Nicholas Saris

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

CAS 137H

The goal of a political advertisement is to strike an emotional appeal that millions of

Americans have in common in order to gain their vote. Throughout the 20th century, political ads

transformed as their appeals conformed to their respected decade creating the most beneficial

outcome. While the most obvious changes would be the points of interest of the ad (ex: war,

economy, etc) but the underlying change in each political ad is emotional appeal that creates a

general theme. In the 1960s during the cold war, Lyndon B Johnson featured an ad showing a

nuclear explosion in the eyes of a little girl, creating fear in the voters conscious. The ad was a

huge success, and gave Johnson 90% of the nations votes. 20 years later, Ronald Reagan came

out with his Morning in America. Its theme embodied prosperity and fulfillment that warmed

the voters hearts, as America approached a time of economic advancement with no plan as to

how to handle it. Though thought to be controversial, people felt persuaded by Reagans ads,

resulting in 98% of the votes for Reagan. As times change, the general public has, and will

continue to, connect the ads emotional appeals and the established theme its based on.

Lets first take the Daisy ad into consideration. In 1964, America was in nationally

recognized dispute with the USSR known as the cold war. During this time, both countries

silently threatened each other with the possibility of dropping a nuclear bomb. The American

people at the time were worried about the future of America and if the nation were on the path to

another grand scale war. As a result, many people held the democratic view of anti-war and the
restriction of nuclear missile usage. The situation made the American people become fearful of

what their future had in store. Johnsons ad creator, Tony Schwartz, took nuclear warfare and

directly associated it to his competitor, Barry Goldwater, by establishing that Goldwater would

start a nuclear war. The Johnson campaign recognized the general trend of fear in the American

people, and capitalized on the emotional appeal generated by war. This particular example is a

perfect representation of the association between emotion and theme, as Johnson expresses fear

as the leading emotion in conjunction to war. Analyzing the ad as a whole, its purpose was not to

show what Johnson would do to prevent nuclear war, but what would happen if Johnson werent

president. He avoids having to explain his military plan as president, and instead, makes people

focus on what America would be with his competitor as commander in chief. The campaign was

able to emotionally appeal to the biggest concerns of the American people.

As shown throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, fear is not the singular tactic to gain the

votes of the public. President Ronald Reagan released the political ad titled "Prouder, Stronger,

Better". After its release, the ad adopted the nickname Morning in America, as the statement is

continuously repeated throughout the video. Different from Daisy, Reagans ad carries a theme

of success and prosperity. At the time of the race, America was facing an economic transition as

politicians decided how to handle the federal budget, with the rises of importance in departments

such as education. Using a warm narrative voice, the Reagan campaign used its tactics to reach

the hearts of the views, closer associating comfortability with a Reagan vote. The audience at the

time was an America that was advancing into the technological revolution. People wanted to see

a campaign that advertised promise and success for its country, and they wanted to be reassured

that America was truly, the greatest country in the world. These factors all contribute to emotion

appeals of the ad, connecting a welcoming tone to theme of the nation at the time; hope. Through
the persuasion of Reagans campaign, the successful ad created an image of America that the

people saw as up to standard in a changing world.

Though these two ads were created in two different times in American history, they have

very similar characteristics. In the modes of persuasion, Pathos refers to the emotional

connections people have to a given object. The term covers many sub categories of emotion that

categories those given objects more specifically. Regarding Daisy, one may feel sympathy for

the little girl, living and dying in a time of nuclear warfare; or a personal connection to the fear

of nuclear warfare and its potential threat. With Morning in America, A story is told about

Americas everyday proudest statistics, mentioning job success and high marriage rates. A trait

both ads observe would be the usage of vivid language. A large part of pathos is tone and how an

individual conveys information to another. Lyndon B Johnson speaks firmly and honest in his ad,

creating a serious tone that extends the reaction caused by the nuclear explosion. While Ronald

Reagan himself isnt the voice of the ad, the narration of this ad is one of the most important

factors of the ad. The voice is welcoming, inviting the listener to feel safe and confident in what

he is saying. Lastly, the visual effects of both ads follow the theme that each one embodies.

Daisy exhibits a choppy film roll effect to show dull and real truth of nuclear war, and a black

and white coloring that cultivates the darkness of the unknown. With more advanced technology

cultivated in the time frame between the two ads, Morning in America has a soft, darker filter

that emphasizes the glare of a morning sunrise, as average people go about their days. Different

from Daisy which includes no music, Morning in America features a symphonic crescendo

that keeps the viewer involved with the matching happiness of the faces in the ad. These various

components all play a role in creating the themes of an ad that leads to the most successful

results.
 After reviewing the two ads, one could come to conclusion that the art of creating a

successful political ad is timeless. Modes of persuasion will forever play a large role in how ads

are created and shown to the people. While the two ads compared here both convey Pathos, or

emotional appeal, ads are not limited to this particular mode. Many ads are based upon Ethos,

and the appeal of credibility within the ad, or Logos, that could be a candidate reasoning as to

why he is the smart choice in the election. To this day, millions of Americans continue to

heavily rely on political advertisements to help them create a profile for a given candidate.

Rhetoric, and specifically ethos, pathos, and logos, will never be disconnected from the world of

political advertisements, confirming that the overpowering trend of all political ads is some sort

of persuasion.