Rhetorical Analysis Of A Advertisement

798 Words4 Pages
The 1938 advertisement is to promote a Palm Olive soap bar with an appeal for wives/women. The ad begins with a photograph of a women probably from mid 20th century style. The woman says in big letters that, "A wife can blame herself if she loses love by getting 'middle-age' skin". On the corner of the woman there is a sign that says she learned her lesson that then leans onto a comic strip. There are two women have a conversation with one another, one is a mother while the other is a daughter. Both of them are discussing the daughter's marriage. The daughter says, "And, mother, he never takes me out anymore! Sometimes I think he's ashamed of me". The mother retorts with, "Do you think it could be your complexion, Nell? You used to have such…show more content…
However, in the advertisement there is little to no use of ethos and logos that leads it to be less effective. It could definitely use ethos since there is a lack of credibility with only having a quote from a "doctor". If it were to cite more credible sources or mention the sanitary benefits of soap. Or try to appeal to a bigger demographic since anyone could be able to use Palmolive soap not just middle age women/wives. A reason for why the advertisement was firm on using pathos was because it is a commercial for a product that relies on sales. Due to a different time period this advertisement is much more effective than coming back from a modern day stand point. In conclusion, the effectiveness of the Palmolive soap ad is due to the great use of ethos as well as the stylistic choice of the ad. This is better supported with the fact that comic books were on the rise in American pop culture. Along with a recommendation from a doctor to promote the
Open Document