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A SCHOLARS JOURNAL ON THE POWER OF WORDS
Defining Rhetoric:
A Look at How Rhetoric Works in a
Magazine Advertisement
September 1, 2014
piece. In this issue we will be looking at the
use of rhetoric through a magazine
advertisement. We will see how powerful a
form of rhetoric art can be when the creater
uses the elements of rhetoric to plan a
visually persuasive piece.
By Samantha Kone
What is Rhetoric?
Elements of Rhetoric
The Seven P's
Rhetoric is the skilled and artful form
Some of the key elements of
of communication. In rhetoric, the author
rhetoric are referred to as the seven P's.
puts careful thought and planning into all the
Each of the Seven P's describes an
details of their speech or writing. In
important characteristic of rhetoric.
successful rhetoric, the author creates a
(Campbell et al., 2015, p.7)
piece of writing that will persuade its
Public – Rhetoric is addressed to an
audience to a specific interpretation or
audience. It often deals with issues and
purpose the author has in mind.
problems that are common to the general
In our previous issues we have
public and will take more than one person to
been focusing on the rhetoric of young adult
solve.
fiction, news articles, press releases and
Propositional – Rhetoric requires
public apologies. But rhetoric is not strictly
complete thoughts forming a case or an
speech or writing.
argument that is
In The
proposed to the public.
Rhetorical Act, Karlyn
Purposive – The
The Seven P's of Rhetoric
Kohrs Campbell, Susan
case or argument has a
Public
Schultz Human and
purpose, a goal it is
Thomas R. Burkholder
Propositional
trying to achieve.
(2015) explain that
Problem Solving
Purposive
rhetoric can take the
– The audience and the
Problem
Solving
form of “written and
rhetor have a need and
Pragmatic
spoken language;
the rhetoric is trying to
Poetic
nonverbal behaviors;
satisfy it.
fine arts such as
Powerful
Pragmatic – The
paintings, drawings,
rhetoric takes the
and sculptures; music,
problems and offers
visual images such as
practical solutions that can be achieved.
photographs, motion pictures, or television
Poetic – Uses visuals, or words, that
programs – in short, any form of symbol”
are attractive and attention grabbing to the
(p.1). Even something as simple as a
audience.
cigarette ad can be considered a form of
Powerful – Because rhetoric is
rhetoric.
trying to persuade the audience into a way
of thinking, it has to be powerful to work,
using a strong argument with persuasive
There are a few key elements
language.
involved in creating rhetoric, the successes
of which determine the effectiveness of the
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A SCHOLARS JOURNAL ON THE POWER OF WORDS
September 1, 2014
The Advertisement
In 2005, Camel created a magazine
ad campaign featuring vintage styled
women. One of the full page ads depicted a
young woman in a slightly suggestive pose
and 1960's clothes. Though this ad is of an
attractive female, the target audience is
probably the young adult female. The retro
outfit and style are more suggestive of
feminine aesthetic than of an ad trying to
reel in men with a hot body. With her back
against a wall, her chest pushed out, feet
propped up against an opposite wall and her
arms crossed but draped casually over her
knees, she appears relaxed yet poised.
Her hair is long with a healthy shine,
her skin a nice shade of summer tan. The
cigarette rests casually between her fingers
while a spiral of smooth smoke winds its
way upward to the large Camel logo
stretching across the top of the page.
“Pleasure to Burn,” a phrase the
audience’s eyes are drawn to by the curling
smoke. In the bottom left corner, placed
strategically in the empty place between the
wall and her lower back, the audience finds
the image of the camel and the words “since
1913.” The Surgeon General's warning sits
in a white text box in the lower left. The font
type used for the Surgeon General's
warning is drastically different in comparison
to the decorative style of all the other words
in the advertisement.
While "Camel" and "Pleasure to
Burn" feature the classic font of the Camel
brand, the warning, a government
requirement, appears sparse and uninviting.
Though it is meant to protect and inform, the
font compared to the rest of the
advertisement has the opposite effect and
the audience's eyes are drawn to everything
but the warning. The Camel ad has made a
point to place more alluring font type in the
top middle of the advertisement.
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Camel. Pleasure to Burn Campaign. 2005. Retrieved from
http://tobacco.stanford.edu/tobacco_main/images.php?token2=fm_st201.php&token1=fm_img6007.php&the
me_file=fm_mt026.php&theme_name=Recent%20Strategies&subtheme_name=Pleasure%20to%20Burn
The Ad and the
Seven P’s
Rhetoric is public because "it is
addressed to others" and "it deals with
issues and problems that one person alone
cannot answer or solve" (Campbell et al.,
2015, p.7). Advertisements are addressed to
the consumer and generally deal with the
social issue of desire or need to possess
something.
This particular Camel ad addresses
a specific consumer; the cigarette smoker,
the female smoker and the young female
adult. The woman in the ad is drawn in such
a way that she appears to be
communicating with the audience. Her
relaxed manner, and blasé smirk show that
she knows you care what she thinks of you,
and that you want to be just like her. Her
body language also demonstrates the
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A SCHOLARS JOURNAL ON THE POWER OF WORDS
propositional aspect of rhetoric: "making
claims and offering reasons in [her] support"
(Campbell et al., 2015, p.7).
Purposive, the third P, requires that
the rhetoric be “aimed at achieving a
particular goal, such as selling a product or
influencing thought or action” (Campbell et
al., 2015, p.7). The ad seems to do all. The
purpose is to sell the product, but because
smoking cigarettes is so controversial and
unhealthy; the ad must also be able to
strongly influence the audience’s thoughts
and actions. If the target audience is really
the young adult woman, has she ever
smoked before? Will a pretty ad be enough
to convert new customers?
The advertisement easily solves the
issues it presents. How can the consumer
possess the carefree and chic attitude of the
woman in the ad? Easy. She's telling her
audience what they need to be like her, to
be as relaxed and stylish as her. It is as
simple as buying her brand of cigarette.
The advertisement draws poetry
and power from the artwork. The softly
curling smoke pulls the eye up the bold
"Camel" that stretches across the top and
then fades into a soothing blue background.
It gives off the impression that the smoke is
smooth, almost sexy, instead of the
overpowering thick cloud and smell that
usually result. Her face is painted in a
perfect expression. Turning the corner of her
lips any further, or changing the direction of
her eyes could drastically change the
impression the audience gets from her
attitude.
Importance of Ethos:
Trusting the Narrator
Another key element in successful
rhetoric is the way the audience perceives
the author. The Rhetorical Act explains the
importance of the audience trusting the
author’s character saying “we accept the
September 1, 2014
idea or believe the claim because we trust
and respect the person who presents it”
(Campbell et al., 2015, p. 250).
As a cigarette company, Camel may be
looked down upon by many people, but they
are also a company that has been around
since 1913. They understand the importance
of being such a well-established company,
and have made sure that the year has an
easily visible place within the advertisement,
thus establishing their credibility and silent
promise that they will deliver a superior
product.
While it is important to trust the
company behind the ad, it is also important
that the audience feels a connection to the
woman in the advertisement. If there is no
connection, there is no influence. No
influence, no sale.
Last Thoughts
As The Rhetorical Acts tells us,
"most examples of rhetoric are not
spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment
exclamations; rather, they are carefully
thought-out messages"(Campbell et al.,
2015, p.1). We have seen the truth of this
statement through our brief study of the
Camel advertisement. We have also seen
how the purpose of rhetoric can be
summarized as intending "to influence a
particular group of people – an audience – in
some way, usually to somehow change their
thoughts or behaviors"(Campbell et al.,
2015, p.1).
With this advertisement as an
example, we have also seen how important
it is to understand the intended audience of
the piece. Would this advertisement
influence you? Was the use of rhetoric
persuasive enough?
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A SCHOLARS JOURNAL ON THE POWER OF WORDS
Reference List
Campbell, K.K., Huxman, S.S., Burkholder,
T.R. (5th ed.). (2015). The Rhetorical
Act: Thinking, Speaking, and Writing
Critically, 1,7,250.
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Camel.
Pleasure to Burn Campaign.
2005. Retrieved from
http://tobacco.stanford.edu/tobacco_
main/images.php?token2=fm_st201.
php&token1=fm_img6007.php&the
me_file=fm_mt026.php&theme_nam
e=Recent%20Strategies&subtheme
_name=Pleasure%20to%20Burn
September 1, 2014