rhetorical commercial

Eli Pardue
1/29/08
AP Lang. Comp.
1/29/08

Blog 1/29/08

During commercial breaks of the show American Gladiators on NBC, I saw many commercials that utilized many different rhetorical strategies. One that caught my eye was a commercial for a Toyota SUV.
The commercial shows a family in the countryside at night. It shows an elderly man, possibly a grandparent, and a young child looking together through a telescope. There was also a smiling mother. The commercial emanated feelings of security and peacefulness. It does this through the dark, quiet use of nature as a background, and the body language of the people. The peacefulness and security that the SUV apparently offer appeal to our sense of pathos because we want to have feelings of security and peace.
Running off of the nature theme, an overdubbed voice states that the best quality time spend with a family is not in front of the television. Combined with the nature theme, this statement declares that the SUV will bring families together (as shown with the grandparent and grandchild) with quality time that they may not have had earlier. This approach is especially effective because it is aired during a family television show. Assuming that it is a family watching the show, the commercial tells them that they will have better outdoor quality time with the SUV.
Lastly, at the end of the commercial, it shows the grandchild sleeping in the backseat. This shows that the SUV is comfortable. It may have been redundant to display the comfort of the SUV, but this also displays its convenience. It shoes that the SUV is diverse enough to go from the rough outback wilderness to a car as comfortable as a family minivan.