Liming Huang
Prof. Breech
English 120, L54
10 October 2014
Url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaWA2GbcnJU
Thai life insurance advertisement: “Unsung Hero”
Nowadays, advertisements are often used as a way to sell products and convey an idea. According to the BLS American Time Use survey, an average child watches 16,000 30-second TV commercials per year (Statistic Brain). This is why TV commercials are so powerful when convincing people. After being brain-washed by these commercials, most of the people would buy the products as long as the commercials catch their eyes. However, conveying an idea by using commercials is a great proposal. People tend to remember the idea more easily because they watch it on TV every day. “Unsung Hero” is an advertisement produced by the Thai Life Insurance company. Its purpose is to transmit the idea of giving. It is portraying that giving is easy to do and you will feel happiness afterwards. The use of pathos, ethos, logos, and kairos in this advertisement captures people by awakening their inner humanity and helping them reconsider their roles and desires in life.
In the beginning of the commercial, the narrator presented a very positive image to the audiences. He accidentally spilled water, but he was not mad; instead, he put the withered plant under where the water is dripping. He showed the people how they should not be cynical even though bad things happened to them. He suggested that people have a positive mind and think of an alternative for adversity. Here, we could see the use of pathos in the commercial. Pathos is a rhetorical device, which uses emotional appeals to persuade its audience. It causes the audience to respond emotionally and identify with the writer’s or producer’s point of view. In this commercial, the narrator dedicated himself to help making the society better every day. He helped the lady move her cart to the street, fed the dog part of his lunch; bought food for the helpless old woman, and donated most of his salary to a girl for her education. Some people might think it is absurd and worthless by doing this every single day, since he is not getting anything back. However, the narrator does know that he will not get any benefits or reward by doing these little things daily, but what he gets is his emotions. He could feel the happiness by helping the society every day, and he reached a deeper understanding of life.
The narrator is a very dedicated person; he gives most of his earnings to the people who are in need. He lives in a simply constructed house, he does not have the money to have a big meal, and he has nothing to do but pray during his leisure time. He lives a simple life, but he is fulfilled. Ethos is a rhetorical device, which uses ethical appeals to persuade its audience. People often use their profession and experience in a specific field to increase their credibility and authority while persuading people. In this case, the narrator is not a professional or expert in any field; he is a caring, compassionate, amiable, generous and benevolent person who is worthy of respect. We tend to believe people whom we respect. More or less, this commercial uses ethos to persuade people that if we could be more dedicated to the society, we would end up being simple and satisfied with our lives. Moreover, the third appeal in rhetorical analysis is logos. Logos means to persuade by using reason and logos. It is a very important because giving reason and evidence is the heart of persuading and argumentation. Offering proof and logic is essential in making a reasonable claim in essay or analysis. The producer does use logos in the commercial. The narrator is an evidence or proof in the appeal. He, as evidence, showed people that you will become more content after helping people. The narrator does not live a wealthy or materialistic life, like most of the people in Thailand, but he is satisfied with what he has and becomes more spiritual after giving himself to the helpless people.
At the end of the commercial, the narrator is giving as much as he could to the people as usual. When he is about to donate to the girl who seeks for education, he found that the girl is gone. He was shocked and panic. Suddenly, a girl in school uniform screamed out “mum” in a joyful tune. She was the girl who was begging for money before. With the narrator’s help, she now goes to school and is getting an education. Here, we could see the producer’s use in kairos. Kairos makes use of a particular moment to appeal to its audiences. It is like knowing what to say and what to do in the right moment.The girl in the school uniform definitely makes use of kairos; the appearance of the girl conveyed that everything the narrator did has paid off. He successfully helped change the girl’s whole life. That was the scene that made most people shed a tear while watching this commercial. Helping people every day might be difficult and exhausting, but the satisfaction you get from it is precious.
The use of rhetorical devices in this advertisement makes it easier to catch people’s attention. The practice of rhetoric has a vigorous history and gained importance in different time period. People who use rhetorical devices in their speaking or writing have a more effective outcome; therefore, they make a better appeal to their audiences. With the power of rhetoric, “Unsung Hero” won the best advertisement of Thailand in 2014; and it has successfully spread the idea of dedicating and caring in the society.
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