A Rhetorical Analysis Of Nike's 'Ripple'

Another rhetorical feature used by Nike in the “Ripple” commercial that runs hand in hand with music, is tone. In writing, tone is the essence in which is presented throughout the advertisement. Like most sports apparel brands, Nike usually uses advertising that provokes motivation through intense training videos of athletes sporting their gear, or high energy training. These videos are accompanied with upbeat music that sparks different emotions and reaches the rhetorical appeal, pathos, from different means. The tone that is created in the Rory Mcilroy Nike advertisement is much different than the up tempo commercials even though it acts mainly on the same appeal. The commercial uses a much more easy-going tone to aid in the process of connecting the audience with the young boy in the play. In addition, it serves to slow down the

The script is written in an active voice rather than a passive voice. For instance, there is a scene in the commercial in which the father is speaking to the boy Rory after hitting a golf ball by saying, “Nice shot there, I can’t even see that one.” Rather than speaking in a way as to look back on the past, the viewer is invited into the present with the use of active voice. This allows the reader to develop the feeling as if they are watching the boy in present time. This allows the audience to connect with the characters and creates the sense that they are hearing the young boy and his father in real time. Additionally, this creates the feeling that the audience is reliving Rory’s childhood through the means of the commercial. This methods connects, like the other rhetorical features in this advertisement, to the rhetorical appeal, pathos. The connection that the audience feels with the young boy and his maturation and development into a successful player is what drives the advertisement to be