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  • Essay / The “Drinking and Driving Could Cost You a Limb” Ad

    With the message on the right and the background image finally loading, it all instantly came together. The image was of a pair of legs. One was a healthy human leg, the other was a mechanical structure with bolts and a dull, lifeless color. I looked through the image and saw a human foot next to a plastic mechanical foot connected to a crane-shaped metal leg. I slumped in my chair and thought about the terrible possible consequences of drunk driving. The somber, yet serious tone sets the mood for the ad, casually implying that BMW makes custom auto parts for each vehicle, which could potentially prevent certain types of accidents. Sooner or later, drunk driving will lead to serious accidents. The ad encourages people not to drive drunk and shows how serious it is by using many rhetorical appeals, such as an emotional appeal, a logical appeal, and an ethical appeal. This essay will analyze BMW's desired message and how effectively they use ethos, pathos, and logos to convey the consequences of drinking and driving and to prevent people from driving under the influence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay This ad uses pathos in the form of a prosthetic leg to instantly grab the reader's attention by appealing to their emotions. To begin with, the first thing the audience sees is the image of two legs, since one is a healthy, vibrant leg and the other is a dull, lifeless prosthetic. To the right of the image is a linguistic message that says "don't drive drunk." The reader can infer from the ad that the person photographed was the victim of some type of car accident that caused them to lose a leg, which triggers emotions of fear, worry or dread in the viewer . A sentimental appeal is expressed through the use of a prosthetic limb alongside a human leg. This ad also uses emotional appeal by making the audience think about the dangers or potential consequences of driving under the influence. Some of the potential possibilities are that you may die! That's it, no more life on Earth for you. Or maybe you live, but lose a limb, like a leg, like in the BMW commercial. You will now find it much more difficult to play sports, run or even walk again. For me, losing a leg or any other limb would be devastating. Because BMW uses rhetorical appeal, it evokes more emotion or empathy from the audience than it originally would have if the prosthetic leg had not been included. BMW convinces people not to drink and drive by making people fear the loss of irreplaceable body parts. Additionally, the use of logos is evident in the text, which compares human limbs to car parts. Once the audience can discern the ad, they are now hooked. Then they read the text on the left to find out what the message is. The linguistic message simply states: “Spare parts for humans are not as original as those for cars. » Even though he compares human limbs to car parts, he uses logical appeal by asserting that unlike cars, the human body is irreplaceable. The ad suggests that replacing a car part would go unnoticed, but replacing a human limb would never be the same, and so people should take care of their bodies. It only takes one decision, one.