Rhetorical Analysis Terrie Commercial

"CDC's Tips From Former Smokers"

In 2014 the Center for Disease Control (CDC) ran a commercial titled "Terrie's Ad: Teenage Regrets" and in it former smoker Terrie discusses how in high school she was a cheerleader, on the homecoming court and how it was then that she began smoking. Then the ad fast forwards and shows that she is dying from oral and throat cancer. The commercial begans by showing photos of the young healthy teenager with her speaking about what each photo is showing. It is obvious before you even see Terrie that she is sick and that something is going on with her voice. The video then switches to Terrie in a hospital bed speaking through her stoma which she has had since her Laryngectomy, which is the removal of part of her voice box. Terrie says that it "breaks her heart to see teenagers smoking now" and then the commercial flashes to a black screen

that reads "Cancer from smoking killed Terrie. She was 53." The final screen shows where you can go to get help from the CDC, and a man urges you to quit by telling you that you have the ability and where you can go for tips. This ad greatly apeals to a persons ways of thinkinig by implicitly using pathos, logos and ethos arguments to convince you not to smoke.
The first appeal that is seen in this commercial is pathos. A pathos apeal is an apeal to a persons emotions. By starting this commercial with photos of a young, happy and healthy Terrie, a person can quickly think of themselves and how they were or are in high school. When Terrie begans to speak it is easily noticed that she is speaking through a stoma, which quickly redirects your happy emotions to a more serious, attentive state of mind. For most, when the commercial flashes to Terrie speaking, and then to a screen that says she died a person would feel saddened for her and for the way she passes away. The CDC purposly uses pathos to put a person on an emotion roller coaster in order to make a person, truly see what smoking does to a person and to get you to want to quit smoking. Doing the commercial this way will make it easier for a person to remember the advertisement when they go to smoke and may cause a person to stop this bad habit. The use of all of these emotions accuratly portrays the message of how the CDC finds smoking to be a habit, that with work, can and should be quit.
The next apeal that is apparent in this commercial is the logos approach.

Logos is the apeal to a persons logical side. The CDC uses this apeal by showing you the healthy and then sick sides of Terrie. The pictures of the young Terrie paired with the description given in her now modulated voice can cause a person to assume logically that Terrie is doing the voice over. Also, by doing this a person can conclude based on what Terrie is saying that smoking caused all of the illness' and her eventual death. Before the end of the commercial Terrie speaks of how it "breaks her heart to see teenagers smoking now" which leads a person to beieve that Terrie regrets her decison to smoke. The CDC wants a person to really see and think about the effects of smoking. This is done in a way that is not just telling you, but implicity implying what is happening so a person will think about everything that was just shown to them and then make the decision to not smoke. The CDC also says they have tips to help a person to quit which implies it will not be easy, but it is worth it if you do not want to die this

way.
The final apeal used in this commercial to convince people not to smoke is the ethos apeal. This is the apeal to a persons ethical side or, according to google dictionary, "their moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior." During the commercial they rely heavily on the way a person reacts to the images and the messages portrayed. To some people they feel as if they are not to feel sorry for, or responsible, for any other persons decisons in life. This can cause a person to have an adverse reaction to the commercial. In order to avoid this, the commercial took the focus off of Terrie in the end and made it about the viewer. Ethically a person does what is right by them and, if living past 53, being able to live your life and being able to speak normally mean something to a person and how they live their life they at least think about quitting. That is all the commecial is asking is for you to try and quit, and that they would be there for you.
Overall the CDC's campaign to quit smoking with commercials portraying people who are suffering from smoking related illness' was very effective. Terrie's commercial accurtatly showed the struggles a smoker can eventually have by showing pictures of her healthy and then showing what it is like a few years down the road. In the end, when you learn that Terrie died, the point is driven home that smoking is bad and that it will kill you. The CDC used the approach of pathos, logos and ethos arguments to convince you not to smoke. Pathos, or the appeal to a persons emotions, was the main apeal used in this comercial. They did this by sending the viewer on emotional roller coaster ride by telling them Terrie's story. This in turn made a lasting impression on most who have seen this comercial. The logos apeal, or the apeal to a persons logic, was used next. The CDC used this apeal by making it clear as day that Terrie- being sick and ultimatly dying- was because she smoked. The last apeal the CDC used was the ethos apeal, which played on a persons ethical views. A persons main priority is almost always themselves and by showing that this can happen to you a person would have to take a step back and see which was more important to them- smoking or living? The Center for Disease Control chose not to sugar coat what ciggaretes can do to a person, and in turn greatly got the point across that smoking is bad and that you can quit.