     In industrialized nations, most of us enjoy a seemingly endless supply of clean drinking water. With this water, we brush our teeth, take showers, was our clothes, clean dishes, and perform many other basic tasks. It seems like second-nature to us that clean water is readily available to the vast majority of our population. We even use our water recreationally. That's right, thanks to our extended supply of the resource, we can keep the grass green on our home's front yards and our athletic fields of play. If that's not enough, we can use water for recreation. For example, our water parks are filled with slides and other attractions.

In a recent Super Bowl advertisement by the personal hygiene company Colgate, advertisers expose our inappropriate overuse of the valuable resource, a basic necessity that citizens of second and third world countries often lack. However, if a rhetorical reader views the ad, he or she may ask if the company is really attempting to promote social awareness, or if the real goal is to appear to benefit a greater cause while slipping a few more dollars into the corporations' pocket. Colgate uses pathos and ethos to create heavy emotional and imprints on the reader, but how rhetorically effective are these appeals, and what is the real message being conveyed?

The first scene appears to be a classic toothbrush commercial. A middle-aged adult male walks into his bathroom, turns on the fawcett, and begins to clean his teeth. Next, one might assume that Colgate will go on to describe the benefits of practicing good dental hygiene. But instead, 

Colgate surprises the reader. The advertiser introduces the unexpected turn of events with one action: the man leaves the faucet on while brushing his teeth, a water-wasting activity that many of us Americans are guilty of.

The next scene highlights vivid imagery. With the fawcett still running, the hands of what appears to be a poor, elderly, individual enters the camera screen. The hairy, wrinkled, dirty hands are busy washing a fruit covered in soil. Those same hands are then seen washing a dish. Then, a poor-looking little girl is seen taking sips from the sink, cupping her hands to acquire the valuable drinking water.

Colgate advertisers use the text to further gage the reader's attention. In between scenes of powerful imagery conveyed by the elderly man or woman and the little girl, Colgate uses text to begin to create a powerful message. Displayed in three to four second intervals, the text is displayed in white bold letters. To add to that, the text is centered and capitalized. The text begins to display a message, first by reading "brushing with the fawcett on" ...  and secondly reading "wastes four gallons of water a week."

Finally, the advertiser contrasts the first-world citizen to the second and third world citizen by doing three things. Firstly, Colgate utilizes the sound of the man brushing his teeth. This is introduced as background noise, as the fawcett is running and the elderly individual and child are depicted doing daily tasks. After the elder and child figure finish their tasks, the last scene depicts the man still busy brushing his teeth: as if no one had been there in the first place. The water is left wastefully running, which is the perfect time for Colgate to drive its final point. The text's final punch line: "that's more than many people in the world have in a week"  ...  "please turn off the fawcett."

Vivid imagery is created in scenes comparing the water usage of the man brushing his teeth to the elderly person and the child using the water to wash and drink with. In this instance, Colgate is using a pathos appeal: the corporation is playing off of human emotions such as shame and guilt. This is effective because the majority of the people who watch the Super Bowl are from the United States and other first world countries, and are likely guilty of leaving the sink on while brushing their teeth more than once in their respective lifetimes. Rather than attempting to sell a product, Colgate uses pathos to provoke widespread guilt in its audience.

In addition to a strong appeal to pathos to provoke guilt in its audience, Colgate uses ethos to not only expand on that guilt but also associate the company's name brand with progressive international awareness. While the ad's imagery is associated with pathos, the text expands on pathos while also introducing ethos. The advertiser uses large, powerful words to create a strong message that gives Colgate a powerful voice. After revealing facts and figures, the advertiser's strongest ethos is conveyed when the final message is displayed in white capital letters, reading "PLEASE TURN OFF THE FAWCETT." 

Instead of showcasing what the advertisement is actually meant to sell, Colgate uses logos and ethos to not only pinpoint the viewer's emotion but also to promote its brand through effective use of public relations. While logos is found in the text, it is limited. The advertiser is instead looking to target the reader while also creating a positive public image. The effective use of ethos and pathos creates a rhetorically effective advertisement, because it isolates the reader while encouraging awareness for a worldwide problem. The advertisement is effective because it persuades the average reader that Colgate is 'the good guys.' However, the rhetorical reader might question the connection between Colgate and saving those in need. Colgate wouldn't pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to be featured in the Super Bowl if it wasn't good for business.

