Pepsi is one of the greatest beverages producing company around the world. The company came into the light because of its constant competition with Coke, a renowned beverage company. Coke and Pepsi operate on similar platforms and for a long time, Pepsi has been the only company nearly to crack the secret of Coke’s production process. One of the most memorable ads produced by Pepsi is that of a boy going into a vending machine to purchase two Cokes. The boy uses the two packets of Coke as a stepping ground to allow him to reach the Pepsi bottle. After getting the Pepsi beverage, the boy walks away, leaving the Coke cans on the ground. The advert has been criticized as a direct attack to a competitor, but that does not change the brilliant use of ethos, logos, and pathos in the advert (Paracha 5). Besides, Coke and Pepsi have been in constant open competition, thus making the advert valid.
The advert uses the three aspects of rhetoric advertisement including pathos, ethos, and logos. The use of the boy appeals to the emotion of the audience in many ways. First, children are innocent and pure, therefore, the purity of the kid and the desire to use all means possible to get the Pepsi drink appeals to the emotions of the audience (Brennen 146). For instance, a mother might think that since the boy goes over and beyond just to get the Pepsi drink, then it must be the best choice for children.
People are sympathetic to children, which advances the emotional coercion of the advert. Additionally, children watching the advert are emotionally attached to it because a fellow kid is used to make the advert. Children might think since the boy preferred the Pepsi drink, then they too should drink Pepsi. Lastly, a company or an individual can be emotionally pleased by the use of the child and the creativity and decide to endorse the product. In this aspect, pathos, is highly used in the advert.
On the other hand, the ad uses logic to persuade the audience. The fact that that the boy is willing to spend more money in purchasing two Cokes just to get a Pepsi indicates that the product must be really good and special. Pepsi in this ad was trying to persuade the audience by making the claim that Pepsi is superior to Coke. It is obvious that the cost of the two Cokes supersedes that of one Pepsi, but the fact that the boy was willing to spend more for a cheaper product logically proves that Pepsi is special (Brennen 145).
The use of the little boy and the company’s name in the advert is the ethos aspect of the marketing approach. Ethos attributes to the good image of the person or the company doing the advert, thus raising the credibility of the claims. The use of young boy makes the advert credible because children are innocent and incorruptible. The boy smiles after getting the Pepsi drink, then walks away. The innocence of the plan to step on the two cans of Coke raises the credibility of the advert (Brennen 147). Additionally, the advert ends with the words ‘the joy of Pepsi’ reminding the audience the company responsible for the audience. Pepsi is a renowned beverage company, hence the credibility of the advert. Although the ad used the competitor to persuade the public, it had a very strong rhetorical effect.
Works Cited
Brennen, Bonnie. Qualitative research methods for media studies. New York London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Paracha, Abdul. “Consumer Preference Coca Cola versus Pepsi-Cola.” Global journal of management and business research 12.12 (2012): 1-10. Print.