Jane Goodall at Penn State!

Tonight I had the opportunity to see Jane Goodall speak. Jane Goodall, yeah that's right, the one who spent 50 years studying and living with the chimpanzees. Her fame and interesting life experiences were what drew me and almost 1,000 other students into Eisenhower auditorium to hear her speak tonight.  Her speech was interesting in two ways:  first, I went having no idea what she was going to speak about, and, secondly she delivered her speech in a captivating and compelling way that both captivated her audience's attention and conveyed her final message through a series of stories. Jane Goodall is more than just an expert in her field, she is a great communicator and storyteller and her delivery style sends her message to the audience in an effective way.

First, Jane Goodall's name carries a strong ethos appeal of respect and authority in her field.  This is evident by the crowd she drew for the event.  As I approached Eisenhower, I was confronted by a long line of people hoping to get in to see Jane Goodall who did not obtain a ticket in time.  Luckily, I was able to pass by this large line because I had a ticket I recently received from a friend who could not make the event.  People without tickets were walking up and down the line willing to pay money to get a ticket to "see Jane Goodall speak". As I stood in line holding my free ticket I wondered why I wasn't selling it for profit.  Then I realized that I, like most of the other people in line valued what Jane Goodall had to say even though most of us did not know the topic she was discussing.  Jane's pure ethos appeal from her experiences and accomplishments in her field have given her name a strong ethos appeal similar to that of Oprah or Donald Trump. Most of us would try to see them speak if they came to Penn State because we respect their experiences and achievements and would want to hear the perspective of a person at the top of their field.  This is also the case for Jane Goodall, I and most other people at Eisenhower had no idea what she was going to say, but valued her speech because of her ethos appeal and respected status.

When Jane Goodall appeared on stage and greeted us with a monkey call, I was glad that I didn't sell my ticket.  I was already hooked on this cool, little old lady with sweet British accent.  Then she began to tell her audience the story of her life as a series of struggles and opportunities to reach her ultimate dream of living in Africa with the wild animals.  She was a great story teller and spoke to her audience of 1,000 people as if she was sitting with just you talking over tea.  I found her ability to address a large audience in a captivating and intimate way very impressive and compelling.  I was extremely attentive to each story she told as she carried us closer and closer to her ultimate point of hope for humanity throughout each compelling story. She had the ability to make the audience laugh with ease and created a sense of intimacy and optimism in the crowd.  She effectively sent her message of hope and a call for action to address the problems of the world to her audience and people left feeling uplifted, and a few made their intention known to actively address the problems of the world through her program Roots and Shoots.  The audience's response to Goodall's speech is evidence of her intimate and compelling delivery style. Goodall was able to captivate the audience and deliver her point with good will and an effective call to action.  These are all qualities that make a good speaker and an enjoyable night for the audience.

I didn't really have the time last night to stop an hear Jane Goodall speak, but now I'm glad I didn't let my friend's ticket go to waste.  It was fun to take a break with friends and go hear a respected person speak, and her ethos appeal was what drew most of her audience.  However, after an hour of hearing her stories and her path to success I was truly happy I attended for more than just a study break. I was  happy because now I had a blog topic. haha:) However,  I was also informed, uplifted, and called to action.  These are three evidences of a great speaker and deliverer, and a great investment of time for the audience.

The Scare Center

Sleeping in was one of my favorite things to do on spring break. However, on Friday March 11, 2011 I slept through some serious seismic activity and a serious natural disaster in Japan.  The damage was catastrophic and as I woke up and shuffled past the TV I was confronted with a press conference on the disaster. Trying to catch up on what happened while I slept I read the headline: "WHAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH JAPAN'S NUKES?"

Oh no. Another person is threatening to use nuclear weapons now!?

I froze in fear and immediately asked my Dad what was going on.  He explained to me that Japan experienced as 9.0 earthquake off its coast, and that a tsunami with 33ft waves followed shortly after and damaged their nuclear power facilities.  The news was tragic, but my fear slightly subsided.  The news agency had grasped my attention by appealing to my fears through the way they displayed their information.

The headline, "WHAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH JAPAN'S NUKES?" is vague an alarming for a person who has not received the information to put this headline into context. (Not to mention someone who had just woken up 10 minutes before seeing the news.) First, the text is completely capitalized and was written on the screen in an alarming bold yellow color.  The text is meant to grab its audiences attention in an alarming nature. Secondly, it is written in the form of a question and creates uncertainty in its audience that can only be dispelled by watching the news and receiving more information on the issue. Finally this question provides no other details placing it into context, and therefore, it is clearly appealing to the audience's pathos, specifically their emotion of fear.  The audience will only find comfort after receiving more information and tuning in for the entire press conference.

The context in which this headline is placed also proves that the news station was appealing to the audience's emotion of fear.  Many news stations are broadcast on mute in doctor's offices and gyms.  Therefore the vague and alarming text would be the only medium available to these viewers, giving them a skewed and fearful understanding of current events. However, the lack of detail would make many viewers want to follow up on the story through that news station.  Finally, the headline contained the word "nukes", a word which carries a connotation of fear for most Americans. Ever since the Cold War most Americans have consciously feared the  prospect of engaging in a nuclear war or being victim to a nuclear attack. The fear has run so deep in our culture that even the word "nuke" instills fear in its audience. The news station knows this and used this abbreviation to evoke fear in its audience and grasp their attention.

This news headline scared me out of my slippers on Friday morning and I sat down and watched the press conference after seeing that headline.  However, the headline scared me for all of the wrong reasons. It was vague providing few details on the issue being discussed. Its text and context appealed to my fear and I was hooked to their station for the next half hour.  This was the goal of their alarming message, to scare the audience and appeal to their fear of uncertainty and make them want to acquire more information on the issue from their station.

Analysis of an Aerie Ad

Spring has Sprung! Maybe not quite yet, but it sprung sometime in late January for most clothing companies.  As the weather gets warmer, one image of spring portrayed by advertisers sticks in my mind better than any other.  It is the Aerie Spring 2011 ad campaign selling the beauty of nature's revival and the revival of natural looking beauty.  The ad induces a longing for fresh spring air and the warm spring sun with its outdoor setting and color scheme, and sells an image of natural beauty to young girls by blending their clothing into the background of the ad and bringing to the forefront a motto describing the company's image.

When I first saw this ad I noticed three things immediately.  The sun, the balloon, and the grass. Each yellow item drew your eye to the next yellow item and pulled your attention to the focal point of the ad. The pretty brown haired girl blending into her surroundings.  The warm yellow color scheme invoked a sense of optimism in the audience, and the girl's upward gaze reinforced this feeling.  The big yellow balloon creates hope and desire in the audience for a playful and carefree spring that will lead into an unforgettable summer.  The audience is now hooked on aerie's idea of spring and they have created an ethos for their company as natural and carefree, which they will use to sell their clothing.

The audience shifts their attention to the true focus of the ad, the 2011 line of spring apparel. But as we look at the girl, its hard to find her clothing because it blends in with the grass.  Aerie employs this strategy to sell the idea of natural prettiness.  Aerie's spring line consists of clothes with pale natural hues of grass greens and off whites. Hues that you would find in nature.

They tie this idea together with the slogan "pretty goes with everything" written in pale colors on what looks like a bleached burlap sack.  The slogan motivates readers to let their beauty shine through, and to buy clothes that enhance their natural beauty instead of constricting it.

Just as the sun shining through the trees gives extra beauty to an already beautiful sun, aeries clothes will add beauty to an already beautiful you.  Aerie conveys this message with a natural setting and an optimistic color scheme. There message is created by displaying their clothes as only an accent to the girl's beauty and the phrase "pretty goes with everything" inspires us all to feel a little more beautiful, and buy into Aerie's image of "natural pretty".