Microsoft’s 2014 Super Bowl commercial, “Empowering”, draws on Kairos by drawing attention to the multiple ways in which modern technology helps better society. It does so by displaying a multitude of common adversities in today’s society and the way’s in which technology has helped them. For example, in the 1 minute commercial, a solider is shown video-chatting with his wife, who is currently in labor, so he could be present for the birth of his child. By showing examples like this the creators of this commercial clearly show their ideology that technology is good, specifically that Microsoft’s technology is good (and the best), especially in a time when technology is becoming in a sense people’s lives.
Furthermore, the creator’s strengthen their argument by calling upon the opinions and beliefs of their audience, that technology is of much importance to society, and then by adding theirs, that Microsoft’s technology is the best and allows for more and better advancements in society. Also, why they call upon their audiences opinions the creators made many appeals to pathos to draw on the emotions of their audience and make them feel even more connected. In doing all of this, the rhetorical situation strongly adds to the impact of their argument and makes this advertisement as a whole so much more impactful.
Veena says
Good start here. You can also talk about the context in which audiences first saw the ad and how they might interpret the visual rhetoric. We can talk more next week when you bring in a draft outline of the analysis
Peyton Morris says
I agree with Bevyn’s comments regarding your discussion of the ideologies and commonplaces of technology in today’s society. From the content of your post, it appears that the advertisement has great examples of ethos and pathos to analyze, as well as other kairotic elements in which you can consider the appeals the creators are making to certain audiences. This is a strong start!
Bevyn Mary Mannke says
I really like the way you discuss the ideologies and commonplaces of the modern technological world. I know the type of commercial that you are speaking to, and I believe that the strength of these commercials is established when the companies draw upon common human experiences. They manipulate images and video segments to illustrate how technology can improve our lives; this is a great basis for a rhetorical analysis.