The YMCA has been around for many years to help youth and adults better themselves through physical activity and social interaction with other families and new people they might meet while at the local YMCA. In the course of the DFW YMCA's recent commercial, they attempt to persuade the audience to get out and achieve their goals of a healthier life and closer family ties by being a member of the YMCA. During the commercial, the YMCA persuades the audience by stating their credibility and well-known name as a good place for families to improve themselves, by trying to appeal to our emotions, and by using a few simple statistics giving their rates and percentages of people who become healthier through working out. Aristotle termed these types of persuasions; ethos, pathos, and logos.
Aristotle defined Ethos as the degree of confidence that the presenter's character could inspire in the audience. In other words, by establishing credibility through authorities about the issue they are presenting. Clearly, the YMCA is a very well known name in the family fitness world, so they use their name quite often during their commercial as to establish their credibility as a high-quality place to advance family and physical conditions. They state that, "we at the YMCA make your life much easier by improving your health and family ties." By using their name, they create a sense of security about their centers because the YMCA is so well known for their good intentions of helping youth and families. YMCA is also known for their commitment to help less fortunate kids achieve their dreams and stay out of trouble. I believe that this is the commercial's best appeal and is most effective because the ethos is very strong and most any audience will trust in the character and intentions of the YMCA. They do prove credible and are very much an authority on the issue of families and children's well-being.
