” tends often to mean something good, something people ought to have (e.g., a right to a good home, a right to a meaningful job, and so on). In law, however, the term has a much more specific meaning. It refers to something to which people are legally entitled. Thus, a “legal” right also confers a legal obligation on someone or some institution to make sure the right is conferred. For instance, in Canada, children of a certain age have a right to a free public education. This right confers on society the obligation to provide that education, and society cannot refuse without breaking the law. Hence, when we use the term right to die in a legal sense, we are describing something to which a citizen is legally entitled, and we are insisting that someone in society has an obligation to provide the services which will confer that right on anyone who wants it.

As the example above shows, academics often dedicate space to providing nuanced and technical definitions that correct common misconceptions. Johnston’s definition relies on research, but it’s not always necessary to use research to define your terms. Here are some tips for crafting definitions in persuasive essays, from “Defining key terms”:

• Fit the descriptive detail in the definition to the knowledge of the intended audience. The definition of, say, AIDS for a general readership will be different from the definition for a group of doctors (the latter will be much more technical). It often helps to distinguish between common sense or popular definitions and more technical ones.
• Make sure definitions are full and complete; do not rush them unduly. And do not assume that just because the term is quite common that everyone knows just what it means (e.g., alcoholism ). If you are using the term in a very specific sense, then let the reader know what that is. The amount of detail you include in a definition should cover what is essential for the reader to know, in order to follow the argument. By the same token, do not overload the definition, providing too much detail or using far too technical a language for those who will be reading the essay.
• It’s unhelpful to simply quote the google or dictionary.com definition of a word. Dictionaries contain a few or several definitions for important terms, and the correct definition is informed by the context in which it’s being employed. It’s up to the writer to explain that context and how the word is usually understood within it.
• You do not always need to research a definition. Depending on the writing situation and audience, you may be able to develop your own understanding of certain terms.

Use P-E-A-S or M-E-A-L to support your claim

The heart of a persuasive essay is a claim supported by reasoning and evidence. Thus, much of the essay body is often devoted to the supporting reasons, which in turn are proved by evidence. One of the formulas commonly taught in K-12 and even college writing programs is known as PEAS, which overlaps strongly with the MEAL formula introduced by the chapter, “ Basic Integration “:

Point : State the reasoning as a single point: “One reason why a soda tax would be effective is that…” or “One way an individual can control their happiness is by…”

Evidence : After stating the supporting reason, prove that reason with related evidence. There can be more than one piece of evidence. “According to …” or “In the article, ‘…,’ the author shows that …”

Analysis : There a different levels of analysis. At the most basic level, a writer should clearly explain how the evidence proves the point, in their own words: “In other words…,” “What this data shows is that…” Sometimes the “A” part of PEAS becomes simple paraphrasing. Higher-level analysis will use more sophisticated techniques such as Toulmin’s warrants to explore deeper terrain. For more tips on how to discuss and analyze, refer to the previous chapter’s section, “ Analyze and discuss the evidence .”

Summary/So what? : Tie together all of the components (PEA) succinctly, before transitioning to the next idea. If necessary, remind the reader how the evidence and reasoning relates to the broader claim (the thesis argument).

PEAS and MEAL are very similar; in fact they are identical except for how they refer to the first and last part. In theory, it shouldn’t matter which acronym you choose. Both versions are effective because they translate the basic structure of a supporting reason (reasoning and evidence) into paragraph form.

Here’s an example of a PEAS paragraph in an academic persuasive essay that argues for a soda tax:

A soda tax would also provide more revenue for the federal government, thereby reducing its debt. point Despite Ernest Istook’s concerns about eroding American freedom, the United States has long supported the ability of government to leverage taxes in order to both curb unhealthy lifestyles and add revenue. According to Peter Ubel’s “Would the Founding Fathers Approve of a Sugar Tax?”, in 1791 the US government was heavily in debt and needed stable revenue. In response, the federal government taxed what most people viewed as a “sin” at that time: alcohol. This single tax increased government revenue by at least 20% on average, and in some years more than 40% . The effect was that only the people who really wanted alcohol purchased it, and those who could no longer afford it were getting rid of what they already viewed as a bad habit (Ubel). evidence Just as alcohol (and later, cigarettes) was viewed as a superfluous “sin” in the Early Republic, so today do many health experts and an increasing amount of Americans view sugar as extremely unhealthy, even addictive. If our society accepts taxes on other consumer sins as a way to improve government revenue, a tax on sugar is entirely consistent. analysis We could apply this to the soda tax and try to do something like this to help knock out two problems at once: help people lose their addiction towards soda and help reduce our government’s debt. summary/so what?

The paragraph above was written by a student who was taught the PEAS formula. However, we can see versions of this formula in professional writing. Here’s a more sophisticated example of PEAS, this time from a non-academic article. In Nicholas Carr’s extremely popular article, “ Is Google Making Us Stupid? “, he argues that Google is altering how we think. To prove that broader claim, Carr offers a variety of reasons and evidence. Here’s part of his reasoning:

Thanks to the ubiquity of text on the Internet, not to mention the popularity of text-messaging on cell phones, we may well be reading more today than we did in the 1970s or 1980s, when television was our medium of choice. But it’s a different kind of reading, and behind it lies a different kind of thinking—perhaps even a new sense of the self. point “We are not only what we read,” says Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist at Tufts University and the author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain . “We are how we read.” Wolf worries that the style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged when an earlier technology, the printing press, made long and complex works of prose commonplace. When we read online, she says, we tend to become “mere decoders of information.” evidence Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged. analysis

This excerpt only contains the first three elements, PEA, and the analysis part is very brief (it’s more like paraphrase), but it shows how professional writers often employ some version of the formula. It tends to appear in persuasive texts written by experienced writers because it reinforces writing techniques mentioned elsewhere in this textbook. A block of text structured according to PEA will practice coherence, because opening with a point (P) forecasts the main idea of that section. Embedding the evidence (E) within a topic sentence and follow-up commentary or analysis (A) is part of the “quote sandwich” strategy we cover in the section on “Writing With Sources.”

Use “they say / i say” strategies for Counterarguments and rebuttals

Another element that’s unique to persuasive essays is embedding a counterargument. Sometimes called naysayers or opposing positions, counterarguments are points of view that challenge our own.

Why embed a naysayer?

Recall above how a helpful strategy for beginning a persuasive essay (the introduction) is to briefly mention a debate—what some writing textbooks call “joining the conversation.” Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein’s They Say / I Say explains why engaging other points of view is so crucial:

Not long ago we attended a talk at an academic conference where the speaker’s central claim seemed to be that a certain sociologist—call him Dr. X—had done very good work in a number of areas of the discipline. The speaker proceeded to illustrate his thesis by referring extensively and in great detail to various books and articles by Dr. X and by quoting long pas-sages from them. The speaker was obviously both learned and impassioned, but as we listened to his talk we found ourselves somewhat puzzled: the argument—that Dr. X’s work was very important—was clear enough, but why did the speaker need to make it in the first place? Did anyone dispute it? Were there commentators in the field who had argued against X’s work or challenged its value? Was the speaker’s interpretation of what X had done somehow novel or revolutionary? Since the speaker gave no hint of an answer to any of these questions, we could only wonder why he was going on and on about X. It was only after the speaker finished and took questions from the audience that we got a clue: in response to one questioner, he referred to several critics who had vigorously questioned Dr. X’s ideas and convinced many sociologists that Dr. X’s work was unsound.

When writing for an academic audience, one of the most important moves a writer can make is to demonstrate how their ideas compare to others. It serves as part of the context. Your essay might be offering a highly original solution to a certain problem you’ve researched the entire semester, but the reader will only understand that if existing arguments are presented in your draft. Or, on the other hand, you might be synthesizing or connecting a variety of opinions in order to arrive at a more comprehensive solution. That’s also fine, but the creativity of your synthesis and its unique contribution to existing research will only be known if those other voices are included.

Aristotelian argumentation embeds counterarguments in order to refute them. Rogerian arguments present oppositional stances in order to synthesize and integrate them. No matter what your strategy is, the essay should be conversational.

Notice how Ana Mari Cauce opens her essay on free speech in higher education, “ Messy but Essential “:

Over the past year or two, issues surrounding the exercise of free speech and expression have come to the forefront at colleges around the country. The common narrative about free speech issues that we so often read goes something like this: today’s college students — overprotected and coddled by parents, poorly educated in high school and exposed to primarily left-leaning faculty — have become soft “snowflakes” who are easily offended by mere words and the slightest of insults, unable or unwilling to tolerate opinions that veer away from some politically correct orthodoxy and unable to engage in hard-hitting debate. counterargument

This is false in so many ways, and even insulting when you consider the reality of students’ experiences today. claim

The introduction to her article is essentially a counteragument (which serves as her introductory context) followed by a response. Embedding naysayers like this can appear anywhere in an essay, not just the introduction. Notice, furthermore, how Cauce’s naysayer isn’t gleaned from any research she did. It’s just a general, trendy naysayer, something one might hear nowadays, in the ether. It shows she’s attuned to an ongoing conversation, but it doesn’t require her to cite anything specific. As the previous chapter on using rhetorical appeals in arguments explained, this kind of attunement with an emerging problem (or exigence) is known as the appeal to kairos . A compelling, engaging introduction will demonstrate that the argument “kairotically” addresses a pressing concern.

Below is a brief overview of what counterarguments are and how you might respond to them in your arguments. This section was developed by Robin Jeffrey, in “ Counterargument and Response “:

Common Types of counterarguments

• Could someone disagree with your claim? If so, why? Explain this opposing perspective in your own argument, and then respond to it.
• Could someone draw a different conclusion from any of the facts or examples you present? If so, what is that different conclusion? Explain this different conclusion and then respond to it.
• Could a reader question any of your assumptions or claims? If so, which ones would they question? Explain and then respond.
• Could a reader offer a different explanation of an issue? If so, what might their explanation be? Describe this different explanation, and then respond to it.
• Is there any evidence out there that could weaken your position? If so, what is it? Cite and discuss this evidence and then respond to it.

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, that does not necessarily mean that you have a weak argument. It means, ideally and as long as your argument is logical and valid, that you have a counterargument. Good arguments can and do have counterarguments; it is important to discuss them. But you must also discuss and then respond to those counterarguments.

Responding to counterarguments

You do not need to attempt to do all of these things as a way to respond; instead, choose the response strategy that makes the most sense to you, for the counterargument that you have.

• If you agree with some of the counterargument perspectives, you can concede some of their points. (“I do agree that ….”, “Some of the points made by ____ are valid…..”) You could then challenge the importance/usefulness of those points. “However, this information does not apply to our topic because…”
• If the counterargument perspective is one that contains different evidence than you have in your own argument, you can explain why a reader should not accept the evidence that the counterarguer presents.
• If the counterargument perspective is one that contains a different interpretation of evidence than you have in your own argument, you can explain why a reader should not accept the interpretation of the evidence that that your opponent (counterarguer) presents.
• If the counterargument is an acknowledgement of evidence that threatens to weaken your argument, you must explain why and how that evidence does not, in fact invalidate your claim.

It is important to use transitional phrases in your paper to alert readers when you’re about to present an counterargument. It’s usually best to put this phrase at the beginning of a paragraph such as:

• Researchers have challenged these claims with…
• Critics argue that this view…
• Some readers may point to…
• A perspective that challenges the idea that . . .

Transitional phrases will again be useful to highlight your shift from counterargument to response:

• Indeed, some of those points are valid. However, . . .
• While I agree that . . . , it is more important to consider . . .
• These are all compelling points. Still, other information suggests that . .
• While I understand . . . , I cannot accept the evidence because . . .

Further reading

To read more about the importance of counterarguments in academic writing, read Steven D. Krause’s “ On the Other Hand: The Role of Antithetical Writing in First Year Composition Courses .”

When concluding, address the “so what?” challenge

As Joseph W. Williams mentions in his chapter on concluding persuasive essays in Style ,

a good introduction motivates your readers to keep reading, introduces your key themes, and states your main point … [but] a good conclusion serves a different end: as the last thing your reader reads, it should bring together your point, its significance, and its implications for thinking further about the ideas your explored.

At the very least, a good persuasive conclusion will

• Summarize the main points
• Address the So what? or Now what? challenge.

When summarizing the main points of longer essays, Williams suggests it’s fine to use “metadiscourse,” such as, “I have argued that.” If the essay is short enough, however, such metadiscourses may not be necessary, since the reader will already have those ideas fresh in their mind.

After summarizing your essay’s main points, imagine a friendly reader thinking,

“OK, I’m persuaded and entertained by everything you’ve laid out in your essay. But remind me what’s so important about these ideas? What are the implications? What kind of impact do you expect your ideas to have? Do you expect something to change?”

It’s sometimes appropriate to offer brief action points, based on the implications of your essay. When addressing the “So what?” challenge, however, it’s important to first consider whether your essay is primarily targeted towards changing the way people think or act . Do you expect the audience to do something, based on what you’ve argued in your essay? Or, do you expect the audience to think differently? Traditional academic essays tend to propose changes in how the reader thinks more than acts, but your essay may do both.

Finally, Williams suggests that it’s sometimes appropriate to end a persuasive essay with an anecdote, illustrative fact, or key quote that emphasizes the significance of the argument. We can see a good example of this in Carr’s article, “ Is Google Making Us Stupid? ” Here are the introduction and conclusion, side-by-side: Definition: Term

[Introduction] “Dave, stop. Stop, will you? Stop, Dave. Will you stop, Dave?” So the supercomputer HAL pleads with the implacable astronaut Dave Bowman in a famous and weirdly poignant scene toward the end of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey . Bowman, having nearly been sent to a deep-space death by the malfunctioning machine, is calmly, coldly disconnecting the memory circuits that control its artificial “ brain. “Dave, my mind is going,” HAL says, forlornly. “I can feel it. I can feel it.”

I can feel it, too. Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. …

[Conclusion] I’m haunted by that scene in 2001 . What makes it so poignant, and so weird, is the computer’s emotional response to the disassembly of its mind: its despair as one circuit after another goes dark, its childlike pleading with the astronaut—“I can feel it. I can feel it. I’m afraid”—and its final reversion to what can only be called a state of innocence. HAL’s outpouring of feeling contrasts with the emotionlessness that characterizes the human figures in the film, who go about their business with an almost robotic efficiency. Their thoughts and actions feel scripted, as if they’re following the steps of an algorithm. In the world of 2001 , people have become so machinelike that the most human character turns out to be a machine. That’s the essence of Kubrick’s dark prophecy: as we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial intelligence.

Instead of merely rehashing all of the article’s main points, Carr returns to the same movie scene from 2001 that he opened with. The final lines interpret the scene according to the argument he just dedicated the entire essay to presenting.

The entire essay should use rhetorical appeals strategically

The chapter “ Persuasive Appeals ” introduces students to logos, pathos, ethos, and kairos. Becoming familiar with each of those persuasive appeals can add much to an essay. It also reinforces the idea that writing argumentative essays is not a straightforward process of jotting down proofs. It’s not a computer algorithm.

• Logos (appeals to evidence and reasoning) is the foundational appeal of an argument essay. Clearly identifying the claim, then supporting that claim with reasoning and evidence will appeal to the reader’s logos demands. As the previous chapter on argumentation mentions, however, what constitutes solid evidence will vary depending on the audience. Make sure your evidence is indeed convincing to your intended reader.
• Pathos (appeals to emotion) are a crucial component and should permeate should every section of the essay. Personal anecdotes are an effective way to illustrate important ideas, and they connect with the reader at an emotional level. Personal examples also cultivate voice .
• Ethos (appeals to character, image, and values) is essential to gaining the reader’s trust and assent. The tone of your essay (snarky, sincere, ironic, sarcastic, empathetic) is immensely important for its overall effect, and it helps build the reader’s image of you. A careful attention to high-quality research reinforces a sincere and empathetic tone. When supporting certain claims and sub-claims, it’s also important to identify implied beliefs (warrants) that your reader is most likely to agree with, and to undermine beliefs that might seem repugnant.
• Kairos (appeals to timeliness) impresses the reader with your attunement to the situation. This should be practiced especially in the introduction, but it can appear throughout the essay as you engage with research and other voices that have recently weighed in on the topic.

All of these appeals are already happening, whether or not they’re recognized. If they are missed, the audience will often use them against you, judging your essay as not being personable enough (pathos), or not in touch with commonly accepted values (ethos), or out of touch with what’s going on (kairos). These non-logical appeals aren’t irrational. They are crucial components to writing that matters.

Argument Outline Exercise

To get started on your argument essay, practice adopting from of the outlines from this Persuasive Essay Outline worksheet .

The Effect of Advertising on Children Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Factors that have led to increased advertisement to children, the impact of advertising to children, regulation of children advertisements, considerations that marketers should have in children’s advertisements, advertising ethics and social responsibility, reference list.

The goal of every business organisation is to maximise profits through the sale of products or services. To achieve this goal, most organisations employ different promotional mechanisms for their products, and most organisations have employed advertising as one of their major promotional tools.

Advertising refers to a non-personal communication of information, which is normally well structured and composed. Such information is usually persuasive in nature and directed towards a given target group. Advertising assists customers to understand the price of a given product, its potential benefits as well as the place to find it (Cronin et al. 20010, pp. 30).

Due to recent technological advancements, the electronic media has become a major means of advertising, e.g. television, radio and internet-based social networks (Kletchemer 2004, pp. 42).

This paper focuses on the various issues concerning advertising to children, including: firstly, the factors that have led to increased advertisement to children; second, the impact of advertising to children, including the positive and negative; thirdly, the regulation of children’s advertisements; fourthly, the considerations that marketers should have in children’s advertising.

Recently, the potential number of clients in the children market for advertising has increased. Research has shown that the American children’s market represents approximately $500 billion per year. This amount consists of about $200 billion that children spent on personal items such as snacks, soft drinks and entertainment (Roberts et al. 2005, pp. 17).

The remaining portion is spent on buying other items that are essential to the whole family that the children influence their parents/ guardians to buy. Since many organisations produce these products, which tend to have similar characteristics, they have to persuade customers to choose a particular product over the rest. Owing to this, advertising to children has become a major marketing strategy that different organisations employ.

Advertising to children not only concerns them but their parents as well. The advertisement of some products to children is an indirect means of capturing the attention of their parents who are the buyers of the product in question (Kunkel 2001, pp. 102). This is a unique feature of the children’s market.

However, the children’s market is not the only market segment where the purchasers of the products are not necessarily consumers of the product – it also applies to pets and gift receivers (Fletcher 2004). The main difference is that unlike pets, children are able to respond to such advertisements by vocalising their desires.

On the other hand, gift receivers rarely respond to the adverts. By communicating their desires to their parents/guardians, children persuade the parents to purchase the products in the advertisements (Martin et al. 2006, pp. 601). This translates to an increase in sales for the producers, which is their ultimate goal.

The children market undergoes many changes as the children (up to 12 years of age) undergo different developmental stages. With the transition to the next developmental stage, the preferences of children change: for example, children lose their desire in certain products. This is not only true for toys but also for clothes, foods and confectionery (Ajzen 2008, p. 528).

Research has shown that from the age of five, children begin to express their product preferences in a stronger manner than they did previously. Therefore, marketers have to reach children in different developmental stages in their childhood, leading to the development of advertisements geared towards the different sub-segments within the children’s market.

There is a positive impact of advertising to children for the wider society, as discussed by Arens et al. in the essay question. As mentioned above, advertising to children provides important information not only to the children but also to their parents, enabling both to understand the products that different producers offer. Additionally, most adverts contain information concerning the price of the product in question as well as the location where the buyers can purchase the product.

With such information, both the children and their parents can make informed decisions about the product that best suits their needs (Cardona 2004, pp. 20). Therefore, advertising to children enables parents to save money and save the time that they would have spent searching for a given product or service. By making informed decisions, the parent buyers are able to use their money in an effective manner.

In effect, advertising to children is a price regulatory tool that prevents consumers from being exploited by producers and service providers. One of the major aspects that attract potential customers to a given product is the set price for the product. Consequently, producers embark on research to find out the price of their competitors in the market.

Such information is essential in enabling the producers to tailor the price of a given product to be able to compete effectively in the market (Farache & Keith 2010, pp. 238). On the other hand, consumers will also enjoy the provision of goods for a reduced price.

To the producers and service producers, advertising to children leads to an increase in the organisation’s profits. By advertising their products, especially through the media, organisations are able to reach potential customers within a very short time.

Many people may purchase the advertised product, leading to an increase of sales to the company, which in turn generates more profits for the company. Therefore, the comment by Arens et al. that advertising increases “productivity by both management and labour” also applies to children’s advertising.

Despite the above-mentioned positive impact of advertising to children, it also has certain negative impacts to the society. According to American Academy of Pediatrics, most children watch television for around four hours a day (Terry 2009, pp. 380). Research has shown that within that period, children see more than 25,000 commercials a year. Most of these commercials advertise products that are harmful to the health of the consumer children (Cardona 2004, pp.20).

For instance, they advertise high-sugar and high-fat foods or poorly nutritious snacks. Such adverts increase the consumption of unhealthy foods among children, which has led to the increased prevalence of overweight and obese children in those nations where advertising to children is practiced. Children who are overweight during their early stages of growth and development tend to become obese in their adulthood.

For instance in Canada, between 1983 and 2001 the prevalence of obesity in children increased by 200-300% (Tjepkema 2006, pp.23).The healthcare costs that are associated with the disease, either directly or indirectly, are approximately $4 billion, which represents 2.2% of the entire healthcare expenditure of Canada (Prince, 2009, p.31). This phenomenon has also occurred in America where the prevalence of overweight and obese children has tripled over the last six years.

A significant reason for the regulation of advertising to children is that children lack cognitive skills, especially those that are below eight years of age. Therefore, they are not able to perceive or understand the persuasive intent of the most advertisements. They are not able to draw the line between advertising and other editorial messages, which make them unduly susceptible to all forms of persuasion that come with adverts.

To curb the problems associated with consumption of unhealthy foods, most regulatory bodies have embarked on a strategy to deal with the advertisements that promote the consumption of such foods to children. As earlier mentioned, a large percentage of children advertisements seek to promote the consumption of unhealthy foods, such as sugarcoated cereals, high-fat products at fast food restaurants and confectionery.

It is evident that the consumption of such products has had a direct impact on the development of weight disorders. Therefore, regulation of advertisements for children will lower the prevalence of such disorders, which in turn will reduce healthcare costs within any given population.

Due to the above-mentioned concerns, several governments have constituted bodies to tackle the issue. Furthermore, some nations have completely abolished the practice of advertising to children for the well-being of society. A good example of such a country is Sweden, which has banned all forms of television advertisements targeting children below twelve years of age. The Swedish government considers children as a minority group that requires special care and protection.

In the US, members of the Congress have passed bills that seek to protect children from the negative effects of faulty advertisements. The bills limit the time of children’s programming in the media and mandates the provision of educational programs. Additionally, the bills seek to restrict the time allocated to commercials in television.

In the US, several bodies are concerned with the quality of the contents of children advertisements. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that all advertisements, especially those that target children, must be substantiated by a reasonable basis. It calls for all marketers to expend their resources to ensure that all their advertisements comply with the government’s rules and regulations concerning advertising to children.

The Children Advertising Review Unit (C.A.R.U) plays a pivotal role in monitoring advertisements to ensure that marketers comply with the set rules. It was founded in 1974, and its main objective is to enhance marketer’s responsibility in children’s advertising. It was established through a collaboration of the major advertising trade associations through the National Advertising Review Council (N.A.R.C).

It has several duties among which are evaluating child-directed advertisements as well as monitoring all forms of promotional material in the media. Additionally, it advances the consistency, truth and accuracy of all forms of children’s advertisements. In its code, one of its recommendations is that marketers should not present advertisements in a manner that blurs the distinction between editorial content and advertising (Synder 2011, pp. 478).

Synder argues that children are the most vulnerable group to misleading advertisements due to their immaturity and lack of the cognitive skills to evaluate the credibility of advertisements (2011). C.A.R.U also requires that everyone involved in the formulation of children’s advertisements ensure that the target group is able to understand the persuasive nature of the advert in question.

Some of C.A.R.U’s guidelines cover the safety of the products, sales pressure, and the presentation of the product in the advertisement. Additionally, C.A.R.U holds that while formulating children’s advertisements, the marketers should have regard to the best interest of all the parties involved. Therefore, the markets should carry out children advertisements with great care and expertise.

Marketers should ensure that the advertisements are persuasive, just like adverts made for adults, while ensuring that they are operating within the set rules and regulations. They should understand the preferences of their audience, including both children and their parents.

For instance, in advertising food products, children and parents have different preferences. Parents look for certain qualities in food products that include the nutritional composition of the foods whereas children seek foods that are tasty irrespective of their nutritive value. In other categories of products, parents look into the moral acceptability of the product as well as its safety to children.

n contrast, children show more interest on the amount of fun they derive from using such products as well as the peer acceptability. According to Terry, marketers should never overlook the parents when formulating children’s advertisements since the parents are the sole decision makers in the family (2009).

Marketers should also consider the media they intend to use when reaching their audience. For most children, the television is the main tool for accessing advertisements. Few children are aware of the presence of advertisements on other media, such as newspapers and magazines (Schor 2004).

However, social networking sites and other electronic media have become an essential part of children’s lives, especially those brought up in the urban areas. Boys form a large proportion of the users of such media and most children consider advertisements as a form of entertainment. Therefore, marketers should employ the media that the target group enjoys most. For instance, boys between the ages of eight to 12 years can be reached through special adverts incorporated within their computer games.

Considering the various groups of children that exist, marketers must capture their specific interests to ensure that they attain their advertising goal. It is essential for the marketers to get not only the level of childhood knowledge of the target group but also its level of sophistication. As children grow, several aspects change, including their taste and their vocabulary. Therefore, marketers should carry out research on the vocabulary that a certain age group employs as well as the visual aspects of the media that they like most.

This will enable them to tailor the advertisement in order to persuade the target group effectively. However, it is important to mention that this is one of the most costly and difficult issues for most marketers. Additionally, marketers should be careful to avoid any forms of misunderstanding with the children and their parents.

Advertisements have a profound impact on people’s perception of life thus the need for marketers to adhere to advertising ethics and assume their social responsibility: ‘the moral obligation of advertisers’ as stipulated by Arens et al. in the essay question. All advertisements should be truthful. Advertisers should not exaggerate the information about the attributes of a given product or service since exaggeration acts as a form of deception. Additionally, advertisements should not withhold certain facts about the product.

Advertisements should seek to uphold human dignity. The techniques employed in advertisements should neither manipulate nor exploit any form of human weaknesses such as greed and lust among others especially within the vulnerable groups e.g. children. Most of children advertisements try to exploit suggestibility with the marketers hoping to make children to pressurize their parents to buy products that may be of no importance to them (Duff 2004).

Such adverts offend not only the rights but also the dignity of the parents and children. They intrude upon the relationship between the children and their parents. They also manipulate the relationship to attain their own goals without any consideration of the negative effects that such might cause to the family.

Advertisers ought to put into consideration their contribution to the social and ecological well-being of the society. They should not promote lavish lifestyles that promote the wasteful use of natural resources. Advertising as a social process must follow all the norms in any given society. Advertisements should not expose pornography: should be decent. They should not encourage the materialism but should enhance both the cultural and economic development of the target group.

Advertising to children has unique features when compared to advertising to any other market segment. Firstly, the essay exampled the factors that have led to increased advertisement to children. Most children do not purchase the products being advertised; their parents do. Therefore, the marketers should have both the interests of the children and parents at heart; for example, children’s advertisements must be appealing and meaningful to parents.

Secondly, the impact of advertising to children was discussed. The positive impact includes the ability of firms to reach important segments of the population and therefore increase sales, whilst the negative impact was that most advertisements promote products that are harmful to the health of consumer children. Thirdly, the regulation of children’s advertising was examined. As the most vulnerable group to faulty adverts, they are protected by law.

Therefore, several bodies have taken the responsibility of protecting the interests of children and their parents as far as advertisements are concerned, including the C.A.R.U and N.A.R.C. The essay dealt with the considerations marketers should have in children’s advertisements, including that they are persuasive, the media they intend to use and type of child they target.

Finally, the essay detailed advertising ethics and the social responsibility of advertisers: Products should fulfill the advertisement claims and enhance the social and economic development of the community.

Ajzen, I. 2008,“Consumer Attitudes and Behavior” in C Haugtredt, P Herr &F Kardes (eds), Handbook of Consumer Psychology , Taylor & Francis, New York.

Cardona, M. 2004, “High School Paper Group to Take Adverts”, Advertising Age , Vol. 75 no.1, pp. 16-35.

Cronin, J., Joseph, J., Fox, G. 2010, “The Implications of Third Party Customer Complaining for Advertising Efforts”, Journal of Advertising , Vol. 39 no. 2, pp. 21-33.

Duff, R. 2004. “What Advertising Means to Children”, Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, Vol. 5 no. 2, pp. 12-56.

Farache, F., & Keith, J.P. 2010, “CSR Advertisements: A Legitimacy Tool?”, Corporate Communication: an International Journal , Vol 15 no. 3, pp.235-248.

Fletcher, W. 2004. “The Challenge of Advertising to Children”, Young Consumers: Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers, Vol. 5 no. 2, pp. 11-15.

Kletchemer, S.B. 2004, “Advertainment: The Evolution of Product Placement as a Mass Media Marketing Strategy”, Journal of Promotion Management, Vol 10 no. 2,pp. 37-54.

Kunkel, D. 2001, “Children and Television Advertising”’ in D Singer, & J Singer (eds), Handbook of Children and Media , Thousand Oaks, California.

Martin, C., Landon, J., Dalmeny, K. 2006,“Television Advertising and Children: Lessons from Policy Development”, Public Health Nutrition , Vol. 9 no. 5, pp. 596-605.

Prince, S.A. 2009,“A Population Health Approach to Obesity in Canada-Putting the

Problem Back to Context”, Trans-disciplinary Studies in Population Health Series , Vol.1 no.), pp. 22-40.

Roberts, D., Foehr, U., & Rideout, V. 2005, Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 year-olds, Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park: California.

Schor, J.B. 2004, Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture , Scribner, New York.

Synder, W. 2011, “Making the Case for Enhanced Advertising Ethics”, Journal of Advertising Research , Vol 51 no. 3, pp. 477-483.

Terry, O. 2009, “Advertising and Children: What do Kids Think?” Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Vol 8 no. 2, pp. 371-384.

Tjepkema, M. 2006, Adult Obesity. Health Reports , Vol.17 no.3, pp. 9-27.

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Understanding the Power of Rhetorical Appeals in Persuasion

This essay about rhetoric explores the essential rhetorical appeals—ethos, pathos, and logos—that form the foundation of persuasive communication. It explains how each appeal functions: ethos builds credibility, pathos engages emotions, and logos relies on logical reasoning. The essay highlights their importance in various contexts such as speeches, advertisements, and everyday conversations, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to influence and effectively communicate with audiences.

How it works

Rhetoric, the art of persuasion, has been a cornerstone of effective communication since ancient times. Central to this discipline are the rhetorical appeals—ethos, pathos, and logos—which are strategic methods used to persuade audiences. These appeals underpin compelling argumentation and can be found in diverse forms of communication, from political speeches and advertisements to literature and everyday discourse. Grasping the potency of these rhetorical appeals is crucial for anyone aiming to refine their persuasive skills and influence others more effectively.

Ethos, the ethical appeal, focuses on establishing the speaker’s credibility and authority. When employing ethos, a speaker or writer aims to convince the audience of their reliability, integrity, and moral character. This can be achieved through various methods, such as emphasizing one’s expertise, experience, or shared values with the audience. For example, a doctor advocating for a particular health measure might underscore their years of medical training and experience to strengthen their argument. Ethos is vital because it fosters trust, making the audience more likely to accept the conveyed message.

Beyond personal credentials, ethos can be bolstered through the use of credible sources and citations. When a speaker references respected authorities or presents data from reputable institutions, they enhance their credibility. This borrowed ethos is particularly influential in academic and scientific discourse, where the reliability of evidence is paramount. Ethos also involves demonstrating fairness and respect towards opposing viewpoints. A rhetorician who acknowledges counterarguments and addresses them respectfully is more likely to be seen as reasonable and trustworthy.

Pathos, the emotional appeal, aims to engage the audience’s emotions. This appeal is about creating an emotional connection with the audience, whether through evoking sympathy, anger, joy, or fear. Pathos can be a powerful tool in persuasion because emotions often drive people’s decisions and actions more strongly than logic alone. For instance, a charity organization might use poignant images and stories of those in need to elicit compassion and prompt donations.

The effectiveness of pathos lies in its ability to make the audience feel personally invested in the issue. When people are emotionally moved, they are more likely to be motivated to act. However, the use of pathos must be handled with care. Overly manipulative or insincere emotional appeals can backfire, leading to skepticism and distrust. Effective use of pathos involves a balance, ensuring that the emotional content is genuine and relevant to the argument, thus reinforcing the message rather than detracting from it.

Logos, the logical appeal, is centered on reason and evidence. This appeal involves constructing a clear, logical argument supported by facts, statistics, and rational explanations. Logos is essential for persuading an audience through intellectual engagement, appealing to their sense of logic and critical thinking. For example, a politician advocating for climate change action might present data on rising global temperatures, sea levels, and the scientific consensus on human impact.

The power of logos lies in its ability to provide a solid foundation for an argument, making it difficult to refute. Logical appeals help structure an argument coherently, making it easier for the audience to follow and understand the rationale behind it. However, logos alone is not always sufficient to persuade. People are not purely rational beings; they are influenced by their emotions and perceptions of credibility as well. Therefore, the most compelling arguments often integrate logos with ethos and pathos, creating a holistic and multifaceted appeal.

The interplay of ethos, pathos, and logos can be observed in many successful speeches and writings throughout history. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech masterfully combines all three appeals. King’s credibility (ethos) is established through his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement and his moral authority as a preacher. He engages the audience’s emotions (pathos) by painting a vivid picture of his dream for a just and equal society, invoking the emotional power of hope and shared aspirations. Simultaneously, he supports his vision with logical arguments (logos), referencing the American Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to underscore the legitimacy and necessity of his cause.

In advertising, rhetorical appeals are frequently employed to influence consumer behavior. Advertisements often leverage ethos by featuring endorsements from celebrities or experts, thereby borrowing their credibility. Pathos is invoked through storytelling and imagery that evoke specific emotions, whether it’s the joy of a family gathering around a dinner table or the thrill of driving a luxury car. Logos is used to present facts about the product, such as its features, benefits, and competitive advantages. By combining these appeals, advertisers craft persuasive messages that resonate on multiple levels, making their products more appealing to consumers.

Understanding rhetorical appeals is not just beneficial for those who seek to persuade; it also empowers individuals to become more discerning consumers of information. In an age where misinformation and persuasive tactics are rampant, the ability to recognize and analyze ethos, pathos, and logos can help people critically evaluate the arguments presented to them. This critical awareness is essential for making informed decisions and engaging in meaningful discourse.

Moreover, mastering rhetorical appeals can enhance one’s communication skills in various contexts, from professional settings to personal interactions. Whether writing a persuasive essay, delivering a presentation, or negotiating, the strategic use of ethos, pathos, and logos can significantly improve the effectiveness of one’s message. For instance, in a business proposal, establishing one’s credibility through past successes (ethos), appealing to the potential gains and benefits for the stakeholders (pathos), and presenting a well-reasoned plan with supporting data (logos) can collectively create a compelling case.

In conclusion, the power of rhetorical appeals in persuasion cannot be overstated. Ethos, pathos, and logos are foundational elements that, when used effectively, can transform communication and influence. By understanding and harnessing these appeals, individuals can enhance their persuasive abilities, whether they are advocating for a cause, promoting a product, or simply engaging in everyday conversations. The art of persuasion, rooted in these timeless principles, remains as relevant today as it was in ancient times, underscoring the enduring power of rhetoric in shaping human thought and action.

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Understanding the Power of Rhetorical Appeals in Persuasion. (2024, May 28). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/understanding-the-power-of-rhetorical-appeals-in-persuasion/

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Stricter rules for GE advertising, bigger area on ballot paper for voters to mark their choice: ELD

SINGAPORE – When the next general election is called, the Returning Officer will be able to direct individuals and social media firms to remove online election advertising that breaches election rules.

This could also mean disabling access to such ads to users in Singapore, as well as stopping any further transmission of the materials here.

The Returning Officer is a public officer appointed by the Prime Minister to oversee the impartial and smooth conduct of elections. 

As part of updates announced by the Elections Department (ELD) on May 31, there will also be a larger area demarcated on the ballot paper to mark a voter’s choice.

This follows feedback from the presidential election that some people were unsure if they had properly positioned the stamp within the area.

The updates will come into effect on June 14 with revisions made to the Subsidiary Legislation under the Parliamentary Elections Act, which was updated in 2023.

ELD said the changes are needed “to operationalise these amendments”, in order to be aligned with the requirements set out during the 2023 Presidential Election.

For starters, election advertising will now be required to display the full names of every person who played an “active role” in publishing or displaying the ad.

This comprises those who authorised it, those who approved the content, those who directed that it be published, and in the case of printed ads, the printer must be identified as well.

For paid ads, the full names of every person who paid for it must be displayed, along with indicators that the ad had been paid for, such as the words “sponsored by”.

Paid ads cover both monetary and non-monetary payments, as well as those that are made directly or through a third party.

“This ensures a level playing field by covering various forms of payment under campaign spending limits,” ELD said.

Singapore citizens who are neither candidates nor election agents and publish online election advertising in their personal capacity without any payment whatsoever will be exempted from this rule.

In the online space, ELD said that online election advertising being amplified, whether through boosting or sharing for instance, will face the same requirements as if publishing new online ads.

It said this is because amplifying such ads to increase their reach would have the same effect as publishing fresh content.

Meanwhile, for election advertising that is not done online, political parties will need to declare the particulars of all collaterals that bear political party or party-affiliated symbols to the Returning Officer, if they were on display before the Writ of Elections is issued.

This must be done within 12 hours of the Writ of Elections being issued.

The declarations will be made available online for the public to inspect during the same period.

Between the issuance of the Writ of Elections and the start of the campaign period, any new physical election ads that contain such symbols will not be allowed.

During campaigning, only candidates, election agents, and individuals who are authorised in writing by one of the first two groups will be able to publicly display such ads.

This can also only be done in specific areas outlined in the Subsidiary Legislation, ELD said.

Overseas voting

Unlike the presidential election in 2023, ballot papers cast at overseas polling stations and postal ballot papers will now be sorted by electoral division, rather than being consolidated, due to the upcoming election being a general election.

Instead of one counting agent for every 5,000 overseas voters, or a minimum of three counting agents per candidate like in the presidential election, the maximum number of counting agents will now be raised to five per political party or independent candidate.

This is to take into account the larger number of candidates in a general election, ELD added.

The nomination paper will also feature a new section for candidates to provide their names to be printed on the ballot paper, and there will be a new form for them to declare after the election as well.

In the form, candidates will have to declare that no foreigners were authorised by them or their election agents to conduct any election activity, and that their election activities were not done under foreign influence.

Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore director-general Han Kok Juan took over as Returning Officer on April 1.

Singapore’s general election is due to be called by November 2025.

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A.I. Promised to Upend the 2024 Campaign. It Hasn’t Yet.

With less than six months until the 2024 election, the political uses of A.I. are more theoretical than transformational. “This is the dog that didn’t bark,” said one adviser to a Democratic donor.

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By Shane Goldmacher ,  Tiffany Hsu and Steven Lee Myers

Artificial intelligence helped make turnout predictions in the Mississippi elections last year, when one group used the technology to transcribe, summarize and synthesize audio recordings of its door knockers’ interactions with voters into reports on what they were hearing in each county.

Another group recently compared messages translated by humans and A.I. into six Asian languages and found them all to be similarly effective. A Democratic firm tested four versions of a voice-over ad — two spoken by humans, two by A.I. — and found that the male A.I. voice was as persuasive as its human equivalent (the female voice outperformed her A.I. equivalent).

The era of artificial intelligence has officially arrived on the campaign trail. But the much-anticipated, and feared, technology remains confined to the margins of American campaigns.

With less than six months until the 2024 election, the political uses of A.I. are more theoretical than transformational, both as a constructive communications tool or as a way to spread dangerous disinformation. The Biden campaign said it has strictly limited its use of generative A.I. — which uses prompts to create text, audio or images — to productivity and data-analysis tools, while the Trump campaign said it does not use the technology at all.

“This is the dog that didn’t bark,” said Dmitri Mehlhorn, a political adviser to one of the Democratic Party’s most generous donors, Reid Hoffman. “We haven’t found a cool thing that uses generative A.I. to invest in to actually win elections this year.”

Mr. Hoffman is hardly an A.I. skeptic. He was previously on the board of OpenAI, and recently sat for an “interview” with an A.I. version of himself . For now, though, the only political applications of the technology that merit Mr. Hoffman’s money and attention are what Mr. Mehlhorn called “unsexy productivity tools.”

Eric Wilson, a Republican digital strategist who runs an investment fund for campaign technology, agreed. “A.I. is changing the way campaigns are run but in the most boring and mundane ways you can imagine,” he said.

Technologists and political operatives have little doubt of A.I.’s power to transform the political stage — eventually. A new report from Higher Ground Labs , which invests in political technology companies to benefit progressive causes and candidates, found that while the technology remains in “the experimental stage,” it also represents “a generational opportunity” for the Democratic Party to get ahead.

For now, the Democratic National Committee has been experimenting more modestly, such as using A.I. to spot anomalous patterns in voter registration records and find notable voter removals or additions.

Jeanine Abrams McLean, the president of Fair Count, the nonprofit that led the A.I. experiment in Mississippi, said the pilot project had involved 120 voice memos recorded after meetings with voters that were transcribed by A.I. Then, the team had used the A.I. tool Claude to map out geographic differences in opinion based on what canvassers said about their interactions.

“Synthesizing the voice memos using this A.I. model told us the sentiments coming out of Coahoma County were much more active, indicating a plan to vote,” she said. “Whereas we did not hear those same sentiments in Hattiesburg.”

Sure enough, she said, turnout had wound up lower in the Hattiesburg area.

Larry Huynh, who oversaw the A.I. voice-over ads , said he was surprised at how the A.I. voices had stacked up. He and most of his colleagues at the Democratic consulting firm Trilogy Interactive had thought the male A.I. voice sounded “the most stilted.” Yet it proved persuasive, according to testing.

“You don’t have to necessarily have a human voice to have an effective ad,” said Mr. Huynh, who as the current president of the American Association of Political Consultants thinks heavily about the ethics and economics of A.I. technology. Still, he added, tinkering with models to create a new A.I. voice had been as work-intensive and costly as hiring a voice actor.

“I don’t believe,” he said, “it actually saved us money.”

Both Democrats and Republicans are also racing to shield themselves against the threat of a new category of political dark arts, featuring A.I.-fueled disinformation in the form of deepfakes and other false or misleading content. Before the New Hampshire primary in January, an A.I.-generated robocall that mimicked President Biden’s voice in an attempt to suppress votes led to a new federal rule banning such calls.

For regulators, lawmakers and election administrators, the incident underscored their disadvantages in dealing with even novice mischief makers, who can move more quickly and anonymously. The fake Biden robocall was made by a magician in New Orleans who holds world records in fork bending and escaping from a straitjacket . He has said he used an off-the-shelf A.I. product that took him 20 minutes and cost a dollar.

“What was concerning was the ease with which a random member of the public who really doesn’t have a lot of experience in A.I. and technology was able to create the call itself,” David Scanlan, New Hampshire’s secretary of state, told a Senate committee hearing on A.I.’s role in the election this spring.

A.I. is “like a match on gasoline,” said Rashad Robinson, who helped write the Aspen Institute’s report on information disorder after the 2020 race.

Mr. Robinson, the president of Color of Change, a racial-justice group, outlined the kind of “nightmare” scenario he said would be all but impossible to stop. “You can have the voice of a local reverend calling three thousand people, telling them, ‘Don’t come down to the polls because there are armed white men and I’m fighting for an extra day of voting,’” he said. “The people who are building the tools and platforms that allow this to happen have no real responsibility and no real consequence.”

The prospect of similar 11th-hour, A.I.-fueled disruptions is causing Maggie Toulouse Oliver, New Mexico’s secretary of state, to lose sleep. In the run-up to her state’s primary, she has rolled out an ad campaign warning voters that “A.I. won’t be so obvious this election season” and advising “when in doubt, check it out.”

“So often in elections, we’re behind the eight ball,” she said, adding, “And now we have this new wave of activity to deal with.”

A.I. has already been used to mislead in campaigns abroad. In India, an A.I. version of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed voters by name on WhatsApp. In Taiwan, an A.I. rendering of the outgoing president, Tsai Ing-wen , seemed to promote cryptocurrency investments. In Pakistan and Indonesia , dead or jailed politicians have re-emerged as A.I. avatars to appeal to voters.

So far, most fakes have been easily debunked. But Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center, which studies disinformation, warned in a recent report that deepfake tools are growing more sophisticated by the day, even if one capable of swaying American elections “has likely not yet entered the marketplace.”

In the 2024 race, many candidates are approaching artificial intelligence warily, if at all.

The Trump campaign “does not engage in or utilize A.I.,” according to a statement from Steven Cheung, a spokesman. He said, however, that the campaign does use “a set of proprietary algorithmic tools, like many other campaigns across the country, to help deliver emails more efficiently and prevent sign up lists from being populated by false information.”

The Trump campaign’s reticence toward A.I., however, has not stopped his supporters from using the technology to craft deepfake images of the former president surrounded by Black voters , a constituency he is aggressively courting .

The Biden campaign said it has strictly limited its use of A.I. “Currently, the only authorized campaign use of generative A.I. is for productivity tools, such as data analysis and industry-standard coding assistants,” said Mia Ehrenberg, a campaign spokeswoman.

A senior Biden official, granted anonymity to speak about internal operations, said that A.I. is deployed most often in the campaign to find behind-the-scenes efficiencies, such as testing which marketing messages lead to clicks and other forms of engagement, a process known as conversation marketing. “Not the stuff of science fiction,” the official added.

Artificial intelligence occupies such a central spot in the zeitgeist that some campaigns have found that just deploying the technology helps draw attention to their messaging.

After the National Republican Congressional Committee showed A.I.-generated images of national parks as migrant tent cities last year, a wave of news coverage followed. In response to a recording released by the former president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, (her song was called “Anything is Possible” ), the Democratic National Committee used A.I. to create a diss track mocking Ms. Trump and G.O.P. fund-raising, earning the attention of the celebrity gossip site TMZ .

Digital political strategists, however, are still feeling out how well A.I. tools actually work. While many involve mundane data-crunching efforts, some involve novel ideas, such as an A.I.-powered eye contact tool to prevent the person in a video from breaking eye contact, which could streamline the recording of scripted videos. With the White House blocking the release of audio from Mr. Biden’s interview with a special counsel, Republicans could instead use an A.I.-generated track of Mr. Biden reading the transcript for dramatic effect.

“I don’t know a single person who hasn’t tried prewriting their content,” Kenneth Pennington, a Democratic digital strategist, said of using generative A.I. to write early drafts of fund-raising messages. “But I also don’t know many people who felt the process was serviceable.”

In Pennsylvania, one congressional candidate used an A.I.-powered phone banking service to conduct interactive phone conversations with thousands of voters.

“I share everyone’s grave concerns about the possible nefarious uses of A.I. in politics and elsewhere,” the candidate, Shamaine Daniels, said on Facebook . “But we need to also understand and embrace the opportunities this technology represents.”

She finished the contest in a distant third place .

Shane Goldmacher is a national political correspondent, covering the 2024 campaign and the major developments, trends and forces shaping American politics. He can be reached at [email protected] . More about Shane Goldmacher

Tiffany Hsu reports on misinformation and disinformation and its origins, movement and consequences. She has been a journalist for more than two decades. More about Tiffany Hsu

Steven Lee Myers covers misinformation and disinformation from San Francisco. Since joining The Times in 1989, he has reported from around the world, including Moscow, Baghdad, Beijing and Seoul. More about Steven Lee Myers

Our Coverage of the 2024 Election

Presidential Race: News and Analysis

Moments after a jury found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts  in his hush-money trial, he worked his conviction into the story of persecution  at the center of his presidential campaign.

Trump’s guilty verdict gave President Biden and his allies a new way to frame the 2024 race : a choice between someone who is a felon and someone who is not.

Will Trump’s conviction matter? He may not lose support at all, but recent backing from young and nonwhite voters might be likelier to fade, Nate Cohn writes .

Clashing Appeals to Black Voters:  Biden and Trump both see Black outreach as critical to winning in November. But their approaches differ in fundamental and revealing ways .

Tuned-Out Voters:  Politically disengaged Americans are increasingly Trump-curious, but Biden has a shot at winning some of them back. Reaching them in a changed media environment will be his challenge .

Texas G.O.P. War:  The Texas House speaker, Dade Phelan, survived a primary challenge from a Trump-backed activist, but many other Republican incumbents were ousted in bitter primary races .

Sowing Election Doubt:  Trump has baselessly and publicly cast doubt about the fairness of the 2024 election  about once a day, on average, since he announced his candidacy.