Rhetoric is all around us, especially in the letters we receive. I recently received some mail from a local bank trying to entice me to join. They tried to build on their ethos saying things such as: we have been part of the local community for over twenty-five years, we are your friends and neighbors, and we are a stable financial institution that’s backed by the federal government. They also used a fare amount of logos stating different account options and how they would increase your capital. It’s crazy to see how these companies are using rhetoric in their marketing campaign, but what is even more important is being able to detect this rhetoric in your daily life.
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It's interesting how business advertisments like these dont incorporate more pathos in them. I know I take my finances seriously and would be absolutly upset if anything was to happen to my money. As a financial institution they should emphasize a bit more on the emotional side of managing money and that could increase there odds of reeling in more customers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sara. You did not find any pathos in your examples. Why do you think they rely mostly on ethos and logos?
ReplyDeleteI think many banks choose to avoid pathos in their mailings because they want people to associate peace of mind and security with their company. Since they are an institution in the business of handling money, they want their potential customers to feel secure that a sensible company is handling their banking transactions.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I've noticed that banks and insurance companies use strong ethos and pathos based messages in their television marketing material.
Check out this Chase commercial:
http://bit.ly/sgu9O
Check out this Allstate commercial: http://bit.ly/bA8Q5h