Pepsi ok - Grade: 93 PDF

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Summary

This five-paragraph essay is an analysis of the Super Bowl 2019 Pepsi commercial based on the rhetorical triangle. The Pepsi commercial for the Super Bowl LIII 2019, answers the question, if Pepsi is a good substitute for cola, with the rhetorical triangle. This triangle is made out of ethos, that d...

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Professor Barton ENG1310.256 - COLLEGE WRITING I 03/10/2019

The Rhetorical Triangle of The Pepsi Commercial is More Than Ok https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sYElEbRzKA The Pepsi commercial for the Super Bowl LIII 2019, answers the question, if Pepsi is a good substitute for cola, with the rhetorical triangle. This triangle is made out of ethos, that describes an appeal to ethics or a celebrity, pathos, which appeals to emotions and logos, which appeals to logic. The setting of the advertisement is about the soft drink Pepsi  from the company PepsiCo . Staring in the commercial are three different celebrities, Steve Carell, Cardi B and Lil Jon. A classic diner, with a customer ordering a coke, is chosen as szenary. The main question is Pepsi ok? , expresses two rhetorical points; ethos and pathos. Ethos, because the soft drink Pepsi  from the company PepsiCo, already has credibility itself. It is an international famous soft drink and the viewer of the commercial probably knows and maybe has already tasted a Pepsi. Pathos, on the other hand, refers to the known occurrence, that people are often asked by restaurant wait staff, when ordering a certain cola or just a coke , if Pepsi is ok instead. Pepsi is often sold as substitute for the soft drinks Coca Cola or Dr. Pepper. This pathos usage is supposed to make the viewer remember the time, they had ordered a cola or coke and were asked the same question by their waiter or waitress. Relatability is expressed with this scenario and that’s what gives the viewer emotions, because they have been in the same situation.

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Having a closer look to the title of the commercial, it gets obvious that the whole spot is about the fact, that Pepsi is at least ok, if not more than ok. The usage of the word or term ok explicates a logos and ethos of the commercial. The ethos can be found in context, when Steve Carell, who will be analyzed more in the next paragraph, says “Pepsi is more than ok, it’s…” and the Rappers Lil Jon and Cardi B appear and use their own way to express, that a Pepsi is ok. Lil Jon uses the rapper typical okaaay , and even has the word written like this, as a golden big necklace around his neck. Cardi B calls Pepsi okurrr , which is a way of saying ok, that she uses often, and fans associate with her. With this, Pepsi is not only ok , it it also so ok , that celebrities use their own creation of the word ok, which they normally use to express how they feel about something great. Steve Carell even tells the waiter that Pepsi is the “best thing you have ever tasted, ok”. All three celebrities function as ethos, Steve Carell as famous actor and Cardi B and Lil Jon as grammy-winning rappers. Steve Carells’ assumption, this is the best thing you have ever tasted, ok , reflects the rhetorical point of logos, because the word ok (in every variation) is said multiple times during the one-minute spot. Because of this repetition of one word, the viewer should get the thought that Pepsi is really ok and from now on associates the word ok,  the phrase more than ok  or even the best thing they have ever tasted , with Pepsi. Moreover, the appearance of Steve Carell and his questions are representing all three points of rhetoric, pathos, ethos and logos. Steve Carell is a famous, widely liked actor without any scandals and therefore, the perfect choice as ethos symbol. The questions he asks are “Are puppies ok?”, “Is a shooting star ok?” and “Is the laughter of a small child ok?” and they all have one thing in common; the answer yes . He asks those questions right after asking if Pepsi is ok and because more than one question was answered with yes, the logical answer to the first

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question, which repeats itself throughout the commercial, is yes as well. This is another rhetorical device called repetitio.  Those are all rhetorical questions in this scenario, but they also activate our emotions. An average human reaction to a small child's laugh, a shooting star or puppies is a smile or joy, just a positive feeling. Furthermore, Steve Carell asks towards the end of the commercial “what did we learn today?” and the automatically answer is “that Pepsi is more than ok”. Therefore, the questions, that Steve Carell (the ethos), asks are logos, because they already imply the logical answer yes  and pathos, since they arouse emotions. The appearance of the Pepsi colors (blue, red and silver) can be spotted a lot, which function as logos with ethos presence. Pepsis’ specific shade of blue is easily notable and sneakily placed in different shots throughout the commercial, especially the celebrity’s clothes. Outstanding, by wearing the Pepsi colors, is Cardi B, with wearing a dress that sparks silver, red and blue. Moreover, when she grabs a with rhinestones covered Pepsi, the viewer can see, that even her nails were done in the Pepsi colors. The rhinestones are more used to express the exclusivity of the ethos, the Grammy-winner Cardi B herself. The viewer should automatically and logically associate those colors with Pepsi, therefore it is a logo. It becomes obvious, that a lot of rhetoric strategy is used for this commercial. With those celebrities as ethos, emotion-appealing questions as pathos and other rhetorical devices or implying a logic order and connections as logos, Pepsi did a great job on convincing their viewers that Pepsi is more than ok. Cardi B even has her own word, to describe how more than ok Pepsi is. The main question, if Pepsi is ok as substitute for cola, is with this usage of the rhetorical triangle, easily answered. Furthermore, from the easy spotted ethos to the complexity

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of the Pepsi colors logos, Pepsis’ usage of all components of the rhetorical triangle is more than ok, it is perfectly planned until the last detail....