A Rhetorical Analysis Of Guitar Advertising

Advertising is an important part of anyone’s day-to-day life as an American. Whether it be a printed advertisement in a newspaper or a commercial airing in between quarters of an NFL team’s game, it impacts everyone and the decisions they make more than they often realize. When it comes to advertising, people do not often see advertisements for some of the more niche interests that can be found in the world. One of those interests considered by many people is music, or more specifically, making and producing music. The target audience probably is not the same as those who would watch an NFL, although there might be overlapping. And as most people know, it is difficult to advertise to people that do not know anything about the subject. Guitar

By doing this, the creators of the commercial are using pathos to use the guitar’s popularity and the feelings people have toward the design and musical possibility it contains to convince people to shop with them. It also instantly gives the viewer a sense of familiarity and recognition because of the recognizability of the guitar, telling the viewer what the commercial will be about and what the viewer has to gain from watching the commercial. As the commercial continues, it reveals more and more about the brand that is Guitar Center. They not only sell guitars as the name entails. They also sell almost every other product needed to either produce music or just make it in general. They sell instruments ranging from something as big as a drum set to an instrument as small as a harmonica. They make this apparent by showing all of these instruments in the commercial in fairly quick succession. While the commercial only lasts 30 seconds, they can fit all of the major instrument groups that they sell and promote. The creators of this commercial are using logos in this situation because using all of the products they sell as a way to promote the products is advertising

While showing all of the instruments they sell, there is a voice-over of a man saying things such as, “Our guitar team plays guitar.” This statement shows ethos because it shows that the employees helping the customers are experts in their field. When going to a guitar store, people often become overwhelmed by the sheer options they have glancing at the wall of guitars. First, there are different brands of guitars, such as the most popular two, Fender and Gibson, but also some less common brands, such as Martin and Taylor. There are also different types of guitars, such as acoustic, electric, and resonator guitars. It is important to know which type and brand of guitar you want because different guitars make different sounds and have different feels. It is extremely helpful to have an employee with experience in the instrument to offer advice on which guitar to pick, especially if the customer is a first-time guitar purchaser. The creators of this advertisement employ this tactic wonderfully because they know people feel this way. The voice-over continues saying, “Our drum crew plays drums.” This is using the same ethos as the last example to use the drum crew’s expertise to add to their credibility as a salesman and musician whose opinion matters and should be taken into consideration when