The Budweiser commercial, “Puppy Love,” debuted in the 2014 Super Bowl, uses compelling advertising themes that have stood the test of time: babies, animals, and love. The advertisement was written to promote Budweiser beer, but captured the attention of all Super Bowl viewers because of the universal appeal of the story. As the tale unfolds, we see a puppy and horse form a friendship. The puppy has no true home; it lives in a shelter. The beautiful Clydesdale horse, strong, protecting, and sweet, lives at an idyllic farm. The logical conclusion of the puppy going home to his Clydesdale friend's farm is just what our hearts were hoping would happen. Throughout the entire commercial, the rhetorical effects pathos, ethos, and logos were effectively …show more content…
Pathos is a rhetorical strategy used to intervene with the emotions of viewers. The entire ad is centered around the emotional effect the content had on people. There is no arguing that this is a feel-good advertisement. The beginning shows a puppy digging under the fence and escaping from the puppy adoption center. The puppy runs to the Clydesdale barn and meets a horse. He then gets taken back to the adoption center. Two more escape attempts are shown before the puppy gets adopted. When the puppy finally gets adopted, and is being driven away with his new owner, the car becomes surrounded by Clydesdale horses. The next scene shows the puppy running back to the farm in front of the horses. The story then skips to the ending showing the ranch worker and the puppy adoption employee watching the puppy and horse while drinking Budweiser products. Everyone looks happy, and the puppy and the horse are united for good. The author of this promotional advertisement intentionally created an emotion triggering video. By using pathos throughout the entirety of the ad, viewers young and old, were captivated by the cute puppy and emotional story until the very end. The brand Budweiser was not formally introduced until the end of the ad. By using this tactic, viewers don’t dismiss the ad because it is a beer ad, but instead are captivated by the story and will talk about the story and will remember the story. It is not just another beer commercial during a football