Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 20 Effective Ways to Advertise [Infographic] (2024)

The 'Modes of Persuasion' are at the root of all advertising. Those modes are called ethos, pathos, and logos. How can they work for you?

The heart of all advertising is persuasion. And the modes of persuasion don't just help people advertise.

They help people sell ideas.

They help people sell TV shows, movies... even themselves.

Bottom line: If you want to succeed on any level in entertainment you need to be a master of the modes of persuasion.

Today, in this post, we're going to get you to that level of mastery.

The first step can be broken down into three words: ethos pathos, and logos.

So what do these words mean, and why does everyone in advertising talk about them?

Let's get started.

Table of Contents

How Ethos, Pathos, Logos Define Advertising

Aristotle in Advertising

The Three Modes of Persuasion

Ethos Definition

Ethos in advertising

Ethos examples in ads

PathosDefinition

Pathos in advertising

Pathos examples in ads

LogosDefinition

Logos in advertising

Logos examples in ads

What about Kairos?

How Ethos, Pathos, and Logos Work Together

How to Create a Persuasive Advertisem*nt

The 20 Most Popular Creative Advertising Techniques

2.Conversion Theory

3.Information Manipulation Theory

4.Priming

5.Reciprocity Norm

6.Scarcity Principle

7.Sleeper Effect

8.Social Influence

9.Yale Attitude Change Approach

10.Ultimate Term

11. Avante Garde

12. Weasel Words

13. Magic Ingredients

14. Patriotism

15. Transfer

16. Plain Folks

17. Snob Appeal

18. Bribery

19. Bandwagon

20.Rhetorical questions

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos Summation

What's next? Where should you apply for Entertainment Industry Jobs?

Aristotle in Advertising

Most of the storytelling we deal with harkens back to Aristotle's "Poetics." It was the building block for drama and became a must-read for anyone interested in crafting their own plays, movies, televisions shows, and now advertisem*nts.

As advertising leans more and more on storytelling, "Poetics" has become even more important today.

In "Poetics," Aristotle said:

Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker; the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind; the third on the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech itself.

But what were the three modes of persuasion Aristotle found?

The Three Modes of Persuasion

  • Ethos(ἦθος—disposition or character)
  • Pathos(πάθος—emotion or passion)
  • Logos(λόγος—argument or discourse)

These modes are referred to as ethical strategies or rhetorical appeals.

They're based on the idea that persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character. By the speaker, I mean the author of the advertisem*nt. You want to seem credible as an author. Whether that's the writer, director, or anyone working in that space.

Your persuasive ideas must stir something in the reader. An emotional reaction

This cannot just be through your written or spoken words. You have to exhibit an inherent or apparent truth. That way, you appear to have all the answers to the question you asked the reader.

All this manifests itself in each of the aforementioned modes.

Let's define each and view examples.

Ethos Definition

Ethos is the use of ‘ethics’ to make a moral argument. It refers to stated credibility or an authoritative stance on a subject.

You could use the words of an instructor, doctor, expert, or philosopher. The point is, ethos is achieved by citing someone knowledgable and producing facts. So come prepared to make your audience feel smarter for listening to you. Give them numbers and citations that make you seem trustworthy. 4 out of 5 readers love this definition.

Ethos in advertising

Advertising with ethos is about convincing a consumer that your company is more reliable, credible, and trustworthy than any other one. That's why they should buy from you and patronize your stores. Ethos often uses celebrity endorsem*nts, factual statements, and real-life examples to certify their prominence.

Ethos examples in ads

Any celebrity endorsem*nt is the work of ethos.

I like to focus on the Michael Jordan commercials here. Specifically, the one where he and Mia Hamm face off. This black and white commercial asserts them both as athletes at the top of their game. They have command in their sport, and any other sport you can think about.

The dueling here allows them both to endorse the one thing they agree on; Gatorade.

What about something more traditional?

Trident has been pushing the "4 out of 5 Dentists" line forever. Dentists are authorities on teeth, and getting their recommendation to use the gum is maybe the simplest form of ethos out there.

Video is no longer available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXqAyMhgc7I

PathosDefinition

Pathos is the use of the "pathetic appeal." But not the "pathetic we know." This is appealing to people’s emotions or sense of identity- think "empathy." If you can make consumers feel an emotion, or appeal to their sense of identity, you’re using pathos. This is all about what you evoke in others. Can you make them angry about a cause? Can you get them to feel guilty for not doing something?

You're using pathos.

Pathos in advertising

Pathos is all about audience manipulation. You want to make sure you gather emotional responses from viewers. It can be positive or negative, but each has to pop. Think about ads for acid reflux. We see people in pain, but medicine makes them better. Or think about ads where we see people having fun or doing good works. How can your product help improve their lives?

Pathos examples in ads

What kinds of ads rely heavily on pathos?

How about beer commercials?

Sure, many of them focus on people having a blast, but Budweiser also knows how to tug at your heartstrings. They've become perennial favorites with their animal ads during the Super Bowl.

The "lost puppy" one is one of my favorites.

It stuck with me and brought a tear to my eye.

Video is no longer available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPKgC8KPBMg

Other moving ads that deal with Pathos can be targeted at certain groups.

Toys R' Us ran an incredibly successful campaign targeted at parents who wanted to shareStar Warswith their kids.

This ad not only has cute babies but the maturation of a kid who grows to love and understand her father. It uses humor to sneak into your heart and stays there.

Video is no longer available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYGabbHaOZU

LogosDefinition

Logos is the use of logical argument and empirical evidence to support your point of view. Here's where facts, research, and even a consumer's inherent logic come into play. If you throw an apple up, it falls, that proves gravity. But if you tell them the story of Isaac Newton, and talk about his process to find gravity, including the apple falling from the tree, and write out the math of gravitational force, you're using logos.

Logos in advertising

An advertisem*nt using logos will give you the evidence and statistics you need to understand what the product does and how it can make your life even better than it was before you used it. The facts used here should be the "straight facts." things like "You get 100% of your vitamin D from a glass of milk," or "an hour of play helps prevent childhood obesity."

Logos examples in ads

Facts are mostly used to sell products and services in print ads. They are taglines on the bottle like "10% more than other brands" and "get 100% of your daily dose of XYZ."

But they definitely occur in digital ads as well.

Think about Billy Mays and Oxy Clean.

His popular infomercial was just a showcase of the cold, hard, facts about his product.

Sure, it had glitz and glamour, but at the end of the day he was leaning into practicality.

And what about other ads?

Like something for toilet paper.

Charmin wants you to know how soft they are. To do that, they measure the size of their sheets and so them side by side. We see that Charmin stacks up higher and must be softer.

Video is no longer available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtWLhs179n4

What about Kairos?

Kairos is defined as the right time or place to have done something.

It means that you're specifically calling to people when they need to hear it. The "Gettysburg Address" is a great speech, but it was the right thing Americans needed to hear to keep them invested in the Civil War just like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech was even more powerful because it was during the civil rights movement.

When you're constructing your advertisem*nts, think about how kairos fits into the moment.

How Ethos, Pathos, and Logos Work Together

Now that you understand the words and what each mode can do, let's talk about how they work in tandem.

While you can create an advertisem*nt that just uses one of the words, these ideas a kind of like the infinity stones, they work best when unified.

Companies are always going to try to target their campaigns to use all three.

Take something like the crying Native American pollution campaign.

Not only are we given facts about the planet dying in front of us, but those facts are delivered by a person who is crying. And it's not just any person, it's a Native American in a full headdress. A type of person who, possibly regressively stereotypically, is seen as "one with nature" or an authority on the subject.

That campaign is one of the most famous of all time.

The reason it got so popular was that it keyed in on every mode of persuasion.

Its pathos, logos, and ethos are upfront and still somehow imperceptible. Hidden behind our response to each of the techniques.

The same goes for something like "Where's the beef?"

Our authority figures are a bunch of grandmothers. People who KNOW how to make a great meal. The facts are that there is no meat in the dishes served, and that makes them upset.

Seeing these people upset illicit laughs but also a strong response to happy childhood memories and the taste of a great dinner.

Suddenly we're like putty in the beef lobby's hands.

All tender inside...

So what other ways are logos, ethos, and pathos used in advertising?

How to Create a Persuasive Advertisem*nt

Persuasive ads don't just work because of the words above. They have lots of other strategies that help engage consumers and make money. Let's take a look at the 20 most popular advertising techniques and break them down one by one.

All of these use a combination of ethos, logos, and pathos to make their points.

The 20 Most Popular Creative Advertising Techniques

1.Amplification Hypothesis

This is when you express absolute confidence in an idea or absolute skepticism. Using this makes people think you know what you are talking about.

2.Conversion Theory

The minority viewpoint within a group can actually disproportionately affect the majority. That means you can use the "stand our from the crowd" strategies to make those views feel unique.

3.Information Manipulation Theory

This needs a persuasive person to purposefully break one of the conversational rules:

  • Quantity: You have all the info
  • Quality: The info is accurate
  • Relevancy: The info is about what we're talking about
  • Manner: Information is easily expressed

4.Priming

Stimulating people to think about certain words or phrases can get people's attention. Like when a magician asks the audience to look at his one hand and uses the other to perform a trick.

5.Reciprocity Norm

This is a quid-pro-quo. It plays on people owing you a favor.

6.Scarcity Principle

Act like your services are in a short supply and you can manipulate the demand.

7.Sleeper Effect

Information gathered from low-influenced sources have staying power because they are easily repeatable.

8.Social Influence

We are strongly motivated by how we are perceived by others. So telling people they need to have something to fit in or stand out is attractive.

9.Yale Attitude Change Approach

People at Yale studied humans and learned that we flock to attractive speakers who either speak last or first. So try to find ways to message with that idea.

10.Ultimate Term

Certain terms in the English language, like power words, carry more weight than others. There are three categories of these terms:

  1. God terms:words that demand willingness like "progress"
  2. Devil terms:words that evoke disgust like "fascist"
  3. Charismatic terms:words that are intangible like "freedom"

11. Avante Garde

The idea that this is cutting edge tech and puts you ahead of the game. Apple often uses these strategies.

12. Weasel Words

This is my favorite thing. It's words that don't force you to prove anything concrete. Soap that gets you virtually bacteria-free. Things that cost "next to nothing" or services that only charge "pennies on the dollar." Weasel around your original intention.

13. Magic Ingredients

Make it sound like you have the key people have been searching for. Like weight-loss products found in the Amazon or diet drinks that taste just like regular.

14. Patriotism

The idea that purchasing this product shows the love of country, like when products brag about being "Made in America!"

15. Transfer

Use positive words, images, or videos juxtaposed against your own stuff to make the feelings transfer.

16. Plain Folks

Suggest that regular people need this product or service to be part of their life.

17. Snob Appeal

Make a promise that if you buy or participate you'll be part of an exclusive or elite group.

18. Bribery

Add something extra to your sale. Like a free drink with popcorn.

19. Bandwagon

This asks you to join with the crowd so that you all fit in.

20.Rhetorical questions

Ideas like "Who wouldn't` want to save money?" and "Who doesn't want a longer vacation?" help you convince people one way or another by having them ask questions of themselves.

Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 20 Effective Ways to Advertise [Infographic] (1)

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos Summation

Pathos, ethos, logos were defined by Aristotle hundreds of years ago, but they’re as relevant today as they were in Ancient Greece. They can inform, educate and persuade people to get your message and your ideas.

Don't forget to consider the time and place, or kairos, of the message at hand.

You might even want to let current events inform you.

I can't wait to see where this knowledge takes you next.

What's next? Where should you apply for Entertainment Industry Jobs?

Landing a job in the entertainment industry can be hard to find. So we made a list of the places you can apply for them!

Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 20 Effective Ways to Advertise [Infographic] (2024)

FAQs

How do you use ethos pathos and logos in an advertisem*nt? ›

Ethos calls upon the ethics, or what we'd call the values, of the speaker. Pathos elicits emotions in the audience. Finally, logos puts logic into play by using evidence and facts. Good persuasive advertising technique is when you balance all three.

What are some advertising techniques using ethos? ›

Advertising with ethos is about convincing a consumer that your company is more reliable, credible, and trustworthy than any other one. That's why they should buy from you and patronize your stores. Ethos often uses celebrity endorsem*nts, factual statements, and real-life examples to certify their prominence.

What are some advertising techniques using pathos? ›

Advertisers use pathos by making an audience feel what they want them to feel, whether it's humour, anger, pity, or any other emotion. You might call it 'tugging on the heartstrings' or 'dialing up the emotions'. Gillette's new ad is a prime example of pathos.

How pathos is effective in advertising? ›

Advertisers often use pathos to appeal to an audience's emotions, like making them feel sorry for their subject. They might also make their audience feel angry towards something, so that they're motivated to take action. Or they might make them laugh. That's all pathos.

What is an example of logos in advertising? ›

Logos is the persuasive technique that aims to convince an audience by using logic and reason. Also called “the logical appeal,” logos examples in advertisment include the citation of statistics, facts, data, charts, and graphs.

What are the 3 persuasive techniques? ›

You will often hear ethos, pathos, and logos referred to as the three modes of persuasion. These modes of persuasion will probably come quite naturally to you, but having a strong awareness of how to be most convincing to your audience will help you as you write argumentative essays.

What are the 6 advertising appeals? ›

The various types of advertising appeals are rational appeal, musical appeal, sexual appeal, humor appeal, emotional appeal, scarcity appeal, and fear appeal.

What is 1 example of pathos? ›

Pathos examples in everyday life include: A teenager tries to convince his parents to buy him a new car by saying if they cared about their child's safety they'd upgrade him. A man at the car dealership implores the salesman to offer the best price on a new car because he needs to support his young family.

What is ethos pathos and logos examples? ›

Ethos is about establishing your authority to speak on the subject, logos is your logical argument for your point and pathos is your attempt to sway an audience emotionally. Leith has a great example for summarizing what the three look like. Ethos: 'Buy my old car because I'm Tom Magliozzi.

How is logos used in advertising? ›

Logos is an appeal to logic. Your audience can be persuaded if you can present a factual argument that's based in reason.

What are pathos strategies? ›

Pathos: Appeal to Emotions

Pathos-based rhetorical strategies are any strategies that get the audience to “open up” to the topic, the argument, or to the author. Emotions can make us vulnerable, and an author can use this vulnerability to get the audience to believe that his or her argument is a compelling one.

What is a example of logos? ›

Logos examples

All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.” “The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place.

What are 6 examples of logos? ›

They are: Wordmark, Lettermark (Monogram), Pictorial Mark, Abstract Mark (both often referred to as icons), Emblem, and Combination Mark.

What are 4 types of logos? ›

Here are four types of logo designs to consider with examples of logos we've recently designed:
  • Wordmark logo design. Office Max, Home Depot, and Walmart all represent the most commonly used type of logo — the wordmark. ...
  • Lettermark logo design. ...
  • Brandmark logo. ...
  • Iconic logo design.
Feb 9, 2018

What are the 4 methods of persuasion? ›

4 modes of persuasion
  • Ethos. Ethos relies on credibility as the method for convincing others. ...
  • Pathos. Pathos is a mode of persuasion that appeals to the human emotions. ...
  • Logos. Logos appeals to the logical side of the audience members, and using logos can help establish the ethos in writing. ...
  • Share personal experiences.
Jun 24, 2022

What are the 10 functions of advertising? ›

10 reasons why advertising is important
  • Increases sales. Advertising's main goal is to increase the number of people who buy your product. ...
  • Informs customers. ...
  • Helps introduce products. ...
  • Informs you about your competition. ...
  • Retains customers. ...
  • Increases employee morale. ...
  • Differentiates your brand. ...
  • Increases customer trust.
Jun 24, 2022

What are the 7 functions of advertising? ›

These functions are:
  • Promotion.
  • Selling.
  • Product management.
  • Pricing.
  • Marketing information management.
  • Financing.
  • Distribution.
Feb 20, 2023

What are the 5 A's of advertising? ›

Philip Kotler, the five stages (Awareness, Appeal, Ask, Act and Advocacy) allow marketing and sales professionals to create a map of the customer's needs and priorities during the different parts of their purchase process.

What are the 5 most advertising functions? ›

Advertising is a way of letting potential customers know about a product. The five functions of advertising are informing, influencing, increasing salience, adding value, and other efforts.

What are the 8 types of advertising media? ›

Types of advertising channels
  • Print media. Print media is a means of mass communication through printed publications, such as brochures, magazines, newspapers and leaflets. ...
  • Outdoor media. ...
  • Transportation advertising. ...
  • Radio media. ...
  • Television media. ...
  • Speciality media. ...
  • Digital media. ...
  • Direct mail advertising.
Mar 9, 2023

What are the 8 basic appeals? ›

Sociologist Harold Lasswell says that people are motivated by 8 basic appeals they are power, respect , well being , affection, wealth , skill , enlightenment , physiological and mental vitality .

What are the 6 C's of advertising? ›

So there it is; the 6 C's of marketing – Customer, Consistency – Creativity – Culture – Communication and Change.

What is the rule of 6 advertising? ›

In 1859, the Marketing Rule of 6 was introduced.

The first time a man sees an advertisem*nt, he takes no notice of it; the second time he looks at the name; the third time he looks at the price; the fourth time he reads it; the fifth time he speaks of it to his wife; the sixth time he buys.

What are the 4 types of ethos? ›

There are four main characteristics of ethos:
  • Trustworthiness and respect.
  • Similarity to the audience.
  • Authority.
  • Expertise and reputation/history.
Apr 11, 2018

What are the 4 rhetorical appeals? ›

Rhetorical appeals are the qualities of an argument that make it truly persuasive. To make a convincing argument, a writer appeals to a reader in several ways. The four different types of persuasive appeals are logos, ethos, pathos, and kairos.

What are the 3 areas of ethos? ›

Ethos is used in persuasive arguments to establish trustworthiness and credibility as a speaker or writer. There are three essential elements to developing ethos: virtue, personal disinterest, and practical wisdom.

How is logos used? ›

Logos appeals to reason. Logos can also be thought of as the text of the argument, as well as how well a writer has argued his/her point. Ethos appeals to the writer's character. Ethos can also be thought of as the role of the writer in the argument, and how credible his/her argument is.

How is ethos used? ›

Ethos is all about credibility—is the source coming from research that is reliable and has a good reputation? A writer can use ethos to show readers why they are the best person to be writing or talking about a particular topic or issue.

What is logos in simple words? ›

Logos is a greek word with a variety of different meanings including, “reason,” “discourse,” and “plea,” among others. Greek philosopher Aristotle provided a definition of logos in his work Rhetoric, where he used logos to mean “reasoned discourse”, specifically in the realm of public speaking.

What is an example of pathos appeals? ›

An author using pathos appeals wants the audience to feel something: anger, pride, joy, rage, or happiness. For example, many of us have seen the ASPCA commercials that use photographs of injured puppies, or sad-looking kittens, and slow, depressing music to emotionally persuade their audience to donate money.

What is ethos pathos logos for students? ›

Logos appeals to the audience's reason, building up logical arguments. Ethos appeals to the speaker's status or authority, making the audience more likely to trust them. Pathos appeals to the emotions, trying to make the audience feel angry or sympathetic, for example.

Why is logos effective? ›

As you might have imagined, logos is the “appeal to the reader's logic.” This means that you use facts, data, and statistics to support your reasoning. Using logos in your writing is effective because it provides evidence that makes it difficult for your audience to disagree with you.

How do you identify ethos? ›

When you evaluate an appeal to ethos, you examine how successfully a speaker or writer establishes authority or credibility with her intended audience. You are asking yourself what elements of the essay or speech would cause an audience to feel that the author is (or is not) trustworthy and credible.

What is pathos used for? ›

Pathos, or the appeal to emotion, means to persuade an audience by purposely evoking certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel.

When should you use logos? ›

Logos is about appealing to your audience's logical side. You have to think about what makes sense to your audience and use that as you build your argument. As writers, we appeal to logos by presenting a line of reasoning in our arguments that is logical and clear.

What are the three main types of logos? ›

Now that we've covered the three main types of logos (wordmark, monogram, and combination mark), we'll talk about three less common types of logos.

How are rhetorical appeals used in advertisem*nts? ›

The final rhetorical appeal is pathos, which is the emotional appeal. Advertisers use pathos to evoke specific emotions in the audience. Pathos tends to be used quite often in advertisem*nts, as emotions are easily stirred in most target audiences through vivid images and touching stories.

How does Coca Cola use ethos in advertising? ›

Ethos or the appeal to credibility is used in the advertisem*nt in the image of Santa, who totally approves of drinking Coca-Cola. The main reason for using ethos in advertising lies in the company's need for gaining the potential customers' trust (Lamichhane).

What is an example of positive appeal in advertising? ›

Customers who experience happiness while viewing an advertisem*nt may make a purchase to continue feeling positive. For example, a brand creates a commercial that features people smiling and enjoying themselves, so the viewers associate the company with happiness.

What appeal is used in advertisem*nt? ›

The seven major types of advertising appeals include musical, sexual, humor, fear, emotional, rational, and scarcity, which all have the common goal of influencing the way consumers view themselves and the benefits of the products or services being advertised.

What are the seven main types of advertising appeals? ›

The following seven appeals are the most common psychological strategies advertisers use to reach their target audience and persuade them to buy.
  • Emotional appeals. ...
  • Fear appeals. ...
  • Humor appeals. ...
  • Musical appeals. ...
  • Rational appeals. ...
  • Sexual appeals. ...
  • Scarcity appeals.
Sep 18, 2018

How does McDonald's use ethos? ›

By using ethos, McDonald's makes sure the customer gets what he wants and lives up to the quality customer service standards. The commercial then uses pathos by showing that they understand and relate to the fact that life can be difficult and they want to do their best to make it easier for you.

What is an example of a logos? ›

Logos examples

All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.” “The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place.

What is an example of ethos? ›

Ethos refers to authority and credibility. It highlights the credibility and trustworthiness of your argument that can help you persuade your audience to buy your product or service. Example: As a three-time Olympic gold medalist, I can assure you that this energy drink will improve your fitness and stamina.

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