Audience and Rhetoric
What's the problem with the comic on the right? If you said "no one would want to buy a shoe like that," you're right. It's just not practical—can you go hiking with a flipper on the end of your shoe? Can you play basketball with wheels on the bottom? Nope; there's too much on the shoe. By trying to do everything for everyone, the shoe ends up doing nothing for no one.
Advertisers know that in order to sell a product to someone, they have to settle on a specific demographic—that is, a specific audience. Whenever they are about to make an ad, they have to ask themselves this question: "Who is this product for, and how should that information influence how we make the advertisement?"
For an example of how a change of audience affects advertisements, take a look at these two commercials. They are both for the same product (cars), but they are aimed at very different audiences. Which audiences do you think they are aimed at? How are the advertisements different because of the audience?
The ads are aimed at very difference audiences (for example, "working people" or "rich city people"), and so they have to use different techniques in the ads in order to achieve the desired effect. What kind of pathos do you think the Chevy commercial is aiming at? I bet it's trying to make the audience feel hardworking and down-to-earth, since that is how many working people see themselves. The luxury car commercial is all about being fast and flashy; it tries to make people feel that they will be fashionable and admired if they buy the product.
Figure Out What Audience(s) You Are IN!
Audience plays a big part in rhetoric and advertising. Try filling out this worksheet about demographics (audience) to figure out which audiences you are a part of. What kinds of products might advertisers try to sell to you? How would they make commercials that are targeted towards you?
Extra Practice
Depending on your audience, you are going to try to “sell” your argument or product to people in different ways. Choose one of the following prompts and practice phrasing the same argument to three different people:
Option 1: You just sat down to dinner, and a bunch of steamed spinach is on your plate. Yuck! You hate spinach! Write a short explanation to each of the following people of why you can’t (or won’t) eat the spinach:
Your parent or guardian
A friend’s parents (if you were invited over to dinner)
Your doctor (who says that spinach is good for you)
Option 2: A song just came on the radio, and it’s pretty much the worst song you have ever heard. The problem is, the person you are talking to just told you that they love this song. How would you let all of the following people know that you don’t agree?
Your best friend
Your grandma or grandpa (or another old person you respect)
Your brother or sister (or another family member)
More Resources
These websites will help you to learn more about how the target audience affects decisions in advertising: