Check Out These Hamsters.

     When viewing this commercial, I am automatically inclined to laugh. Come one, the hamster in the middle even has a shirt that says "Hamstar". The music playing is mainstream and plays on the radio, so well-known to an extent, but also is upbeat dance music to make a viewer feel good even if they don't know the song. The hamsters not only make you laugh, but are also introduced almost as saviors. The ad begins with a gloom and doom appearance through mechanical figures in mid warfare and an overall gray color scheme. Then, all of the sudden the car being advertised, the Kia Soul, comes cruising in with it's vibrant lime green exterior and out steps three hamsters in comparable brightly colored clothing. The combination of these factors display the rhetorical strategies pathos, ethos, logos, and kairos.
     Pathos is revealed through multiple occasions, one example being the humor of dancing hamsters. As a result of laughing at the hamsters, most viewers are likely to have warmed up to the idea of having this car. Who doesn't want to be like those hamsters? The video game like appearance of the machines in battle also contribute to pathos by resembling popular games, like halo or gears of war, that people can recognize and feel comfortable with. Ethos, on the other hand, is exhibited mainly through the Kia symbol that appears in the conclusion of the ad, altering the humorous tone to a more serious defined undertone- you could actually have this car, this isn't just a funny video. Also, the way the hamsters arrive like saviors appeals to both pathos and ethos through being a feeling someone could relate to, like someone feeling like they need someone or something to come help them, and establishing a sense of authority over the situation. It sends the message: if you own this car, you can roll up anywhere and have the utmost authority and attention.
     Logos as a rhetorical strategy is more subtle than pathos and ethos, but still present. Throughout the commercial a fun and enjoyable time is displayed and at the end a line comes across the screen "Starting under $14k", implying 'you can have this much fun for only this much money'. This line would not always be effective in that manner, which is where kairos comes in. This ad contains recent popular music and fashion that adds to it's overall acceptance from the public. Years from now, that acceptance would be very different once that song has become old and the clothes are not in style. Also, the video game appearance of the machines fighting might not be as popular in a different time period as it is now either.
     This advertisement contains strong rhetorical strategies throughout and is in a constant state of persuasion towards the viewer. With that being said- it is still hilarious.