Do you want to arouse the emotions of your viewers? Whether you’re shooting a commercial, planning a pitch, or training your sales team, you need to know how to connect where it counts. Let the audience feel it. Okay, sounds good, but how?
In the fourth century B.C., the ancient Greek philosopher posited three types of belief that are still valid today. Aristotle’s “rhetorical triangle”—ethos, pathos, and logos—continues to drive the best advertising. So, what are pathos and its examples?
What Is Pathos?
Pathos is an appeal to an audience’s emotions to evoke feelings. Pathos is one of the three main forms of belief, along with logos and ethos. Pathos is also a central part of literature which, like most other art forms, aims to evoke emotion in the reader.
The word pathos derives from the Greek word páthos, which means “experience”, “suffering” or “emotion”. The Greek philosopher Aristotle introduced the concept of pathos in his work Rhetoric, where he also presented the three other types of persuasion: ethos, logos, and kairos.
While appealing to an audience’s emotions can be a powerful technique in persuasive writing, there are inherent risks in solely using this method: you could end up making a weak argument that has neither logic (logos) nor credibility (ethos) to support it.
Additionally, using kairos, which is all about getting the timing and tone of your words right, can help increase the effectiveness of pathos in a message.
For example, let’s say you recently moved to a new neighborhood where you don’t know anyone. You may receive a mailer from a local neighborhood group that says, “Welcome to the block! Stop by the community center to meet your new neighbors!” Accompanying the message is an image of people talking and doing activities together.
In this example, the neighborhood group timed their message (Kairos) to correspond to your move to a new area. It appeals to your possible feelings of isolation or loneliness (pathos) after taking that big step, while the image evokes the pleasant feelings one feels when dealing with others (also pathos).
How Is Pathos Affected by Ethos and Logos?
When using pathos as a persuasive tool, it is important to balance it with the use of ethos or logos. Arguing based on emotions alone can lead to flawed arguments, also known as logical fallacies. Often authors can invoke emotion when the logic of their argument is flawed, or they lack credibility or knowledge of the topic they are addressing.
Ethos: An ethical appeal is intended to emphasize the author’s knowledge and credibility on a particular subject. Ethos inspires confidence in the audience by emphasizing the author’s background and experience, as well as his strong moral character.
Logos: A logical appeal methodically and rationally justifies an argument. Of the three primary rhetorical techniques, a logical argument is least dependent on who is the author making the argument or how the argument is presented.
Examples of pathos
You can see examples of pathos in advertising that aligns with your audience’s emotions:
1. Thank You, Mom – P&G
P&G partnered with Wieden+Kennedy to produce the Olympic ad series, Thank You, Mom. And the campaign pays tribute to mothers around the world. It draws on feelings of love and happiness to showcase the dynamics of the parent-child relationship.
2. Wiener Stampede – Heinz
The Wiener Stampede ad by David ad agency for Heinz premiered during Super Bowl 50. It was quite a sight to see dachshunds dressed as hot dogs running toward their owners, who were dressed as Heinz ketchup bottles. It was wild and heartwarming at the same time!
Including adorable pets in advertisements always brings out those warm and fuzzy feelings of happiness and joy. That’s why Wiener Stampede topped the charts when it came to making people want to buy Heinz products.
3. Friends Furever – Android
Droga5 made Friends Furever for Android.
You won’t believe how amazing it is when total strangers become friends, especially when those friends have fur! It’s the kind of thing that can make your heart feel all warm and fuzzy.
Android hit it out of the park with this ad that showed animals forming unlikely friendships. And guess what? It became the most-watched ads ever when it came out.
Examples of Pathos in Tragedies
Greek tragedies were masters at evoking emotions from their audience, and this technique continued in the works of later playwrights and writers like Shakespeare and Arthur Miller. They are cleverly built-up anticipation for a positive outcome for a beloved character, only to shatter those hopes with ironic twists. The result? Both the character and the audience experienced a tragic ending, as these tragedies were designed to bring out deep sadness in their viewers.
Here are some examples of pathos in literary tragedies:
- Romeo and Juliet: Shakespeare skillfully contrasts the intense love between Romeo and Juliet with the feuding of their families. Initially, it seems like they might have a happy ending. However, through timing and circumstance, each character ends up taking their own life, leaving the surviving characters and the audience consumed by remorse and regret.
- Of Mice and Men: John Steinbeck establishes Lennie’s pure innocence and childlike demeanor, as well as the strong bond between Lennie and George. Ultimately, it is Lennie’s inherent goodness that becomes the tragic weapon leading to his demise.
- Death of a Salesman: Arthur Miller taps into the audience’s feelings of regret and missed opportunities in their own lives. He offers a glimmer of hope for Willy Loman, only to end the play with Loman’s suicide, leaving the audience with a profound sense of despair.
- The Great Gatsby: F. Scott Fitzgerald criticizes the excessive nature of the 1920s by portraying Jay Gatsby as fabulously wealthy but deeply lonely. After being abandoned by his first love, Gatsby meets a tragic end, murdered in his opulent pool, highlighting the emptiness of his material success.
Examples of Pathos in Comedies
Examples of pathos in comedies includes:
- Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen’s story revolves around Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, who are too proud and prejudiced to be together. Their constant attraction to each other builds anticipation and keeps readers hoping for their eventual union.
- Catch 22 – Joseph Heller uses verbal irony and humorous characterization to tackle serious topics like war and death. By making these subjects seem funny, Salinger creates a political satire that prompts both laughter and thought.
- Much Ado About Nothing – Shakespeare employs wordplay and plot devices to establish the strong connection between Benedick and Beatrice. The audience feels satisfaction when the two characters, who are evenly matched in wit, finally end up together.
- The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde’s witty characters and their misadventures are both endearing and humorous. The audience becomes fond of them, and the relief and satisfaction they experience when Ernest turns out to be truly earnest throughout the play adds to the comedic effect.
Pathos Examples in Rhetoric
Pathos can be found in our daily lives through persuasive communication. Whether it’s our loved ones, acquaintances, or advertisers, they often try to appeal to our emotions to convince us of something. Formal arguments and famous speeches also utilize pathos to sway opinions.
When someone tries to make you feel guilty or empathetic to prompt action, they employ pathos as a rhetorical tool. They might also use pathos to describe the joy they would experience if you helped them or the difficulties they would face if you didn’t.
Pathos examples in everyday life include:
- A teenager tries to convince his parents to buy him a new car by saying if they cared about their child’s safety, they’d upgrade him.
- A man at the car dealership implores the salesman to offer the best price on a new car because he needs to support his young family.
- A boyfriend begs his girlfriend to stay with him, claiming “If you really love me, you’ll give me time to change my ways.”
- A car commercial features a teary-eyed parent saying goodbye to their child as they head off to college, sad but sure they are sending their child away in a reliable, safe car.
- Charities show pictures of starving orphans living in appalling conditions who need your help with monthly financial support.
Examples of Pathos in Rhetorical Speeches
If a political speech has ever made you feel inspired, angry, or upset, it has been used correctly. Politicians and activists rely on appealing to the emotions of their audiences to make them feel a certain way and persuade them to do something.
Examples of pathos in rhetorical speeches include:
- Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech compared the “vicious racists” of Alabama with the vision of “little black boys and black girls” joining hands with “little white boys and white girls.”
- Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address evoked mourning for the soldiers lost in the Civil War, as he dedicated the ground as “a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.”
- Winston Churchill’s “Their Finest Hour” speech emphasized that the Battle of Britain would determine “the survival of Christian civilization” and described a nightmare world sinking “into the abyss of a new Dark Age” without a victory in World War II.
- Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech rallied American Revolutionaries by declaring that negotiations were over (“there is no longer any room for hope”) and appealing to their fighting spirit with his immortal cry of “give me liberty or give me death!”
Examples of Pathos in Music
There is a form of expression that can make you dance until your feet hurt or your eyes cry. Music can touch our lives through the careful connection between lyrics and instruments.
Look at a few popular examples:
- “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood is a total tearjerker that fills you up with pride for our country. It’s all about the sacrifices made by American heroes: “And I won’t forget the men who died who gave that right to me…”
- “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Prince and Sinead O’Connor captures that heart-wrenching feeling of missing an ex. If you’ve ever gone through a breakup, you’ll totally relate to lines like “It’s been so lonely without you here, like a bird without a song…”
- Adele’s “Someone Like You” is a powerhouse song that tackles the deep sadness and despair that can come with a breakup. “I remember you said ‘Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead…'”—it hits you right in the gut.
- Pharrell Williams’ “Happy.” With its infectious beat and lines like “Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth,” it’s an instant happiness generator. Dance your heart out if you want to feel good!
Strengths Of Pathos
- Memorability: Appeals to emotions tend to stick. Although you are unlikely to perfectly remember the speaker’s logical reasoning or references, you will likely recall how the speech made you feel.
- Decision Making: Appeals to pathos typically have a greater impact on audience actions than appeals to ethos or logos.
- Subjective issues: Like ethos, pathos is a particularly effective persuasion technique in matters that are not based on objective criteria. In such a case, logical arguments alone are not enough. For example, the speaker will use more pathos when discussing a work of art than when debating the merits of mathematical proofs.
Weaknesses Of Pathos
- Manipulation: The use of pathos can be morally questionable as it can take advantage of people’s emotional vulnerabilities.
- Insincerity: It is easy for the audience to perceive the speaker’s appeals for pathos as insincere. Some people view all appeals to emotion as attempts to obscure or modify the truth, so the speaker must know his audience before resorting to pathos.