ASPCA Pathos

This week the theme is pathos—or appeals to the audience’s emotions.  According to Aristotle, in order to effectively use pathos, the rhetor must 1.) understand the state of mind of emotional others, 2.) know who can excite emotions in people, and 3.) understand the reasons for becoming emotional. As an audience member, perhaps one of the most effective examples of pathos is the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (ASPCA) commercial promotion featuring Sarah McLachlan and her hit Angel.

Animal cruelty is a rather grim subject, but rather than allowing the unpleasant topic discourage possible endorsers, the ASPCA uses it to their advantage by appealing to the hearts and emotions of good-willed people. By understanding the state of mind of the audience, the ASPCA can take an appropriate to address the audience.

Determining an appropriate approach, the ASPCA also considers who can most effectively evoke the audience’s emotions. Rather than featuring healthy humans in no obvious need of support, the commercial presents rescued animals, each more pitiful than the previous. The wide eyes or, in the case of one cat, eye and feeble legs emphasize the animals’ helplessness and, perhaps more importantly, aims to tug at the hearts of the audience.

Coinciding with the woeful animals is Sarah McLachlan’s song Angel, its tempo slow and tone soft. And while its sound reflects the somber nature of animal cruelty, its lyrics also help to portray the ASPCA’s message.

Starting off the commercial with “in the arms of an angel,” the song corresponds to a dog being held in the arms of an ASPCA member. Having been through a rough and abusive past, the mistreated dog is in need of an angel or someone who is willing to help through the ASPCA.

Assuming they’ve effectively appealed to the audience’s pathos through the featured animals, the audience is perhaps wondering how they, too, can become an angel and help the unfortunate animals. Luckily Sarah McLachlan is there to tell the audience how they can help through the ASPCA. If the animals have caused the audience to become emotional, then perhaps they’ll want to help them, allowing the ASPCA to make use of kairos—the opportune time to call the audience into action and donate to the ASPCA.

This commercial appeals to my emotions. I become moved at the sight of mistreated animals and want to open my heart and home to them. It’s worked in the past too! Thanks to appeals to pathos, I have adopted two cats!

My family and I adopted our cats Ella (top) and Marvin (bottom) thanks to appeals to pathos!