Ethos, Pathos, Logos...

An anti-cigarette ad trying to convince people that smoking can really kill you in reality uses good techniques, like pathos, logos, and ethos.


Pathos deals with your emotions and is used the best in this ad. In the picture, a coffin is shown holding some cigarettes and the caption at the top says "New crush-proof box." This is a quick turn off right when you look at the picture because when you see a coffin you think death. That is exactly what comes to mind me. Using the coffin the ad is trying to get the point across that cigarettes will kill you. On another perspective, the coffin and cigarettes can make people think of a loved on they lost because of cigarettes. This ad can be frightening, awakening, or even saddening.


I also found that logos, the details or statistics, were used in this ad. To get a point across you don't only need to stir the emotions, but you also need to add some facts so that people will believe what you are saying. At the bottom of the ad, the Surgeon General stated, "Smoking was bad for your health." Everyone knows that, but a reliable source stated it. More facts about smoking were also stated at the bottom. The ad said that 8mg of tar and 0.6mg of nicotine were included in cigarettes. Those are some serious facts that would make me not want to smoke.


The other form of persuasion, ethos, was also used. Ethos deals with establishing the credibility of the product. Like using celebrities or reliable sources. The Surgeon General is the leading spokes person on matters of public health. The Surgeon Generals Warning is on every package of cigarettes, so they are considered an important voice to stop smoking.


Pathos, logos, and ethos were all used in this ad. Each one is helping the ad in persuasion and the anti-cigarette ad did a pretty good job of using all three to try and get people to not smoke.