Rhetorical Analysis: American Apparel

American Apparel uses the design of its homepage to make a strong appeal to the emotions of its buyers. While the company sells to males, females, children, and animals, its website makes it clear that they are specifically targeting young women. The homepage exclusively shows pictures of young, attractive female models. These ads assert and illustrate the idea that if someone buys the American Apparel brand, they too can look like the models in the pictures. Obviously this isn’t a logical argument, but it is not meant to be. The creator of the page is trying to captivate the emotions of his or her audience and get them to buy a product. American Apparel knows that its audience is young women, many of whom may have a desire, even if subconsciously,

They company has already established itself strongly as an American company, through building credibility and supporting national identity. It is clearly the apparel brand of all of America, and therefore must be a trustworthy source to listen to and buy from. Additionally, its “vertical integration” page furthers the idea that this a trustworthy company that should be bought from. The company prides itself on the combination of factors of production such as manufacturing, design, marketing, accounting, retail and distribution. This page states that this strategy is “not only smart for our company, but for our community, our local and regional economy, our environment, and, in turn, our customers”. By forming this argument, the author is giving credible reasons as to why this company is better than another apparel company. Although this rhetoric has nothing to do with the quality of the product itself, it somewhat builds up consumer faith in the company itself. This is effective because it gives consumers a reason to choose American Apparel products over competitors when designs are

It first and foremost appeals to people’s emotions, specifically that of young women. It bombards them with images of beautiful models, expressing the idea that anyone can look like them if they simply buy American Apparel clothing. The images are intended to evoke an impulsive emotional purchase which achieves the website’s main goal of selling product. Furthermore, the website appeals to people’s humanitarian attitudes by explaining how much better treated American Apparel’s employees are than competitors. This argument creates an emotionally charged reason within consumers as to why they should purchase American Apparel products. In addition, this website calls upon ethos rhetoric to establish the superiority of American Apparel as a company. It makes the argument that vertical integration creates better conditions for the environment, community, and ultimately customer. Ultimately, the website is effective at achieving its goal because of the use of multiple persuasive strategies. It first brings out a snap emotional response on its home page, and then follows that up with arguments as to why American Apparel is the superior company. The reader is left with both reason and emotion telling them to buy American Apparel. All told, American Apparel’s website is effective because it offers emotional appeal to customers, while backing