There are a variety of techniques that commercial writers use to capture the audience’s attention. In the ASPCA animal cruelty commercial many visual motifs are used to lure viewers into donating to their organization. This particular commercial utilizes the effects of transitions and word choice to persuade the audience.  The ASPCA successfully uses pathos, logos and ethos to persuade the audience into donating money to their anti-animal cruelty campaign through the commercial’s transitions of depressed animals, speed of each video and difference in zoom.  

The transitions between the videos are important in compelling the audience to donate. All the transitions are dark, instilling within the viewer a sense hopelessness. Each video fades out and, with the influence of logos, a fact about animal cruelty appears. For example, in one scene of the commercial there is a video of a cat missing an eye and a fact appears stating “3,000 animals were rescued this year, but for hundreds of animals help came too late.” This quote specifically demonstrates the use of logos because it shows that due to the lack of funds the amount of help the ASPCA is able to offer is limited. This also opens the eyes of the audience to the severity of animal cruelty due to pathos.  The audience feels guilty the more they see the desperate animals and the depressing statistics and as a result donate.  In comparison, if the transitions were bright and upbeat the audience would feel like their donation wouldn’t account for enough and therefore they would skip the opportunity to donate.  As a result of the transitions, the organizations purpose strikes the audience closer to the heart because they feel compassion for the animals.   

Another important aspect of the transitions are their speed and editing.  In each scene the camera slowly zooms in on an animal and then fades into a statistic. The speed of each video is important in depicting the animals suffering.  For example, in one scene the camera shows a dog in slow motion attempting to walk but its back legs don’t work and he collapses.  The dog whimpers and falls as the screen turns black.  Here, pathos is demonstrated.  The commercial intentionally uses slow motion and zooms in to emphasize the animals pain which in return instills compassion and kindness within the audience.  Pathos is used to help persuade the audiences emotions into them donating to their organization in hopes of a more positive future for the animals that have been abused.  If the speed of this video was faster, the audience wouldn’t be watching the dog struggle for such a long period of time.  Therefore, the time the audience watches the animals in pain increases their likelihood to donate. As a result, the slow paced videos wear down at the audience’s emotion’s and are crucial to the success of the organization.  

Halfway through the commercial Sarah McLaughlin speaks about the result of donating to the ASPCA.  Sarah McLaughlin serves as credibility, or ethos, to the organizations purpose.  Since she is a supporter of the cause, people are more likely to donate.  Throughout the beginning of the commercial the audience only saw injured dogs and heard sad music, therefore, interpreting the commercial on their own.  Once Sarah McLaughlin speaks about the purpose of the organization and commercial, there is a sudden change in the tone of the commercial.  Now, the speed of the videos is fast paced and the images are bright.  This instills a sense of hope within the audience because they see the power of their donation on the helpless animals lives. Now, new visual element is also introduced.  The animals shown before Sarah spoke are shown again, but now in a brighter, more upbeat environment.  Now they are shown playing with one another and being kissed by volunteers as opposed to sitting in a cage.  This is important because after Sarah speaks of how the audience’s support can help, the effect of donating is presented to the audience.  Statistics are no longer used as a segway between videos.  Therefore, after Sarah discusses the effect of supporting the ASPCA’S organization the commercial becomes lively.  The purpose of this is to instill a sense of hope within the audience and acknowledge that with their help a future for these animals is possible.  

Another important aspect after Sarah McLaughlin speaks is the change in the commercials use of zoom.  Previously in the commercial, as mentioned earlier, the images were zoomed in on to emphasize the animal’s sufferings and pain.  Now, the images are no longer zoomed in.  While Sarah is narrating the commercial and speaking of the positive effects of donating, healthy and happy animals are shown, meanwhile the camera is still.  In other words, when the narration of the commercial has a positive outlook the images are still and when the narration has a negative outlook the images are zoomed in and dark.  The difference between a still and moving shot is important to the commercials tone.  The reason the director chose a moving shot, or video, rather than still images to portray the suffering of the animals is to allow the audience to connect with the animal’s pain.  Sometimes pictures can be misleading.  For example, an image of a dog does not tell as much as a video.  Now, the director chose to use images with a still shot that clearly depict a positive outlook for the animal.  The difference between the two shots is a comparison of before and after the audience donates.  As the commercial comes to a close the severity of the animal’s condition is no longer emphasized but instead their hopeful future is.  This instills a sense of responsibility within the audience because now they see the effect of supporting the ASPCA and feel the need to donate. Once again, the commercial utilizes pathos through the effect of keeping the camera still rather than zooming in in order to convince the audience of the ASPCA’s argument.  

The dark, slow and fading transitions contribute to the success of the ASPCA’S animal cruelty commercial.  The ASPCA chose to show the videos of the animals suffering at a slow place to wear down the audience’s emotion and donate to help reach a future of less pain.  The variety of visual motifs also lure the audience into donating to their organization, thus providing a safer future for the animals.  Without the variety of visual motifs displayed in the commercial the ASPCA would not have received as much support as it did.  The motifs influenced the reader’s emotions which as a result led them to donate.  After Sarah McLaughlin discuses donating the commercial become high energy, influencing the pathos of the audience which therefore influences their motivation to donate.  Once the narration speaks positively about the animals’ future the images are no longer slowly zoomed in on and the animals are portrayed in a happy healthy setting.   As a result, the importance between the different transition is crucial to the success of the ASPCA’s animal cruelty commercial.  