Introduction
With the increasingly high number of opportunities for comfort, the importance of a challenge has become especially high nowadays. It is essential to promote the idea of being proactive among the modern population. In its recent commercial, Nike has been focusing on inspiring people to overcome challenges and push the envelope, therefore, discovering more about themselves and the world around them. While the metaphor of the commercial is beyond obvious, the goal that it conveys successfully to the target audience is worth pursuing, and the ethos, logos, and pathos of the language used in the commercial make the message all the more powerful.
Ethos
The commercial not only conveys the significance of breaking new grounds and barriers but also invites people, in general, and athletes, in particular, to explore the opportunities and the hidden potential that they have. The combination of Nike’s logo and its slogan creates a memorable concept that has a huge staying power. The authority of high-achievers supports the ethos of the message, thus, making it very convincing and credible.
Logos
The choice of personal stories and experiences of athletes and other people featured in the commercial is a rather clever strategy for building the logos of the message. Thus, the commercial appeals to the audience at a very personal level, therefore, persuading them that people can also participate in the process of challenging their environment, the boundaries that restrain them, and the obstacles that they may encounter in the process.
It should be noted, though, that Nike’s commercial lacks numbers and other essential elements that typically constitute logos in a speech. Therefore, the creators of the message turn their ethos into logos. The specified strategy allows incorporating the emotional aspects of the message into its narrative so that the later could appeal to the viewers and inspire them.
Pathos
Similarly, the message blends its pathos together with ethos and logos, contributing to the integrity thereof and creating an illusion of actual experience for the viewer. The choice of words to deliver the message might seem simplistic since it is mostly based on juxtaposing the possible and the impossible: “Nobody can run that fast for that long. So, we’re doing it” (“Nike #Breaking2: Trailer”). However, it is the absence of convoluted ideas and the presence of clear and concise statements that makes the commercial so unique and original. As a result, the ethos of its message is both memorable and aspiring.
The complexity of the challenge is not understated, though. The words such as “crazy” (“Nike #Breaking2: Trailer”) are used deliberately in the narrative so that the weight of the challenge could be understood. Consequently, the efforts made by the participants and those inspired by the idea are all the more appreciated and lauded.
Conclusion
Despite the seeming simplicity of the message that the commercial by Nike conveys, the clever usage of ethos, logos, and pathos in it allows creating the atmosphere of grandeur and unexplored potential. Therefore, the rhetorical devices utilized in the specified discourse serve their purpose by encouraging people to recognize the significance of accepting a challenge and the importance of science as the catalyst of progress that follows a conscious effort. Therefore, the motto that Nike has been promoting takes a new shade of meaning, making the message all the more impressive.
Work Cited
“Nike #Breaking2: Trailer.” YouTube uploaded by Nike, 2017, Web.