Budweiser Rhetorical Argument

Communication is an essential and vital aspects of a person’s life, and something they will encounter on a regular basis. It comes in many different forms, and quite possibly the broadest and most powerful form is advertisements. Human beings are types of individuals that are hard to fully grasp their attention to make them focus on something, but advertisements have the extraordinary ability to do that. They are anywhere and everywhere; wither being shown on television, the internet, or being played on radio, they are impossible to escape. They are an extremely powerful marketing tool for brands and companies for a variety of things. From trying to sell a certain type of product, proving a point, or spreading awareness towards an issue, advertisements

have a special gift associated with them. They have the ability to convey messages and accomplish goals they set compared to other types of communication. Budweiser’s advertisement proved to be successful because of their message that trying to make a conscious effort to drink responsibility is important not only for yourself, but also for the people you love.
The advertisement opens with a man, who appears to be a young adult, bonding with his newly adopted Yellow Labrador puppy. As the advertisement transitions towards the middle, they are shown doing everything together; from playing together, sleeping together, and even taking road trips to the beach. Their relationship and bond becomes extremely strong as the puppy becomes an adult. As the advertisement draws to a close, the owner is seen leaving his house to spend his night drinking with a couple of friends. His dog is shown anxiously waiting back for his arrival, not sure if he is going to return home safety or not. But, much to the dog’s relief, his owner arrives home safely the next morning. He is safe because of his wise choice of drinking responsibly and spending the night at his friend’s house instead of driving home.
The message that Budweiser’s advertisement is trying to prove and achieve comes out very promotionally while someone is watching it. The topic of using alcohol irresponsibly is brought into focus, an issue that has become huge, and often times overlooked, within our society. Sadly, alcohol has been one of the top leading causes of death for young adults for quite some time now. This is because individuals tend to not stop and think about the choices they are making while under the influence. Budweiser wants to change that by persuading their viewers into making a conscious effort to be more responsible when they choose to drink. Instead of getting behind the wheel, opting to spending the night at a friend’s house or assigning a designated driver. By making this small adjustment in their plans, people can help break the stigma that young adults cannot make wise choices while out. Also, individuals are putting less lives at risk, including their own. Furthermore, Budweiser brings emphasize on the idea that the ultimate goal of wanting to drink responsibility is for the sake of their loved ones, and people they truly value the most. Even if someone doesn’t believe it, each and every single important person in their life is counting on them coming home safely, no matter how much or little they have dranken.
Out of three main types of arguments that are most commonly used within an advertisement, the use of pathos is the primary argument that Budweiser chose to use.

An emotional argument proved to be successful for the message and tone Budweiser was aiming to create for their ad. The viewers can see the development of the owners and dog’s relationship throughout the ad, and how it becomes extremely strong. It’s clear that the man loves and adores his dog, and his dog feels the exact same way. Their relationship development emphasizes the idea of his dog being one of the most important things in his life. So, when the owner goes off for an unknown amount of time, he had the power of not only putting his dog on edge, but also the viewers. The audience were unclear of what the outcome of the advertisement was going to be, and that is what managed to hook them in. We wanted to know if the owner was going to return home safely or not, and we were hoping as viewers that he would not let his loved one’s down because of irresponsible and disappointing choices. In addition, his dog symbolizes as any other type of loved one in a person’s life, wither it be parents or a significant other. Often times, they will worry significantly about the well-being of the individual they know that is out drinking. What makes this advertisement so emotional is the fact that drinking irresponsibility is a sensitive issue in itself. Alcohol has not only cut too many lives short, but it also has strained countless relationship between loved ones across the

nation.
Many times, when a business or company is planning on producing an advertisement, they will have a certain type of image they will want their viewers to associate themselves with. Budweiser happened to have a positive image they wanted to portray to their consumers when making this advertisement. The statement shown in the ad, “For some, the waiting never ended. But we can change that”, proves that Budweiser is not just a company that sells and produces alcohol. They are much more than that. They are a company that values many important things, such as family, safety, relationships, and love. They truly care about the well-being of their consumers, and they want want them to make wise choices when using their products, so they do not risk their lives or other people’s. In addition, they are a company that is fighting to solve the issue of drinking related deaths and accidents by persuading their viewers to think twice about any actions or choices they will make while they drink.
In closing, advertisements have become a powerful marketing tool within our nation that are used in a variety of elements. There are seen practically everywhere, and are shown to people of different values, backgrounds, and beliefs. Wither or not an advertisement is truly successful or not can be a difficult question to answer, depending on what the business or company is trying to sell or prove to their consumers. Budweiser’s advertisement focusing around the dangers of drinking carelessly proved to be successful in the opinion of a viewer’s perspective. With the use of a pathos argument and proper character development, this was a perfect example of a successful advertisement because their message of wanting to make it home safely for loved one’s is a powerful message that easily resonates in the hearts of viewers.