Advertisement: Rhetorical Devices, Essay Example

Source: General web directory: directory journal. 31st March 2009. 13 May 2012.

Introduction

Advertisements do not only provide information but also aim at persuading the targeted audience in doing or desist from doing an activity. Rhetorical devices found in the advertisements aim at putting diverting twist in known facts. This anti drinks and drive advertisement aims at putting across that drinking and driving is not fun as it leads to death. This advert employs the use of both text and images to pass across the message that drinking and driving is not desirable. This advert described as rhetoric because not withstanding the numerous advertisements concerning the effects of drunk driving there still occur numerous cases of drunk driving.

Analysis

The advert contains several fallacies the main fallacy in this case would be that the advert premises on the fallacy of a slippery slope. The advert premises on this fallacy because it has an assumption that drunk driving automatically lead to death. John (76) found the slippery slope fallacy provides that an if an activity leads to the occurrence of another then the happening of the initial activity implies that the consequential activity must occur. The advert portrays that the effect of drunk driving leads to the damage to the car and, therefore, injury to the occupants of the car. The advert does not put into consideration other road user and individuals who may suffer harm as a due to their acts. The other fallacy contained in the advertisement is that of the false dilemma, which states that if an individual, does not do a certain activity then he must do the other. The position is so because the advert implies that if an individual does not drink and drive that the individual does not die leaving out the victims of the vice. These other victims include other road users affected by the drunk driver (John 108). The other fallacy evident in this advert is the employment of the fallacy of attacking the straw man, which provides for the argument of a simplified version of the issue in question. The advert employs this strategy by trying to reproduce the idea of drunk driving and its effects in a more complicated and a bit distorted manner (John 127). There are other initial modes of putting across the message to abstain from driving while being drunk. These are more effectively placed to get to all audiences and not those engaged in drinking at that instance.

Targeted audience

The people targeted by this advertisement is the individuals who drink and more specifically those individuals who have habits of drinking and then driving. It is pertinent to note that, the advert aims at persuading the individuals who drink to find alternative methods or transport since the effects of drunk driving are undesirable. The audiences aimed by this advertisement are the ones consuming the alcohol as contained in the alcohol bottles. The other issue to note in this case is that the individuals affected by the drunk drivers are not only the consumers of alcohol but also include other road users. The advert strives to inform the users on the repercussions of alcohol abuse.

Psychological effects and sub conscious needs

The advertisement contains a strong message to the targeted audience. The use of strong images to stop the vice of drunken driving found to be effective against the discouragement of the vice the employment of the images in the advert, therefore, serves as deterrence to the involved vice. The advert develops sub conscious desires among the audience. The sub conscious effects on the audience lead to the discovery of the desire to avoid causing harm due to drunk driving. It is worth noting that some individuals affected by the advert and, as a consequence, do not engage in driving after consuming alcohol. The effects of such an advert will be more, effective though, if a much stronger and a bit believable or realistic and unequivocal advert employed. The advertisement captures the targeted audience at the most appropriate moment as it contained in the bottle tops of beer and, therefore, the person consuming the alcohol gets the warning not to drive. It is imperative to take into consideration the fact that there are individuals who even with such warnings still engage in drunken driving. For such adverts to be more effective, it, therefore, becomes necessary to incorporate stronger images to the advert and make the message more convincing. The psychological effects associated with such an advert, therefore, should make the targeted audience desist from engaging in the act of driving when they are drunk. For the advert to have a stronger influence, the images associated with the advert should be extremely disturbing and relevant to the vice addressed. When the images are more disturbing, the psychological effect associated with it are greater translating to the intended effect on the targeted audience.

New advert

Source:<http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_I81gJqh_Eck/TGRyF8gDAoI/AAAAAAAAACg/n92naXWCokY/s1600/drunk+driving+ad.bmp>

Drunk driving does not affect only to the drunk driver but to also other road users. Drunk drivers are a hazard to themselves and also a danger to the other road users. Drink responsibly. Do not drink and drive.

Works cited

General web directory: directory journal. 31st March 2009. 13 May 2012. http://www.dirjournal.com/internet-journal/most-persuading-and-scaring-examples-of-negative-advertising/>

John, Straut M. A system of logic, ratiocinative and inductive: Being a connected view of the principles of evidence, and methods of scientific investigation. Parker. 1851.

Simone Everet. Gamble, Smoke, Drink and Die — Responsibly, Please!13 May 2012 < http://www.jesus-is Savior.com/Evils%20in%20America/Alcohol%20Kills/drink_gamble_and_die_responsibly.htm