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Abeni Matthews
Prof John Lynxwiler
SYP3630
17 Feb 2016
Assignment #2
The advertisement that I have chosen to review is one that many people would consider
quite thought provoking and intense in its meaning. The advertisement is one of a two-part print
ad from SANCCOB, or Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, a
non-profit organization that aims to protect threatened seabirds (100 brilliant print adverts,
2016), created in conjunction with South African advertising agency Bittersuite. The primary
message behind this print ad is to, in a way, illustrate and bring awareness to the African
penguins current conservation status. While the ideas of this ad highly are easily relatable to all
of the selected readings, I will focus on incorporating Robert Roots analysis of advertising as a
form of rhetoric using the three appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos.
One of the first elements of discourse that Root discusses is the communication triangle
that is commonly used throughout all forms of discourse, especially in most forms of popular
culture. The general model is fairly simple to understand. Root states that basic to all uses of
language are a person who encodes a message, the signal (language) which carries the message,
the reality to which the message refers, and the decoder (receiver of the message) (1987, p. 16).
In the case of advertising, it consists of the interaction of advertiser (entrepreneur/salesman) and
customer/client concerning a product or service through the means of advertising (commercial,
print ad) (Root, 1987, p. 16). For this particular print ad, the advertiser is Bittersuite, the
consumer is the general public and especially those who care about animal welfare, and the

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service is SANCCOB, more specifically their Adopt-A-Penguin program where potential
customers can adopt their very own penguin for a price of 500 rand (South African currency) that
goes towards not only rehabilitating the penguin, but to the overall ongoing conservational
efforts of the organization to save the penguins and keep the company running. Sadly, as an
adopter you do not get to actually keep the penguin but you can rest assured that your bird was
released back into the wild (SANCCOB). Concerning aim and mode, it is obvious that the aim
of the ad is to persuade the audience(s) and the mode is print that is seen in a magazine, a poster,
or a billboard.
Everyone knows about the three rhetorical appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. There is no
escaping them because they are seen and found everywhere in just about anything of any
medium that you can imagine. To begin with, there is ethos. According to Root, Aristotle says
that the character of the speaker is a cause for persuasion when the speech is so uttered as to
make him worthy of belief (1987, p. 16). In other words, ethos simply means the credibility of
the speaker or encoder. This is easily established with SANCCOB, the authority of the
conservation of South African coastal birds, especially the African penguins. Their primary focus
is mainly that; and in this advertisement the audience can point out that the organization not only
knows what they are talking about, but are qualified to be a credible source on the issue. Root
also states that beyond the view of the speaker as simply a persuader, we can see that in any
discourse the personality of the speaker may have a greater effect on his audience than other
factors (1987, p. 16). It can be said that the overall personality of the organization is grave yet
compassionate; by this advertisement alone they want the audience to realize whats going on
around them, yet they also show that they are a company that is dedicated to their cause and their
efforts. This further helps SANCCOB to establish credibility with their audience.

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The next rhetorical appeal of the three is that of pathos. According to Root, Observes
Aristotle, we give very different decisions under the sway of pain or joy, and liking or hatred
(1987, p. 17). Put quite simply, this appeal appeals to the emotions of the audience(s). The ad
appeals to the audiences emotions with ease, because nothing tugs at the average persons
heartstrings like animals; especially when their lives are at stake. This sole fact is the reason that
this ad campaign is successful, not to mention that the visual aspect of the ad plays a major part
in the pathos as well. This particular advertisement features an optical illusion where positive and
negative space is incorporated. It should also be noted that Dutch artist M.C. Escher, who
integrated many optical illusions in his works, inspired the design of this ad. The positive space
at the top features a pattern of penguins facing each other in pairs. As your eyes progress
downwards, the penguins begin to turn around and the negative space starts to form; revealing
penguins facing downwards. The further down you go, the more the negative space begins to
manifest itself into penguins falling into what seems like an abyss. Paired with the headline See
the reality before its too late, this ad really gets into the audiences emotions and can affect
them very deeply. In my opinion, I feel like this ad could convey the same message and evoke
the same level of emotion even without the headline and copy.
The final rhetorical appeal that will be explored within the discourse of this
advertisement is logos. Logos, according to Root, is logical proof, or argument, the kind of
proof that appeals to reason (1987, p. 18). This appeal involves data, statistics, and similar
research to back up the speakers argument and is especially useful in advertising; as much as
pathos and ethos. While this ad does not outwardly display any statistics even in the copy of the
ad, it can be implied by the visual alone that the African penguin population is decreasing at a
fairly disturbing rate. Using this datum, SANCCOB succeeds in getting the audience to think

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about the conservation status of African penguins and informing them to take action before it is
too late.
Another thing to consider when looking at this ad is the use of indirect address. Root
writes that with indirect address, the communication of the message is often embodied in the
visual details and conveyed by juxtaposition, relation, and attitude, rather than by direct
statement (1987, p. 50). This is evident in print advertising, where the communication of the
central message lies in the visuals of the image itself; it is almost intuitive.
Keeping all of these things in mind, print advertisements can speak volumes. With even
very little wording or very little imagery, and also with use of the three rhetorical appeals, it can
be powerful enough to convey the message to the audience. The SANCCOB ad campaign was
just one of many prime examples of how print ads could prove very effective in communicating
the messages across to their audience.

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References
100 brilliant print adverts. (2016, January 26). Retrieved February 16, 2016, from
http://www.creativebloq.com/inspiration/print-ads-1233780
Root, R. L. (1987). The rhetorics of popular culture: Advertising, advocacy, and entertainment.
New York: Greenwood Press.
Southern African Foundation For the Conservation of Coastal Birds. About Adopting a Penguin
(FAQs). (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2016, from
http://www.sanccob.co.za/component/content/article/28-how-penguin-adoptionswork/225-about-adopting-a-penguin-faqs