Introduction
Commercials are the greatest ways of bringing potential consumers to attention and purchasing a particular product or service. Therefore, companies apply various rhetorical devices that grab an audience’s attention. The use of logos, pathos, and ethos helps companies improve their commercials’ effectiveness. Nike’s ‘Choose Go’ campaign is one of the most persuasive commercials that used rhetoric to convince potential consumers to purchase Nike’s products. While logos is a logical appeal that involves the use of facts and statistics, ethos attempts to catch the audience’s attention by use of ethics or moral appeals. Meanwhile, pathos is an emotional appeal to the audience’s feelings like fear or love. Nike’s ‘Choose Go’ commercial uses ethos, pathos, and logos to convince the audience to purchase Nike products. The use of ethical, emotional, and factual appeal presents Nike as a company that values diversity and unity of purpose.
Description
Nike is one of the leading companies in footwear manufacturing with an excellent brand reputation. The company manufactures footwear used by athletes and other sportsmen. The company’s ‘Choose Go’ campaign was featured on television and other media in 2018 (SportsOnScreen). The commercial encouraged people to run when the world stops. The running would help the earth regain its position on-axis and continue rotating normally. The commercial featured celebrities like Kelvin Hart, Kobe Bryant, Simone Biles, and others who try to jump-start the earth when it stops spinning. The commercial promotes Nike’s shoes that are presented as strong enough to help people jump-start the earth.
Unity of purpose is exhibited through the commercial, which targets people from different cultural backgrounds. While the ad focuses on promoting Nike products, its message is centered on diversity and effective leadership. While people are running, they encourage others along the way exhibiting the power of leadership in problem-solving. Moreover, the commercial encourages people to solve major issues facing the earth. Consequently, the use of non-spinning earth symbolizes the many problems facing the earth. As a diverse company, the commercial features people from different parts of the earth, including Indians. The ‘Choose Go ‘campaign shows how people can use Nike products to solve global issues.
Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in the ‘Choose Go’ Campaign
Ethos
A compelling commercial highlights credibility by invoking the speakers’ ‘superior’ characters. Ethos is a persuasive technique that convinces the audience that a company, or advertiser, is reliable and ethical. Consequently, companies use reputable persons in society to convince their audience. The ‘Choose Go’ campaign features celebrities like Kelvin Hart, Kobe Bryant, and other football celebrities who present the company’s product as credible and reliable (SportsOnScreen 0:29-1:22). Moreover, the use of Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and sprinter Ge Manqi who grab their Nike sneakers, give credibility to the ‘Choose Go’ campaign (SportsOnScreen 0:29-0:50). Furthermore, the ad features people from different parts of the earth: Indian women, people walking in the streets, and young boys, among others. The use of a diverse audience shows an element of inclusivity which is an acceptable ethical value. The use of celebrities and people with diverse backgrounds makes the ‘Choose Go’ ad credible and ethical.
Pathos
The audience’s emotions are crucial and can be used to persuade them to buy a particular product. Pathos is a persuasive technique that appeals to the audience’s senses, memory, and nostalgia, among other shared experiences. Nike’s ‘Choose Go’ commercial uses pathos to call the audience to the action of buying Nike products. The commercial starts with a shocking announcement that the earth has stopped spinning on its axis. Everyone is shocked and takes part in the run, which is meant to save the earth. The use of the shocking news persuades them to take part in the run that saves the earth from the ‘stopocalypse’ (SportsOnScreen 0:06). Moreover, the use of celebrities serves as an inspirational story to the audience who are convinced to take part in the race. As people run, Kelvin Hart presents a funny move that brings laughter in the middle of the shocking event (SportsOnScreen 1:20-1:45). While the use of a shocking story calls the audience to attention, Kelvin Hart’s funny actions relieve the audience from the shock.
Logos
Facts and scientific evidence appeal to the audience’s logic and reason. Logos involves the use of facts, data, and credible information like scientific evidence. The idea of the commercial is that the earth rotates on its axis but has stopped. Earth’s rotation is factual information that the audience can resonate with. According to the news anchor, the earth has never stopped spinning on its axis (SportsOnScreen 0:07-0:15). Moreover, the news anchor alludes to the scientific evidence that the power of the foot will help the earth stop rotating. The use of logos helps the target audience to react to the unprecedented event of the earth stopping to rotate on its axis.
Conclusion
Persuasive techniques like pathos, ethos, and logos help advertisers convince their target audience to purchase their products. While ethos appeals to the audience by adding credibility to the speakers, pathos appeals to the audience’s emotions and shared experiences. Meanwhile, logos apply factual information like scientific evidence to appeal to the audience’s reason and logic. Nike’s ‘Choose Go ‘commercial uses persuasive elements that convince the target audience to take part in saving the earth. The commercial features celebrities who take part in saving the earth by using Nike’s products. Therefore, Nike is presented as a company that values diversity and unity of purpose in pursuit of solving world problems.
Work Cited
“NIKE |Choose Go.” YouTube, uploaded by SportsOnScreen, Web.