Victoria’s Secret Commercial Rhetorical Analysis
Ana Karina Saenz
University of Texas at El Paso
English 1311
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Victoria’s Secret Commercial Rhetorical Analysis
Victoria’s secret is a massive merchandiser store of underwear, lingerie and beauty products. Through
the years its popularity has increased in a significant level and along with this their marketing methods.
The examination of the rhetoric approach used in the ad presented on summer 2013 will be analyzed. A
link to the video can be found on page number five.
Audience/Assumptions
The audiences of the commercial are both men and women. Teens are also a highly strived audience
because they constitute a great percentage of possible consumers. The commercial is focused from a
male’s point of view; this is inferred from all the provocative poses models do at all time. The
assumptions are women wear underwear, like to look attractive, feel pretty and sexy, take beauty as a
high valuable standard in their life, have enough money to buy the product and men like shapely women
with great bodies, enjoy watching women in their underwear, would like their partners to use a sexy
underwear.
Purpose
This ad has the firm objective of making the audience recall Victoria’s Secret as a place where finding the
perfect underwear can be achieved and where needs can be satisfied. Keeping an idea in the viewer’s
mind of what are the standards to be considered pretty and how reaching this can be possible by the
use of bras and panties the firm offers. Setting rules to what can be projected and seen as sexy for
women. Making the audience relate to the models and evoke a desire for identification in order to
achieve perfectness and appear lovely to men.
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Ethos
Ethos is the way the author creates credibility, points that prove that what is presented is something
worth seeing and listening to the viewer since it comes from a good quality source. It is author’s image
to the public.
Victoria’s Secret is a very well-known brand that has a good reputation because of their beautiful
designs and quality of the products for many years. The brands name is shown at the beginning and the
end, this leads to ethos since they are already worldly recognized they create credibility.
They use good-looking models that are identifiable for the public and already famous which takes the
viewer to ethos because if very sexy girls wear this underwear it is credible it is an enjoyable product.
The models look at all the times upbeat and always with a seductive attitude so the viewer conceives
ethos that with this product they will also be able to feel secure about themselves.
It presents fancy cars which make the product look with a better aspect and more ethos. Because it can
be concluded that if they used a great deal of money for the ad in order to make viewers entertained
they want the audience’s satisfaction therefore a satisfaction when buying the product.
Logos
Logos is how logic is used to make use of reasoning and then convincing the audience with facts,
statistics, logical assumptions, etc.
The commercial displays several distinct ladies with different skin color and hair style, however the body
type is much the same, this makes the audience do the logos assumption that Victoria’s Secret
underclothing is suitable for every woman out there as long as they are skinny.
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The models are wearing Victoria’s Secret underwear which applies to logos in the sense that if you are a
woman you will need to use a bra and panties.
This ad displays very few text and lots of images, this visual designs influence the audience in a great
way, the makers of the advertisement use logos by approaching the viewers by pictures that in fact will
be more remembered than text.
Pathos
Pathos appeals to emotions, how the author by making an audience feel a certain way can affect how
they think and what they believe about something.
This commercial has a great emotional appeal. First, the music is slow and electrifying with a flirtatious
girl’s voice which sets pathos in an inviting mood and deepens the viewer into a sensuous atmosphere.
Second, the models are in their underwear and they all look beautiful, confident and delightful. It
presents flawless women and this applies to pathos because it produces the idea of, “If I want to look
good I need to buy this product and look like this models” for women and, “this is sexy, and this is what I
want my girlfriend to be like “for men. In order to achieve this emotional need men and women buy the
product. Women want to feel sexy like the models so this appeals to pathos because it evokes on them
an emotion and the idea that they will not be attractive to men if they are not actually flawless.
Models present an ideal appearance so when women take a look at the ad they can imagine their faces
on the model’s body in order to materialize their dream of looking similar to them. Pathos takes place
because feelings of either uncertainty or desire take place.
Third, new luxury cars can be seen aside the models which is relating to making the viewers perceive the
body as an object of perfection just like an automobile that therefore should be defect less to be fancy
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and comfortable in your own skin. It applies to pathos because many people like cars and they feel
excited when watching them.
Finally, the images of the sexy models produce emotion to the viewers and attract them to the wanting
to look and sense they can be like the models.
In conclusion the commercial reaches the goal of touching the audience and keeping an idea in your
mind which leads to a good use of pathos and also creates credibility so ethos is definitely a powerful
point in their favor. There is a major weakness in logos since the logic of the ad is not present through
the video. However with the use of these rhetorical strategies the makers of this commercial do sell
their product, achieve being greatly liked and position Victoria’s secret as an important brand in fashion
trends.
Link to Victoria’s Secret Commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-GU_3MKJ60
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References:
TheMassiveTruth1 (2013 April 13) Victoria's Secret Extended Very Sexy Commercial (Summer
2013).Retrieved October 3,2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-GU_3MKJ60
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