Appeals in an Advertisement

In practice

This worked example is constructed for this course. A billboard for a fitness app appears in early January. It shows a smiling runner at sunrise, and the text reads: "Ten thousand doctors recommend moving more. Join two million people who changed their lives this year. Start your free trial today." Analyze it in order. First, kairos: early January is when many people make resolutions to exercise, so the timing makes the audience receptive. Second, pathos: the runner at sunrise suggests energy, health and a fresh start, feelings the audience wants. Third, ethos: the reference to doctors borrows medical authority, though doctors recommending movement in general is not the same as doctors recommending this app. Fourth, logos: "two million people" offers a number, but it shows popularity, not effectiveness. Fifth, the pressure to join because many others have is a bandwagon appeal, a fallacy covered in unit thirty. Sixth, "free trial today" adds urgency. Overall, the advertisement persuades mostly through timing and feeling, while its logical and ethical appeals are weaker than they first appear, because neither the doctors nor the crowd is evidence that the app works.