Commercials and Reasoning In 2015, roughly more than $540 billion in spending was on advertising. (Sabastian, 2015) Yes, that is billion with a B! Every bit of advertising uses some sort of persuasion or argument in order to get the consumer to spend money on their product. Some use logos, or reasoning. Others use ethos or the authority argument. Still, others use pathos or the emotional triggers in us. Successful advertisements grip our memories with a combination of all three. I have taken three of my most memorable commercials to illustrate this. One is from Sears entitled “Shop Your Way-Squirrel Revolt,” (Shop Your Way-Squirrel Revolt, 2013) the other is from Friskies called “Dear Kitten, Regarding the Dog.” (BuzzFeed, 2014) The final one is by the ASPCA called “Sarah Mclachlan SPCA Commercial.” (Sarah McLachlan SPCA Commercial, 2008)
Why These Commercials The reason that I picked the squirrel commercial is how they stepped out of the box, so to speak. Who can resist an adorable little woodland creature like a squirrel? The way that the advertisement shows that they can be trained to cut coupons is fantastic. They seem to be working away in a little squirrel office/coffee table. I chose the second commercial because it has to be my favorite of all time. It touches you. It shows an older cat educating a kitten on how to behave, specifically in regards to the dog. This commercial exemplifies so many things that speak to me personally. Once again, the animal theme is instantly grabbing my attention. Finally, the ASPCA commercials make me cry every time. Yes, there are tears on the keyboard. There has to be a special place for you to go if this does not touch you. The ASPCA are the world’s authority on animals.

Target Audience Every commercial chosen has attempted to target as broad an audience as possible. The Squirrel commercial