Friday, October 3, 2014
Ethos of the Modern Day Cigarette Commercials
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the creator of the recent cigarette commercial. They are a government agency that protects the health of society by ensuring all medical devices, food, and drugs are safe for the public. They also inform the public about health information (diseases, tobacco, vaccines etc.). One area the FDA specializes in is tobacco products . The FDA has done extensive research on the health hazards of tobacco products and has made this known to the public through articles, lectures, advertisements, and commercials. The main focus of the FDA is to encourage the public to stop smoking by advertising all the consequences tobacco products bring (yellow teeth and nails, wrinkled skin, gum disease etc.).
This commercial was released to the public February 4, 2014 on popular television networks across
the country. These commercials are made to look as realistic as possible so they are relatable to the general public. This commercial still is on television today and has been seen by millions. The FDA has found the negative consequences tobacco products cause by many research projects, and they want to inform the public how it is harming their health. The main focus of this commercial and the FDA is to inform and to be honest about the consequences of products.
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I think this is a well written paragraph, and I appreciate the way you thoroughly linked out to show information about the FDA. I happen to think these commercials are incredibly powerful. I have to wonder though, as to whether the main point of this commercial is actually to simply "inform" the public about the consequences, as you put it, or if the point is to dramatize it to a point that will sufficiently scare the audience. Is the FDA using its established ethos as an unbiased party to persuade the public to feel a certain way? I'm not saying that would be a bad thing in this case but it is interesting to think about.
ReplyDeleteGood job! I think the post is well written, but I think you should have mentioned intrinsic and extrinsic ethos. For example, the first part of the post was more related to extrinsic and the last part was intrinsic. Specific examples would have been good too. How was the commercial realistic? Additionally, I think it would have been good to say how the FDA uses their authority to make convincing arguments. What makes people listen/believe them?
ReplyDelete-Mary H
I actually didn't know that this commercial was from the FDA. The only clue to who it's from is that website at the end. Without looking it up, I have no idea who created that website. Thus, for me at least, the intrinsic ethos is far more important than the extrinsic in this commercial. As I think Sarah noted, the narrator has a concerned, but caring tone. I think that the narrator seems to convey this sense of urgency, as if he's saying, "I care about you, and you're hurting yourself." Thus, the audience feels like the narrator actually cares, making the narrator credible.
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