Week 8, Blog 1 (RA)

Audience: women in the 50s

WATCO: Buying Double Mint Gum ON being attractive and getting good-looking men?

Claim: Buying Double Mint Gum easily enhances being attractive and getting good-looking men,

Reason: Because buying Double Mint Gum "aids your digestion, breath, [and] nerves."

IA: whatever "aids your digestion, breath, [and] nerves" easily enhances being attractive and getting good-looking men.

Ethos: There are three pictures of beautiful women here, each very appealing to women in the 50s, who want to get the best for their families and to look the best while doing it. Double Mint Gum is "for you and yours...healthful, delicious." The woman walking her dog seems so happy and carefree and day is beautiful--something all women want.

Pathos: There are a lot of words disclaiming the validity of this gum. That could either be a good sign or a bad sign: maybe there is just too much to say about this gum, or maybe the company feels the need to say everything good about the gum that can be said so customers will overlook the faults of the product.

Logos: The logic in this ad is not very convincing--one of their main arguments is the the "healthy" qualities of the gum. Honestly, can gum really have that much nutritional benefit?

All in all I think the ad may have been effective to wives and mothers of the 50s, but it would never fly in society today. The emotional and logical appeals are directed too much to the 50s frame of mind of women as beautiful housewives.