Pathos Ad & Interpretive Paragraph DUE____________________________________
Directions: Choose an ad that uses pathos and write an interpretive paragraph explaining how the ad appeals to the audience’s emotions and desires to persuade them.
Topic Sentence:


Pathos is apparent in the (name of ad or product here) advertisement in a variety of ways.
(Name of ad or product here) uses pathos to convince their audience to …
Concrete Details & Commentary
 Describe pictures and words from the ad that stir your emotions and desires. Pay attention to the smaller details of the ad too. Explain how each appeals to our desires and emotions.
TIPS for Writing About Pathos
 What type of people is the ad targeting? (think about age, gender, interests, professions, etc.)
 What emotions does the audience experience? (sympathy, fear, excitement, amusement, anger, etc.) Why?

What specific images, details and words in the ad create these emotions?
Does the ad appeal to people’s desire to be attractive, successful, popular, admired and respected or belong
 and if so, what details in the ad suggest these qualities?
In what ways does the ad suggest that you can be like any of the people that might appear in it? Look at what the character(s) is saying and doing. How is he/she dressed?

If the ad uses a celebrity or well-known person, explain who this person is and what he/she is known for. In what ways might you want to be like them? Think about what you know about him or her as well as how the actor is portrayed.

If there are other people in the ad, how do they seem to view him/her?

What connotations do specific words, images or symbols have and what emotions do they evoke? Examples:

A picture of a wrecked car might make us think of increased cost of insurance, payment to fix the car or buy a new one, injury and hospital bills, loss of wages because if you are injured, sometimes it is difficult to work, and of course, pain. All of this works to create or evoke fear.

Products that use Facebook and Twitter icons suggest that their product is something to be talked about and is as popular as these symbols themselves.
Sample Interpretive Paragraph for Pathos
To see the actual ad, search for - Got Milk ad with Meredith Viera
The advertisement, “Got Milk?” appeals to pathos, or emotion, by suggesting that drinking milk will make one beautiful, slim and successful. This advertisement is obviously geared towards women. Many women are trying to, or feel the need to, lose weight, so they are more susceptible to ads that convince them they will shed those unwanted pounds by using the product. The hourglass is the most celebrated image of women in art and movies, and many women aspire to have hourglass figures. The use of the hourglass shaped milk glass suggests that drinking milk is the way to get it. Of course, getting that hourglass shape is not easy work. So, the advertisement plays upon the guilt that people have for not leading healthier lifestyles. Many people don’t think they have the time to go to the gym, but Meredith Viera says that she
"always make[s] time for milk” suggesting that it's an easy step to take in living a more healthy life. If a busy person like
Meredith Viera can do it, then the viewer can do it, too. Guilt erased with a glass of milk! Using someone as successful as Meredith Vierra also implies that you too can achieve that same level. Those who wear the famous mustache in the
“Got Milk?” ads are all celebrities or famous athletes suggesting that you will join this exclusive crowd simply by making this drink a part of your daily habit. If you want beauty and success, this ad is likely to appeal to you if you don’t carefully consider how it is using your emotions to hook you.