Ethos, Pathos, and Logos...

The add to the right most definitely has all three of Aristotle's three persuasive appeals. This includes ethos, the appeal to ethics, and credibility; pathos, the appeal to emotion; and logos, the appeal to logic, by using statistics and facts.

This Peta Save The Seals add uses ethos by using a celebrity. Steve-O is a very well known celebrity who is usually laid back and easy-going. But his hard expression screams that he has something worth fighting for. If even Steve-O is angry about this, then it must be something for me to be angry about too, right?

Steve-O also shows pathos in this add. Obviously his hard expression shows that it's time to go into battle for the unfortunate baby seals, and his macho pose contrasts with the adorable drawing of a baby seal on his shirt, as well as his personality. And for someone who didn't know, or recognize Steve-O, would get the impression of him being a tough guy, with tattoos, muscles, and an almost heroic facial expression. Which goes to show that you can be a tough guy and still care for the baby seals. All at once, this add stirs anger, as well as pity, and the inevitable reaction of "Awwwwww!" Pathos is also apparent in the writing in the top left corner. Words like "babies", "massacre", "cruel", and "slaughter" stir up some pretty impressive emotions.

Although logos doesn't make nearly as much of an appearance as pathos, it still gets it's five minutes of fame. In the top left corner it states that, "Each year, tens of thousands of seals, many of whom are still babies, are massacred." The terms "each year" and "tens of thousands" appeal to logos. Wow. That many seals in so little time. Logically speaking, if something isn't done now, we'll loose all our seals. And nobody wants that.


With these three persuasive techniques, this add makes reader ready to take arms against the cruel Canadian sport. Just as Aristotle said, ethos, pathos, and logos, all put together, can make a really convincing argument.