Commercials

Assign a different advertisement to each group member. Watch individually and identify the
choices that create each rhetorical appeal (ethos, pathos, logos). Then, explain the effect of the
appeal on the intended audience. Remember, the appeals are the RESULT of the choices, not the
choices themselves. You don’t use ethos, you create it.

Finally, share your analysis of each commercial and answer the follow-up questions together.

1. “1959 First EVER Barbie commercial High Quality HQ!” 1959

Rhetorical Examples and Explanation
Appeal

Ethos The author creates credibility by making a man say the sales pitch and the
price. They also did a very good job of making the commercial look
expensive and containing high-quality products

Logos Pricing. If you play with barbies then you will grow up to be a barbie

Pathos They use very elegant music that makes you feel like you are in heaven.
They appeal to the culture and thoughts of the times (marrying, pretty
dresses). The barbies look perfect with a perfect dimension.

2. “1971 COLOR Malibu Barbie Commercial HQ!” 1971

Rhetorical Examples and Explanation
Appeal

Ethos The brand name at the beginning of the video makes the audience make a
connection. The dolls look like the girls they are being played with.

Logos Girls playing with the Barbies on the beach emphasize the perfect life of
the barbies.

Pathos Makes the people feel a connection to the dolls. If the Barbie tans on the
beach, then you will too.
3. “1983 Great Shape Barbie Commercial” 1983
Rhetorical Examples and Explanation
Appeal

Ethos The author gains trust with the audience by having the little girls
constantly complimenting the Barbie and looking like they’re having a fun
time.

Logos The director makes it seem like if you play with the Barbie then you will be
encouraged to exercise yourself and look as pretty as she is.

Pathos The author inspires a sense of joy by having the girls constantly laughing
and smiling. In a way it makes the audience feel like they need the Barbie
to be happy. The name “Great shape” implies the Barbie has perfect
dimensions and her long blond hair looks perfect even after doing a full-
body workout.

4. “Barbie Totally Hair commercial 90s" 1992

Rhetorical Examples and Explanation
Appeal

Ethos The girls are having a blast playing with the dolls.

Logos You can apply hair products to your Barbie to make it look pretty.
Encourages girls to be more stylish with their hairstyles.

Pathos It’s a cool bright song that makes you happy and displays all the relevant
trends on a Barbie. Tries to convince the audience that if they play with
barbie they will look like barbie

5. "Imagine the Possibilities" 2015

Rhetorical Examples and Explanation
Appeal

Ethos Expensive and elaborate sets as well as many actors show how wealthy
the company is.

Logos The use of professions that little girls want to go into making a bigger
chance for little girls to want their dolls.
 Pathos Music gives a happy and positive feeling. All the attention is centered
around the little girl which makes her feel important. Showing the girls in
her dream profession makes it feel like we’re helping the little girls achieve
their goals.

6. “Barbie - A Doll Can Help Change The World” 2021

Rhetorical Examples and Explanation
Appeal

Ethos Made Barbie as a brand look better by making it seem like playing with
barbie will help their kids with social skills. Barbies with disabilities show
that they are relevant to everyone.

Logos Barbies can help people be more empathetic, patient, inclusive, and
generous.

Pathos Makes a barbie doll for everyone by showing a boy playing with barbies.
Elaborates on the idea of inclusiveness and understanding. Music is very
nice and calming that giving the add a nostalgic sunny vibe.

Follow-up Questions

1. Which rhetorical appeal do you feel was used the most and why?
I felt like Pathos was used the most throughout all the commercials, mainly because emotion
and physical appeal is the biggest tool that the Barbie brand uses. Each ad had uplifting music
that made you feel happy.

2. Take a look at these slides showing the evolution of Barbie over the years. With the
advertisements in mind, what can you say about the evolution of the brand?
One of the most noticeable things about the Barbie brand is that they try to be very trendy for
the time. When looking at the original Barbie dolls they wore clothes that were considered
elegant and popular for the time, even though they currently look old-fashioned. On top of
that, you can see that over time they started to explore away from the typical white skin,
blonde hair, blue eye Barbie, and started to use different skin tones and hair types.

3. Which advertisement do you feel could have been the most persuasive for the intended
audience? Why?
I’d say that the 5th commercial titled “Imagine the Possibilities” would be the most persuasive
because it’s humorous and it makes the audience feel joyful and hopeful for the future. If I was
a parent and saw a 6-year-old girl pretending to coach a men’s soccer team, I’d want my
daughter to also have the same confidence and dreams. If I was looking from a 6-year-old’s
perspective I’d think that having a Barbie would be absolutely vital for my makebelieve world.

4. Some believe that advertisements can shape our perceptions of our environment and
of ourselves. How might these Barbie advertisements influence the target audience?
For one thing, Barbies can make people struggle with self-image issues because as a child they
played make-believe using barbies with perfect dimensions, perfect hair, and the most elegant
clothes. By having Barbie commercials plague all of our media, it constantly reinforces the idea
that you don’t fit in if you don’t look like Barbie. However, I do applaud Barbie for their effort of
inclusion and understanding by creating dolls that have different skin tones and occasionally a
disability. Hopefully, by having young kids play with these diverse dolls, it will create more
acceptance for others when they grow up.