anti-drug ad

 Drugs have been around since the dawn of time, as we've seen in ancient china with the use of opiates to today's society with hundreds of different variations of narcotics, stimulants, depressants, and so on. But this picture specifically incorporates the three different rhetorical appeals: Pathos, Logos, and Ethos. Beginning with Pathos, or the emotional appeal, the first thing we see in this image are the basic colors of black and white which means the author is getting right to the point. Because it is an anit-drug advertisement, the emotions we generally feel are serious and biased towards the cause, and the author's tone in the image is just that. Next is the appeal of reason, or Logos. The author of the image makes their reasoning point easy enough in the four short sentences at the bottom as they move in a logical order: "Drugs. It isn't funny. It isn't a joke. It could mean you life." Also, we can see that the human-like figure centered in the image works in a logical manner: it is made up entirely of the word drugs, and in his or her hand is an object being smoked, with the smoke coming out of the object reading death. Finally, there is the ethical appeal or Ethos. This appeal deals with the credibility of the author, and because the author of the image works for an anti-drug campaign agency which is renown and respected nation-wide for their efforts in stopping drug usage, therefore it is a credible source. Kairos, or attention to the right time and place for an argument, is eminent here as this advertising campaign launched in the late 1980s with Ronald Reagan and has been fighting to save lives ever since. Coming out right after the free love and liberal 1970s era where drugs were not only accepted but encouraged, the timing of the campaign was crucial as it helped turn acceptance of illegal drugs back into something that is frowned upon by society.