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Josh Hartman
Ms. Fender
English 250
2/23/13
Warrior Lacrosse Advertisement
All big named sports equipment franchises utilize famous athletes in order to
enhance the sales of certain products. Nike has used Michael Jordan countless times in
order to sell basketball shoes and other apparel. Nike has also used Tiger Woods in
advertisements in order to sell golf clubs and other golf equipment. Warrior Lacrosse is no
different in utilizing an athlete’s fame and skill in order to help sell their products. In
Warrior’s Paul Rabil advertisement, the entire focus of the advertisement is to sell a new
line of lacrosse equipment with Paul Rabil’s name on it.
The advertisement directs
the audiences’ eyes immediately to
the picture of Paul Rabil getting
ready to take a lacrosse shot. Paul
Rabil is one of the best players in
Major League Lacrosse right now,
and is famous for his shot. His most
impressive accolade is having the
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fastest shot in lacrosse; he is clocked to have a shot speed of 111 mph. Next the audience’s
eyes move towards the lacrosse head featured in the middle of the advertisement. Then
the eyes of the audience will move towards the logos of Paul Rabil, and Warrior Lacrosse.
The logos will give the viewer information on who the athlete is and that the company that
is advertising the product. Since Warrior is a large company in the lacrosse world, the
target audience will take this logo very seriously. Finally, the eyes of the audience will read
the message “INTRODUCING THE NEW PAUL RABIL COLLECTION” also the phrase at the
end “SEE THE ENTIRE COLLECTION”.
The target audience of this advertisement is to appeal to the lacrosse community.
The players, coaches, and fans are the main audience members of this advertisement. The
creator used his audience towards his advantage by including Paul Rabil heavily in the ad.
He did this because Paul Rabil is widely known in the lacrosse world, but not as widely
known in the rest of the sporting world. Having Paul Rabil in his famous shooting stance
also enhances the product to give the illusion of having Paul Rabil’s Warrior lacrosse
collection of gear will make the consumer able to shoot 111 mph. This style of advertising
is not ethical because it gives false comparisons of the equipment making Paul Rabil as
good as he is.
Having the color scheme match Rabil’s Boston Cannons uniform also gives the entire
ad some balance and ties the entire ad together. The color scheme also adds some
increased interest because the Boston Cannons have the most fans in Major League
Lacrosse. Having the Warrior Lacrosse logo predominate is good because Warrior is a
trusted brand, and has a reputation on having quality equipment. Having the Rabil logo
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helps the audience identify who the person in the ad is and also allows audience members
who are not familiar with lacrosse know that Rabil is an important name.
The words “INTRODUCING THE NEW PAUL RABIL COLLECTION” is significant
because the creator used all capital letters to signify excitement and importance. So the
goal of the creator was to get the audience excited for this unveiling of a new Warrior
Lacrosse collection of gear. This is an important tactic because lacrosse is unique by having
an importance on the type of gear players wear. Lacrosse is similar to skateboarding by
putting certain significance behind named brands. So by revealing a new collection of gear
the audience should gain excitement on how it looks. The next phrase “SEE THE ENTIRE
COLLECTION” is introduced because this particular ad was on the internet. With that
phrase the ad would only need a click to send the viewer to the Warrior Lacrosse website
to see the entire collection. The entire ad’s purpose is to have the viewer click on the ad to
have them enter the Warrior website.
The Warrior Lacrosse advertisement was designed to have the viewer of the ad get
excited from the picture of Paul Rabil and the new lacrosse gear in order to click on the link
to get to the Warrior website. The ad appealed to the audience through use of pathos by
getting the emotions of lacrosse fans excited for new equipment featuring Paul Rabil.
Companies have been using athletes to promote their products to high markets by giving
false illusions of certain products will allow the consumer to perform like the athletes.
Does this tactic affect the way you purchase products?
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Works Cited
Warrior Lacrosse. 2013. 23 2 2013. <http://www.warrior.com/rabilcollection/rabil_launch,default,pg.html>.