Advertisements are all over the place. Whether they are television commercials, radio commercials, or on a movie, there is no way you can avoid them. They all have their target audience who they have specifically designed the advertisement for. This is a multi-billion dollar industry and the advertisers explore all the ways that they can attract the audience’s attention. The Marines, Coast Guard, and Army all have something in common, in the way that they advertise and recruit. For me to analyze these advertisements, I use the rhetorical triangle, as well as ethos, pathos, and logos.
I was watching the Marines commercial the other day on television. It started out with music that made you feel honored and proud of who you are. A man with a strong, deep voice was narrating the whole commercial. They showed twenty or so men, all dressed in the Marine’s uniform, standing as straight as pins with eyes unwavering. They all had their guns in position, and when the music with the drums changed rhythm they would flip their guns in a fancy manner all at the same time. While they were repeatedly doing this, they showed the Marines standing in all these different places with beautiful scenery, places like New York City, and the White House and so on. At the end, the man finishes narrating the commercial by saying, “…The few, the proud, the Marines.”
The U.S. Coast Guard commercial is very similar, but the viewer doesn’t get the same proud and honorable feeling while watching the Coast Guard commercial as opposed to watching the Marines commercial. The Coast Guard commercial starts off by showing the individuals in the Coast Guard in different places, most of them near water. The first individual says, “I am the light in the storm.” Another Coast Guard individual says, “I am the rescuer in the dark.” At the end of the commercial, they are shown all together and all at once they say, “We are the U.S. Coast Guard.” While the individuals are saying their quotes, the commercial shows the person doing what they are talking about. For example, the man who said, “I am the light in the storm,” was shown in a helicopter being lowered down into the sea to save an individual in danger amidst a storm. While I was watching this, I couldn’t help but think of how persuasive they made it all look and feel.
A few years ago, a movie called, “The Guardian” came out, and it was all about the U.S. Coast Guard, based on a fictional story. The movie did a wonderful job showing how hard and intense it was to get through basic training, but then the following reward in rescuing people. This movie reminded me of the U.S. Coast Guard commercial. After the movie, “The Guardian” came out in theaters, many people were affected by it and joined the Coast Guard. It helps a lot with advertising to have something like a movie to back it up.
In the U.S. Army commercial they also have the same honorable and proud feeling, similar to the other commercials. They showed all the awesome things you’ll be able to do once you join them, while playing up beat, rock music. Now this is where I detect some exaggeration, having an older brother in the Army to verify my doubts. The part where they show you all the exciting activities you’ll be doing, only lasts for the first nine weeks of being in the U.S. Army. The part they do not show is the average life of an American soldier. My brother also said that due to the economy and all the commercials the Army puts out, the Army is being over stocked. This has also caused them to change their slogan more frequently: they have gone from “Be All You Can Be” to “Army of One”, and finally to “Army Strong”.
The target audience of these military commercials are both males and females in their late teens to mid twenties. These commercials attract the male side of the equation by getting their attention and interest drawn to the honor and glory you’ll receive once you enlist. The way they try to appeal to their female audience in the advertisement is by showing how strong and attractive they can look in their uniform, and also by including female recruits in the commercials. The commercials also draw interest by informing the audience that they provide funding for education.
There are many different things that tie these commercials together. They all show the sense of honor in becoming a part of the U.S. military. I think that this is a terrific way to advertise something. What I realized while watching all the commercials and the movie, “The Guardian”, was that they all used their own different advertising techniques in their own unique ways, but I could still detect the similarities between them. They all tried to demonstrate and show to the viewer the glory and honor in being a part of the U.S. Marines, Coast Guard, and Army.