John Michael Bell, Spring 2010
A good commercial needs to hook its viewers, convince them to watch it, make them remember it, and persuade them into thinking that its product will be valuable in their lives. Google’s Super Bowl commercial, “Parisian Love”, did all of these things, and through unusual means. Typical Super Bowl commercials might utilize wacky comedy, elaborate setups and plots, and big budgets, going over-the-top in an attempt to be memorable. With “Parisian Love” Google went the minimalist route. It is a simple commercial that combines only a few elements to tell a sentimental, moving story while simultaneously promoting the high quality of Google as a search engine. Through ethos and pathos, and logos through the use of the motivated sequence, the commercial convinces viewers of Google’s effectiveness.
In order to win mass good will from the audience, the commercial needed to create an invented ethos. Crowley and Hawhee describe invented ethos as when “[a] rhetor… constructs a character for herself within her discourse” (Crowley and Hawhee 169). In this case, Google constructs an easily relatable persona for the audience: a student wishing to study abroad. “Parisian Love” opens with a shot of a computer screen with this unseen protagonist typing “study abroad paris france” (Google) into the google.com search engine. This shot immediately establishes a sense of good will with the audience, through invented ethos. As Crowley and Hawhee put it, “[i]t is often the case that the rhetor does not know the people to whom she will speak or write.” (Crowley & Hawhee 168). This commercial was broadcast during the Super Bowl, an event watched by upwards of 100 million people in the United States (Sandomir 1). Such a diverse audience made it impossible for Google to specify exactly who would see their commercial. However, through invented ethos the commercial was able to construct a character that the audience could relate to.
With its invented ethos established, the commercial quickly utilizes logos through the motivated sequence. The motivated sequence is a rhetorical strategy that involves building logos by engaging the audience through five steps: grabbing their attention, demonstrating need, satisfying the issue, having them visualize your product, and convincing them to action (McKerrow et al. 172). The commercial grabs the audience’s attention from the beginning through logos. It shows the student looking on Google for a café near the Louvre. The search implies that the student was successful in his search for study abroad programs in Paris. This search sets up a standard enthymematic logical pattern, which Crowley and Hawhee define as “Y is an example of X. Therefore, it follows that Z” (Crowley & Hawhee 142). In the commercial, a successful quick search on Google for study abroad programs (Y) is an example of Google’s overall effectiveness (X). Therefore, all Google searches should be effective (Z). Of course, this pattern is not particularly convincing on its own, and needs support to sway the audience. “Such an examination… shows that at least a few examples should be assembled in order to shore up both the major and the minor premise”, say Crowley and Hawhee (142). The commercial solves this problem simply by not changing its approach; each successful search leads to another search, which in turn implies success.
As the commercial’s implication of success grabs the viewer’s attention, it also continues on to the second step of the motivated sequence by demonstrating how Google can help them fill their needs. According to McKerrow, Gronbeck, Ehninger, and Monroe, the “need step” requires “a clear statement of the need” and “one or more illustrations or specific instances to give listeners an initial idea of the problem’s… significance” (172). “Parisian Love” shows its viewers’ needs and their significance through simple demonstration: it shows how effectively Google is at finding your specific needs. If a student interested in studying abroad can find a program and a Parisian café in a few clicks of a mouse, how might Google help the average person in their day to day life? This implication captures the viewer’s attention, and fulfills two primary goals of the need step: “make your subject clear and relate to your subject to the concerns and interests of your audience” (McKerrow et al. 173).
“Parisian Love” efficiently utilized its opening to quickly grab the audience’s attention, establish logos, and set up its pathos. Just twelve seconds into its 52-second run time, “Parisian Love” successfully commands the viewer’s attention through ethos and logos through the motivated sequence. The remainder of the commercial sees heavy use of pathos. The commercial’s use of pathos both completes the motivated sequence, all the while affirming its presently shaky logos. The plot advances as the protagonist’s searches reveal that he is pursuing the affections of a French girl, with searches such as “impress a French girl” and “chocolate shops in Paris” (Google). The commercial is now tapping into the audience’s emotions.
Effectively using pathos is not easy, but “Parisian Love” succeeds in establishing it by suddenly investing the audience with a plot. According to Crowley and Hawhee, “three criteria must be met if rhetors wish to understand how emotions are aroused or quelled. First, they must understand state of mind of people who are angry, joyful, or indignant; second they must know who can excite these emotions… third, they must understand the reasons for which people become emotional” (209). The first task is relatively easy to meet. The commercial aired during the Super Bowl, an event which is watched by millions as entertainment. It is not a stretch to imagine that such an event would be open to a commercial aiming for happy sentimentality. For the second task, the commercial succeeds by quickly establishing a sympathetic protagonist and setting him up with a potential love story. By understanding its audience and providing them with a plot they can care about, the commercial heightens its emotional connection with them.
As the commercial continues to its end, it maintains its use of pathos in conjunction with the motivated sequence. The ad’s love story continues to progress happily, as the protagonist’s searches change from cutesy trifles, such as “what are truffles” and “who is truffaut” (Google), to confirmations that he and his Parisian girlfriend are falling seriously in love, such as “long distance relationship advice” and “jobs in Paris” (Google). The ad concludes with a two search denouement: “churches in paris” and “how to assemble a crib”. Not only is this ending a brilliant play on the audience’s emotions, it also affirms the ad’s logos by completing the motivated sequence. The next step after need in the sequence is satisfaction. “Parisian Love” meets the criteria of an “entertaining speech”, under the terms laid down by McKerrow, Gronbeck, Ehninger and Monroe, by indicating its idea (the helpfulness of Google searches), following with a humorous elaboration that develops the theme by illustrating the product through “a light-hearted yet meaningful message to the audience” with the love story (McKerrow et al. 175).
The ending of “Parisian Love” completes a very successful exercise in rhetoric. They finally connect the illustrations to the point: that if Google can be of this much help to one person, it can be of help to you. The ad’s hopeful ending is an example of positive visualization, one that “describes the favorable conditions that will prevail if the audience accepts your beliefs or proposal” (McKerrow et al. 175). In this case, the commercial depicts both the practical value of Google (as useful search engine) while hinting that it can bring greater happiness. The successful visualization convinces the audience to action by giving “a sense of what [the audience] could do with the information… presented” (McKerrow et al. 186). “Parisian Love” is just such a persuasive argument.
“Parisian Love” struck a chord with Super Bowl audiences thanks to its rhetorical strategies. It used a heartwarming, romantic story to convey ethos, pathos, and logos. As a result, the commercial was both memorable and a convincing display of Google’s product. It entertained the audience while showing them ample evidence of Google’s superiority as a search engine. “Parisian Love” is a master class in the utilization of pathos, using it persuasively and in conjunction with ethos and the motivated sequence. It gave the audience what they wanted while they, in turn, gave Google the response it was hoping for.
Works Cited
“Parisian Love.” Video. Youtube. Web. 3 March 2010.
Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2004. Print.
McKerrow, Ray E. Principles and Types of Public Speaking. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2003. 169-87. Print.
Sandomir, Richard. “Super Bowl Dethrones ‘M*A*S*H’ as Most Watched Show in U.S. History.” The New York Times Online. The New York Times, 8 Feb. 2010. Web. 9 Mar. 2010.