Rhetorical Appeals in the Wounded Warrior Project Advertisements
The Wounded Warrior Project recruits the aid of the American public to honor and assist injured veterans of the United States armed forces. Through financial aid, the non-profit organization provides programs for the physical and mental injuries of soldiers with little or no cost to the warriors. The organization also offers support services for the warrior’s family (www.woundedwarriorproject.org). Through advertisements, the Wounded Warrior Project hopes to gain the public’s aid to finance the organization’s programs. The advertisements use rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos will be used to further understand how this organization’s advertisements appeal to their audience on all levels. Ethos is an appeal to
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This presents a fallacious appeal to authority. The viewer automatically assumes the U.S. military is linked with this program because silhouette logo portrays one soldier helping another, and the image represents the military’s value of “no man left behind.” The advertisement’s use of ethos is meant to be effective because the audience perceives the United States military as a large, authoritative force. The viewers respect the military’s values and its seal of approval because the armed forces fight and protect the audience. Additionally, the connection to the military gives the illusion that the armed forces support the Wounded Warrior Project; however, the United States military is an expert during combat and has no authority for the treatment of seriously injured veterans. The military’s deceptive authority on the treatment of wounded veterans carries little evidential weight. Therefore, the logo of the Wounded Warrior Project carries less credibility than originally presumed, and the effect of the image becomes less effective on each advertisement by the