Luu 1

Samantha Luu

Professor Granillo

English 103

May 28, 2019

Abstract

Commercials persuade the audience to buy a product by applying rhetorical devices like

pathos, evoking an emotional response, ethos, using credibility to build trust, and logos,

reasoning with facts and statistics. Pathos can even be enhanced by applying the lens of color

theory, or using color to manipulate what emotion the audience should feel. These lead to logical

fallacies, or misconstrued conclusions from a faulty argument. “Anniversary,” a commercial by

the fast food chain Jollibee, heavily relies on ethos and pathos accentuated by color theory, and

using a logical fallacy called a glittering generality, or using highly valued concepts rather than

factual evidence, to convince the audience to buy their product; however, customers should seek

dietary benefits when eating and should be aware of how they are being manipulated.

The color most predominant in Jollibee’s logo and in “Anniversary” is red. According to

Soma Kalia in “Colour and Its Effects in Interior Environment: A Review,” red “[evokes a]

speed up heart and respiration rates...raise blood pressure.” These feelings of a racing heart and

shortness of breath are often associated with falling in love, taking advantage of the emotional

narrative (pathos) and making the audience more trusting to Jollibee (ethos) when told the

glittering generality, “There’s nothing we can’t overcome when we fight for love. Have faith in

love” (Anniversary, 05:41-52). My multimodal project shows how the ad persuades the audience

by using an artistic representation highlighting its influence on the choice of buying Jollibee’s.