Sophia Pathways for College Credit – English Composition I TOUCHSTONE 3

This United States Navy recruitment advertisement features a young woman in a set of First Class Petty Officer Dress Blues, and it came out during World War I. The advertisement is attempting to persuade the men of the era to sign up with the Navy and aid in the war effort. The audience for this advertisement is clearly directed at American men of fighting age as women were not allowed to join the armed forces at the time. The war was in full swing and the Navy needed every man’s help. The Navy advertisement uses logo, ethos, and pathos strategies in hopes of persuading the audience into joining the United States Navy. If we look at this ad from both a modern and 20th century point of view we derive many meanings from it and determine if and how impactful it would have been for its time Sophia Pathways for College Credit – English Composition I TOUCHSTONE 3 The Navy advertisement is visually pleasing to the eye. The ad prominently displays a young woman in a Navy uniform. The ethos appeal of the advertisement’s presentation comes from its source of credibility, which in this case is the young patriotic women who wants to fight for her country. From the visual presentation, you can see her standing triumphantly as her uniform grease flap and neckerchief blow wildly in the wind. Nowadays, this ad seems incredibly sexist and out of place. For its time however, this would have been an incredibly effective ad. It insinuates that if this woman wants to join and you do not, she is more of a man then you. At first glance of the advertisement, your eyes are drawn straight to the word “GEE!!” the young woman exclaiming her displeasure with the fact she cannot sign up due to the gender restriction. As you move down the advert, you’ll notice slight emphasizing of the words “A MAN” and “I’d”. This meant to insult the man’s pride. The audience to this advertisement is young testosterone filled men with a desire to prove themselves. The narrative of the advertisement creates an emotion of “I am a man” in the young men who see it. To which the ad then has a call to action challenging the viewers self-proclaimed manliness by stating “BE A MAN AND DO IT”. The narrative of the advertisement creates an emotion of comparison between him and her, to not answer the call to action in the affirmative does not reinforce the young mans sense of being a man because he will now feel as if a woman is more heroic and manly than he. We may find this all a bit silly in the current year, however these emotions were very really for men in the past and even some relics of this thinking can be found today. By using a pathos appeal in the narrative, the audience is drawn in by different emotions.