ANALYZING PERSUASIVE APPEALS IN ADVERTISEMENTS: 2005

Christopher Shirley 

Ad Analysis for Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson 

            I found this ad while flipping through the pages of The New Yorker, a smart magazine dedicated to readers who often consider themselves part of an elite intellectual upper-class.  This ad is for a movie sponsored by PBS, whose slogan is "Be More" followed by their multi-headed logo, followed by "PBS."  It follows that readers of an "intellectual" magazine would wish to make more of themselves, and the PBS logo and slogan utilize the logical (though ethos could be considered applicable because of the image the reader might form of themselves after viewing this movie or reading The New Yorker) appeal by suggesting that the reader can achieve this goal by watching Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.  This conclusion, however, was not my initial response to the ad.

            My first observation was that the main image, assumed to be Jack Johnson, is a black male striking a Christ-like, crucifixion pose.  I was immediately intrigued by this direct parallel between who we assume to be the main character and Jesus Christ.  Further inspection led me to the text immediately above the image: "They couldn't knock him out, so they tried to tear him down."  The implied text is that "they" were unable to "knock him out" in a physical manner, so they (who are they?) "tried to tear him down" in a verbal manner.  This seems to be an inverted parallel to Christ, in that, according to Christian mythology, "they" (the Romans) were unable to "tear him down" verbally, so they "knocked him out" physically. This inverted parallel is further supported by Johnson's pose: he is standing with his back to the viewer and is black.  In crucifixion scenes, Jesus is hanging, not standing, he is facing the viewer, not away from the viewer, and he is usually portrayed as white, not black. By using conventional Christian imagery, this ad conveys a sense or morality, thus utilizing ethos in the image of Johnson and pathos in the emotional response to Christ that many Americans might have.   Also, by reversing many of the Christian conventions, we are led to believe that perhaps Johnson's story will end differently: not in crucifixion but in victory. This is further supported by the use of the word "tried" in the text, as "tried" implies failure.

            Johnson can also be looked at as a Christ-like figure because of the coloring of the ad. The photo of Johnson is black and white, with a sepia tone. This, combined with the fiery yellow and orange underneath, gives him a golden look, which leads the viewer to think of a golden idol; again the ad uses ethos to create a specific and carefully tailored image. The fire imagery is continued in the text underneath, with one row being the same color yellow and another row being the same color orange. There is also a blackness encroaching from the edges, giving the reader a sense of the hero, who is bathed in golden light, being surrounded by blackness, which has evil connotations.   Black has connotations of evil, bad, empty, corrupt, and a general lack of light. This notion of blackness encroaching continues to the image of Johnson himself, who is actually not black in the photo but a sort of sepia-brown. By marginalizing the color black, and removing the dark tone from Johnson's skin, this ad removes Johnson from the minority of "black," thus making him more accessible to the viewer.

            The ad further recontextualizes Johnson's blackness with the text above the image. Pervasive use of "they" divides the world into two groups: us and them. "They" obviously refers to the antagonists, placing the reader into the same group as Johnson. Therefore, whether or not the viewer is black, he or she can become part of the same group as Jack Johnson in that the viewer is an "us," not a "they."   This is a logical and pathetic appeal for the reason that it is logical that us and them would be at odds, since "they" attacked this Christ-like figure (logos), and we should be upset enough to watch the film (pathos). This also works in favor of the ad in that it draws the reader into the film, giving viewers an active role. Finally, the use of "they" gives an out to anyone who would wish to see the movie, but might pass because of any introspection they wished to avoid about racism.  Setting up an "us versus them" mentality means that the viewer is automatically in with the "us" group, and therefore not a "them," protecting viewers from any reflection on their own racism.  No one wants to feel racist.

            Another aspect of the ad is the overwhelming ethical appeal.  This ad alludes to a strong "Good vs Evil" mentality, outlining clearly who is good and who is evil (Johnson good, "they" evil). The grandiose language used, such as "unforgivable" and "rise and fall," emotionally invests the viewer in the outcome: surely good will triumph over evil in this seemingly epic film. Again, this implication ties to Christian imagery; Christianity is a religion intimately concerned with notions of good and evil.

            As a brief side note on the text, the writers employ strong alliteration with repeated hard consonant sounds in the text above the image, particularly "k" sounds, such as "couldn't knock," and "t" sounds, such as "tried to tear." Also, the text below the image forms a rectangular platform, perhaps suggesting a pedestal on which Johnson stands. Finally, at the bottom of the ad there is a web site. This is important because it is a nod on the part of PBS to the ubiquitous nature of the internet in our time.

English 5730 is taught by Dr. Richard Nordquist.
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Savannah, Georgia 31419
912/921 5991
    

                                       

17 February 2005