Rhetoric Advertising for IKEA
From the first catalogue created in 1951 Ikea has continued to use different devices to convey their products to their audience. Ikea’s concept is the ‘combination of function, quality, design, value and sustainability of their products to help people live a better life at home’ (Ikea, 2015.) Targeting at parents for their children the design and function of Ikea’s products are the key unique selling points which the print advertisement will be based upon.
The print ad will feature a room spilt into 2 sections to make one whole bedroom – one half a shows a young girl playing in her pink, princess themed room and the other a young boy’s pirate room with him bouncing on his themed bed. There will be two pieces of text on the advert in Ikea’s colours of yellow and blue, along with the logo in the bottom right corner. Top left corner text will read: ‘Remember yours…?’ Text in bottom right corner will read: ‘IKEA. Build their kingdom!’
This advert uses different rhetorical devices to attract customers’ attention. Pathos is firstly used to reach the readers’ emotions (O’Shaughnessy & O’Shaughnessy 2004, P: 46). The adverts aims to take its readers back to their childhood and reminisce on playing in their bedrooms and how exciting it was. The intention of this is to simulate the emotions of happiness and creative freedom which through conditioning will be associated to Ikea and its products. Pathos is also used as the emotional appeal of this advert also addresses the reader’s creativity and independence, it gives them the self-expression and the ability to differ themselves from others (Effinger, No date).
The rhetorical question in this advert, ‘’remember yours…?’’ also reinstates the concept of the parent looking back on their childhood. The question does not require an answer, merely a thought. The use of an ellipsis that follows the questions is intended to create a pause. A moment where the reader stops, thinks and considers what is they are being asked.
Ethos is used in this advert when the reader relates to either when they were a child or their children. The well-dressed, seemingly carefree children in the advert increase the readers’ desire for their children to have exciting experiences like this (Connors, 1979).
‘Build their kingdom’ is a metaphor used to describe the children’s bedrooms. According to Ágnes (2009) the metaphor is used to manipulate a person’s thinking of two dissimilar terms, increasing the emotional effect the advert can have. The term kingdom refers to ‘a country, state or territory ruled by a king or queen’ (oxford). This deliberate exaggeration, hyperbole, was used to suggest superiority and reiterate the importance of the parents’ child. According to Wang (2009) a child’s imagination plays a key role in their understanding of reality. This print advert uses hyperbole as a technique to indicate how the children can be imaginative if they have this product.
References
Ágnes, Abuczki. (2009). The Use of Metaphors in Advertising. http://epa.oszk.hu/00700/00791/00005/pdf/abuczkia.pdf. 5 (18-24), 18-23.
Connors, R.J. (1979). The Differences between Speech and Writing: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. College Composition and Communication. 30 (3), 285-290. Available from: JSTOR. Last accessed 18/03/15.
Effinger, Sandra . (no date). Rhetoric for Beginners: Using Advertisements to Introduce Rhetoric . Available: https://blackboard.worc.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-500424-dt-content-rid-620944_1/courses/BUSM2619_AS.14-15/Rhetoric%20for%20beginners.pdf. Last accessed 18/03/15.
Ikea. (2015). The Ikea concept: the Idea. Available: http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/this-is-ikea/the-ikea-concept/. Last accessed 18/03/2015.
O’Shaughnessy, Nicholas J. & O’Shaughnessy, John. (2004). Persuasion in Advertising. London. Taylor & Francis. Available from MyiLibrary. Last accessed 18/03/2015.
Wang, Shirley, S. (2009). The Power of Magical Thinking. Available: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703344704574610002061841322. Last accessed 18/03/2015.
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