For this blog post, I will analyze an attack ad from presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg towards President Donald Trump. Bloomberg tweeted the ad on Monday saying, “In honor of #Presidents’ Day, lets take a look at what it means to be president. Or rather, what it used to mean.” With the tweet is a video of past presidents saying great things. For instance, the video begins with President John F. Kennedy saying, “ask not what your country can do for you…” followed by a clip of Donald Trump saying “it was all bull shi*”. This set up continues through the entire ad with a past president saying something important with an obnoxious quote from Donald Trump mixed in. Some viewers may find it humorous while others may be outraged.
The Ethos from this ad are from Mike Bloomberg. While Bloomberg is not saying anything specifically in the ad, it comes from his website and campaign. He represents it, so it is him that is saying it. He is a figure of authority, and a man of intelligence. Bloomberg was mayor of New York from 2002 -2013, so those who view his ads may be more inclined to believe him especially if it is someone from New York. The other ethos from this ad may also be the past presidents of the United States. These men are also authority figures because they have been president. Comparing an intelligent quote from a former president which people respect (JFK, LBJ, Ronald Regan, Obama) and then an idiotic quote from Donald Trump may make the people who are viewing the ad believe that these men would be against Donald Trump.
The pathos of this ad are mostly anger. Someone viewing this ad might become angry when seeing it because they may think that Donald Trump only says stupid things. People may become angry because the president isn’t supposed to say stupid things. There is also nostalgia when it comes to this ad. The title is “lets take a look at what it means to be president. Or what it used to.” The viewer may feel a longing to return to a time when the president said intelligent things.
The logos in this video are the slang and impulsive comments made by President Trump and the thoughtful and intelligent comments made by former presidents. While Donald Trump has said intelligent things in his life and during his presidency, this ad focuses on the outrageous and “unpresidential” comments that he has made over the years. The ad uses these logos to make the president look like an idiot and a hothead while the past presidents look calm, cool, and collected (neverminded that Kennedy slept around or LBJ had a foul mouth).
This ad for Mike Bloomberg is an attack ad on Donald Trump. Using Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, Donald Trump is made to look unintelligent and unpresidential. Bloomberg tweeted this video on Presidents day reminding citizens on what a president should look like. I believe this is an effective ad that grabbed the attention of many people.
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