Rherorical Analysis Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

                The song Arms of the Angel by Sarah McLachlan is an emotional song that many can relate to. It is about the loss of someone close that has endured pain and will, hopefully, find comfort and peace “in the arms of an angel”. Pairing this song with animal cruelty would release a surge of emotions in the audience, which is exactly what the creators of the ASPCA commercial were targeting. ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is a non-profit organization set to receive monthly donations in order to save the lives of innocent animals being abused and neglected. The commercial is trying to persuade animal lovers and pet owners, which is approximately 62% of households in America, to donate to the ASPCA and to provide effective means to prevent animal cruelty. The commercial appeals to the ethical, emotional, and logical senses of the audience with their choice of speaker, the visuals, song, and word choice used, and the reasoning and statistics in the commercial to persuade the viewers to donate and to expose the evils of animal cruelty.

One way the ASPCA commercial strives to persuade its audience is through its employment of Grammy Award winning artist, Sarah McLachlan, as its spokesperson. 53 seconds into the commercial, Sarah McLachlan is shown sitting on a couch petting a yellow lab, with the caption on the bottom of the screen reading “ASPCA Supporter”. This particular instance of the commercial uses a very strong sense of ethos because of how relatable the setting is. The casualness of the way McLachlan is sitting on the couch with a dog across her lap is probably the way many have relaxed with their pets. It establishes a sense of family and love between pets and their owners. The use of a celebrity advertising their organization is also a strong exemplifier of ethos. Seeing a celebrity as the spokesperson of an organization may make the audience really think about and consider the purpose of that organization and the benefits of donating. Her songs also contain raw emotion and her dramatic voice really brings out those same raw emotions in her listeners. Her most popular song, Arms of the Angel, is known for being associated with sad and heartbreaking events. It has been used multiple times to highlight emotional scenes in television shows and movies. She also sang this song at the tragic events of the Columbine High School massacre and the terroristic attacks of 9/11. Arms of the Angel is easily associated with emotional events and immediately transports the viewers into an emotional state.

The emotionality of Sarah McLachlan’s song plays a huge role in the pathos of the ASPCA commercial. The tempo of the song is slow and soft, setting the mood for the commercial and playing on the feelings of the audience, bringing out their sensitive and sympathetic side. The lyrics of the song really drive home the message of the ASPCA, suggesting that the animals will find peace and protection in the arms of the ASPCA employees. Sarah McLachlan’s own voice is soft and steady, a subtle, reassuring message that the ASPCA is a strong organization set on saving the lives of animals across the world.

Coinciding with soft, slow tempo of the song are the pictures of frightened and dejected animals. The tempo reflects the somber nature of the animals being shown and really enhances the usage pathos throughout this commercial. Abused animals are shown looking sad, beaten, and neglected. The feeble legs, sad expressions and wide eyes, or in the case of one cat, eye, only emphasizes the animals’ helplessness. The ASPCA understands the state of mind of its audience and uses this to their advantage by appealing to their more sensitive side. This emotional stance aims to pull on the heart strings of the audience and to make them feel compassion and sympathy for the animals.

The powerful words used throughout the commercial are also meant to evoke emotional responses in the audience.  McLachlan states, “Will you be an angel for a helpless animal…right now there is an animal who needs you.” This phrase really captures different emotional aspects in the audience. She says you will be a savior to the animals, which triggers in the audience a sense of purpose and pride. These words aim to flip a switch in the audience, to really drive home the message of the ASPCA organization and to get the audience to act and donate.

While the use of pathos plays a huge role in the ASPCA commercial, the use of logic, reasoning, and statistics also strives to persuade the audience to donate to their organization. Logos is the heart of argumentation and appealing to the logic of the audience is important in the understanding and belief of the organization. The commercial reasons that “For just $18 a month, only 60 cents a day, you’ll help rescue animals from their abusers and provide medical care, food, shelter, and love.” This simple statement provides the audience with facts, and reasons that only a small donation from a person will provide an animal with many different assets essential to their health and survival. By phrasing the donation as “only 60 cents a day…”, it appeals to the audience and puts it into perspective that only a small amount of money donated will provide so much for the animals. The commercial also promises that a donator will receive a welcome kit “…with the photo of an animal in the shelter right now…”, and also includes a free t-shirt and wristband. This also reasons with the audience that not only will one give a gift, but receive one as well.

A key part in the use of logos in the commercial is the statistics given. The commercial states: “Thousands were rescued last year, but for thousands of others, help came too late”. The first part of this statement shows that the ASPCA is effective in saving animals when donations are given. It proves that the money given is not going to waste and has saved the lives of animals, while, with the last part of the statement, still saying that more donations are needed. This statement is getting rid of the mindset of thinking, “Since thousands of animals were already saved, I don’t need to donate”, and instead replacing it with, “I know that the ASPCA is effective and reliable in saving animals lives. I want to donate to save the lives of even more animals”. Further research into the ASPCA’s annual report system proves that in the year 2012, over 30,000 at-risk animals were saved and pulled out of dangerous homes. The logos used in this commercial and further research into the organization prove the effectiveness of the ASPCA and persuades the audience to make a donation

Finally, very subtly, the ASPCA hopes to expose the evils of animal cruelty and to raise awareness to America of this serious issue. By stating that “…for thousands of others, help came too late”, the commercial is, gently, saying that thousands of animals die from abuse and neglect. Animal cruelty is a real and serious crime and the ASPCA is striving to shed light on this severe issue. Donations will also help this organization treat neglected animals and find the suspects of this crime.

In conclusion, this commercial appeals to the ethical, emotional, and logical senses of the audience with their choice of speaker, the visuals, song, and word choice used, and the reasoning and statistics in the commercial to persuade the viewers to donate and to expose the evils of animal cruelty. Sarah McLachlan, a famous and award winning singer, is used as the spokesperson to the organization, representing the ethos of the commercial. Statistics, logic, and reasoning are used throughout as logos to motivate the audience to join their cause. Lastly, and most importantly, pathos plays a huge role in the commercial. It triggers the emotions of the audience with the visuals, powerful song and influential words used to impact those watching. The ASPCA commercial was effective in persuading the audience to donate by receiving over $110 million since its air date of 2007 and saving thousands of animals’ lives.