TOW #21-Nike Commercial

This simple Nike commercial shows an overweight boy running down a country lane. There is no sound except for the scuffling of his shoes and the narrator in the background. As he is running, a narrator discusses what "greatness" is, and how anyone can be great. This implies that by having the motivation to keep running, the kid is showing greatness. Throughout the commercial, Nike employs an appeal to pathos and a testimonial of sorts to show the importance of its product. The most effective aspect of this commercial is its appeal to pathos. There is no doubt that many people struggle with their weight but feel like they lack the motivation to go out and exercise. By showing this young teen who has the drive to keep on running, Nike immediately creates an ad that is connectable and relatable to a large chunk of its audience. And the uplifting message of working towards a goal is something that all people can relate to. Nike also uses a real person to make this ad even more connectable. In the left-hand corner of the ad is a link that leads to the teen's actual TV interview and progress after this commercial was filmed. This shows that he actually achieved his goal, and that you can too. It is also important to note that there really is no mention of Nike or really what this commercial is advertising for except until the very end. This is effective in that the audience can take the time to relate to the commercial on a personal level without any brand being peddled in front of their face. However, this may detract slightly from the beginning since the audience is not aware what the commercial is for at first. The audience for this commercial is probably all Americans who exercise or want to get into better shape.

TOW #20-Beyoncé Controversy

                This week I read an article about the controversy that has been in the press about Beyoncé’s performance. She performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, and her performance was a tribute to the Black Panthers. There has been a lot of controversy regarding this topic, especially because it was performed at such a large revenue with billions of viewers. Although it is completely acceptable to have an opinion on the Black Panthers, it is not acceptable for someone who is always in the spotlight with such a large fan base to use these types of actions. I personally believe that Beyoncé should not have performed this tribute because it caused such a large outbreak among the rest of society. She shouldn’t have used a venue where people didn’t come in order to see her or hear her music to show her opinion on such a controversial topic. The venue that she was performing at was not her own venue, she was a guest performance. With that said, it is not acceptable for her to be able to flaunt her own opinions when they were not asked. She was simply supposed to sing a few of her songs in between a football game, and then leave. She was not asked to make a statement on an extremely controversial topic.