In this PETA ad featuring Paul McCartney, the popular singer-songwriter proudly brandishes a T-shirt with a cartoon representation of a turkey, with the words "EAT NO" on the front, with a slogan that says "Say 'No, Thanks' to Turkey". The purpose of the image is to encourage people, during the Thanksgiving season, to not eat a turkey, as that would involve the killing of said turkey - something vehemently opposed by the organization. I found the ad on the PETA website, and it was released in October-November of this year.
The author achieves the purpose of convincing people to not eat turkey in a number of ways. First, through using such a well-renowned musical artist, the audience recognizes the ad and is more willing to accept the message given in the ad. With the use of a T-shirt, and seeing a smile on Paul McCartney's face, the message itself is presented in a gentle, informal way - this avoids the message seeming like a lecture, and instead being more of a suggestion or call to action to join "the cool kids" who are wearing t-shirts and not eating turkeys. Ethos is achieved through the use of an informal Paul McCartney, pathos appeals to emotion through the image of the turkey on the shirt, and ethos is achieved through the slogan of 'EAT NO' above the turkey, as if the turkey is asking you to not eat him.
The image, overall, is successful due to its informal presentation, and the use of celebrity endorsements to achieve credibility with its audience. The look on Paul McCartney's face is likely the most striking part of the image; it is recognizable, he looks happy, and the presentation combines that emotion with the message to imply that the audience will be happy if it does not eat turkey this Thanksgiving.
Works Cited
Paul McCartney PETA Ad. 2012.
