Beyonce American Express Commercial

The advertisers for the commercial in which Beyonce Knowles promotes the American Express Card uses both the ethos and pathos appeal. Considering the fact that the maker of this advertisement chose Beyonce as a spokesperson for their product, the ethos appeal is used.  In that, this appeal gives credibility to the person making the argument.  The ethos appeal is ethical. It allows individuals to to believe the people whom they most respect. Because Beyonce is a well known singer, individuals tend to "follow" their favorite celebrities whom they admire. Using Beyonce in particular as a spokesperson for the commercial is valid; her many fans therefore are most likely to get an American Express card just to be more like her. Along with this, Beyonce is known for her beauty and "down to earth" personality in this commercial, making the product more attractive. This leads us into the other appeal being used in the commercial.

The pathos appeal is also used in this commercial. This emotional appeal means persuading by appealing to the reader's sentiments. In the media, Beyonce is depicted as being those celebrities who seems to only care about her money and glamour. However, the commercial views another side of her. Beyonce is shown as an extremely busy woman who has no time for herself. Her tone in the commercial sounds gentle and concerning, due to her constantly trying to find a break from the chaos in her life and time to buy the boomerang for her nephew. Therefore, the commercial allows the audience to sympathize the fact that she does not really have a "normal" life. Due to this, another intended audience apart from Beyonce's fans are the typical people who devote their lives to their careers and do not have time to shop for themselves or other people. 

The overall argument seems to be an argument which convinces busy individuals to use American Express when shopping online in their hectic lives. This claim is implied at the end of the commercial when Beyonce is finally able to purchase the boomerang for her nephew. This positioning of the claim is not very significant though; this is mainly because the American Express card is not explained enough. There is only one short sentence in which a background voice asks the audience if they use a card they trust. However, this does not emphasize the importance of why American Express is better than other versions of credit cards to use to shop online. Although Beyonce does states that she does not have  time to waste, or time to worry (which is why she is a "card member"), the advertiser could have further highlighted the significance of the card.