Persuasion in Advertising Why study persuasion? Once you know how the advertisers do it, you will be more aware of why certain products are persuasive!

Why study persuasion? If you know why you are persuaded by something, you will be able to make a less-biased decision and form your own opinion. You can also use it to fight for a cause you believe in.

How do they do it? There are three basic categories that persuasive techniques fall into. Those are... Ethos Logos Pathos Ethos Credible Logos Logical Pathos Emotional

Ethos: Credible or Ethical Appeal Means convincing by the character of the author Someone who has authority, someone who is likable or respected Goal is to convince people you are someone worth listening to People tend to believe people whom they respect

Logos: Logical or Fact-Based Appeal Means persuading by the use of reasoning Often uses things such as statistics Focus on facts, recorded evidence, historical data Mentions things like studies, surveys, and research

Buzz Words: Logos words that really “mean” nothing, but sound factually important Examples: “Pure” “Natural” “Freedom” “Tasty” Words that end in -er such as Better, Cleaner, Longer, Faster (Technically not the best, but better than it was!) Buzz Words: Sometimes they are complete nonsense words associated with a fun statistic for logos humor.

Pathos: Emotional Appeal Means persuading by appealing to the audience's emotions Language choice affects the audience's emotional response Can be positive (Love, excitement) Can be negative (Jealousy, hatred) Pathos can play on: Worry, Sadness, Fear, Nostalgia, Sense of Adventure, Horror, or Affection

Original Slide Show: Knoll, D. (2013). Logos, ethos, and pathos in advertising. Slideshare. Retrieved from pathos-in-advertising