One of the most noticeable and influential ad campaigns I have seen throughout my life is the "Got Milk?" campaign. These ads were created to, obviously, increase sales for milk in the United States. It all started in 1993 and ended just recently in 2014. As you can tell by the campaign's long life of over 20 years, it succeeded. It became one of the most well known campaigns throughout its life. It began as just a commercial and did not have all the celebrity endorsements like it does now. In 1995, these ads started putting celebrities, whether it be from cartoons, sports stars, or singers and actors. The target audience was most likely almost everyone, but would definitely specialize towards children through young adults. The California Milk Processor Board reported a huge increase in milk sales ever since the ads started. All throughout its lifetime this campaign did a great job of bringing all three rhetorical elements to its ads in order to create a very effective message.
They used ethos by putting in these celebrities that do great things and people look up to. It makes the audience think, "Wow if they do this because they think it is right, then maybe it is right." This is shown especially in the ad I saw with superman in it. He is a good guy and saves people. So, if he drinks milk, then that must make it a good thing to do. Whether the public realizes it or not these celebrities and heroes are idolized and the things they might do effect what people think is ethical. Also the people that created it are milk companies which definitely leads the audience to believe that they know what the are talking about so the message is credible.
They also use pathos by having these celebrities in the ads. These ads are made to make people think that ,just by drinking milk, they can do extraordinary things just like the people in the ads. This message is especially effective to the younger population, because they want to be like many of these celebrities.
The final rhetorical element being used is logos. This is used by the campaign putting facts about how healthy milk can be if drank right. They always tell how much is recommended and that it is good combined with exercise and so on.
Not only did this turn the milk market around, but it also changed the face of advertisement forever.
