What is it about advertising that convinces people to spend their hard-earned money on (sometimes) superfluous items? You’re bound to get different answers depending on who you ask, but from a technical standpoint, a successful advertisement relies on the balance of three concepts: ethos, pathos and logos.

If you haven’t heard those terms since your college philosophy or history course, no worries! We’ve broken down exactly what each of these three Latin terms mean and how they fit into your advertising strategy.

Ethos

Ethos, pathos and logos all translate rather simply into English. Ethos, which means character, is used to describe one’s ethics. In marketing, ethical dilemmas come up often. Is it right to use exaggerated events to sell a product? Is it OK to put terms and conditions in tiny letters at the bottom of an advertisement instead of front and center? Can companies speed read through a product’s potential side effects in a radio advertisement?

Unless there’s a law dictating otherwise, there’s no “right” answer to these questions and many others. Each person has different ethics, and what may be perfectly acceptable to one party can be viewed as gross negligence to another. While ethics is fluid, the results of doing something the majority deems as unethical can be detrimental to the company. To help prevent this, make sure ads are reviewed by several people before publishing or broadcasting to weed out all unethical content.

Pathos

Pathos refers to feelings. All advertisements involve some form of pathos, making it seem relatively simple. When brainstorming an ad, the general vibe or feeling is an essential part of creating a successful advertisement. If you don’t believe us, watch some of your favorite Super Bowl ads – all of them rely on feelings, such as joy, sadness or nostalgia.

Seems pretty straightforward, right? However, making an emotional ad that hits the right chord with your audience takes time and research. Each person may interpret your marketing differently, so you can’t try to appeal to all customers with one piece. Instead, identify your main customer base, such as middle-aged men who are passionate about lawn care, and try and appeal to their feelings and values.

Logos

The last of the three concepts, logos, references both reason and intelligence, but is commonly associated with the word logic. If an advertisement isn’t logical, the audience will have a hard time relating to it. Granted, there are plenty of companies that have built their brand on absurd concepts, like Geico’s talking gecko. However, while the gecko itself is completely unrealistic, the situations it describes are far from it. When it comes down to it, if your audience has something to relate to, they’ll be more likely to purchase your product or service.

Trying to put together the right combination of ethos, pathos and logos can be tricky if you don’t know where to start. Impact Marketing has years of experience designing and implementing advertising campaigns that use all three. Give us a call at 319-232-4332 to set up an appointment or visit us online at impactmt.com.

Sources:

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/ethos-pathos-logos/

https://owl.excelsior.edu/rhetorical-styles/argumentative-essay/argumentative-essay-modes-of-persuasion/

https://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/theogloss/logos-body.html