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Hailey Fletcher

Dr. Blackburn

RC 1000

4 February 2019
Rhetorical Strategies in Super Bowl Pepsi Commercial

Is drinking Pepsi really more than okay? Many Americans agree that it is a perfectly

suitable drink, while others are strongly against the sugary carbonated beverage. Pepsi used the

super bowl of 2019 as a perfect opportunity to advertise it’s drink with their commercial titled

“More Than OK - #SBLIII”. ​ In this advertisement, the intended audience is clearly the typical

working-class American family. This is evident through the fact that the commercial is being

advertised during the Super Bowl, which is usually watched together by the typical American

family on a Sunday night. The creators use rhetorical strategies such as ethos and pathos, as well

as visual appeals, logical fallacies, pleasant comparisons, and humor in order to build credibility

and promote the product. The use of repetition is another important feature of persuasion of the

audience. These persuasive aspects of the commercial are instantly seen right at the beginning of

the commercial.

The advertisement takes place in a diner, which is an emotional, or pathos appeal, for the

audience as it can be viewed as comforting and homey. The setting of the commercial is visually

pleasing with the bright lights and colors of the diner. Within the first two seconds we are

introduced to what can be seen as the most important part of the commercial - the word “okay”.

The word is used very frequently in the commercial by every single actor. This specific word is
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repeated throughout the entire commercial which can be seen as a method of providing emphasis

on how not so average the product is. This proves that the purpose of the advertisement was to

prove to the audience that pepsi is a better than okay drink. The use of repetition of the phrase “Is

____ okay?”, is used to emphasize the importance and glory of the Pepsi soda once again. For

example, Steve Carell says “Are puppies okay? Is a shooting star okay? Is the laughter of a small

child okay?”. Each of these examples applies to pathos because they are all satisfying things. The

audience can take this and make a hasty generalization that since those examples are being

compared to Pepsi, that Pepsi is just as satisfying as puppies, shooting stars, and babies. The use

of “okay” in the commercial was carefully planned out by the creators in order to get the

audience's attention. Both Cardi B and Lil Jon are both famously known for the ways that they

say “okay”, so including them in the advertisement was an important aspect in order to get the

audience's attention and to add a little humor. By borrowing these characteristics of the well

known celebrities, ethos was established into the commercial by building credibility through the

use of well known celebrities. Using famous celebrities creates a sense of trust and power in play

of the commercial. Another pathos appeal is when the music starts to play at the same time that

the famous rappers came into the commercial. This was very important to the emotional appeal

because it provides a strong sense of joy to the audience when they see the famous musicians and

hear the popular music. Humor plays another big part in the advertisement. Steve Carell is an

actor who is very well known for his comedic personality. Having him in the commercial

immediately makes the audience feel good. That feel good feeling that the audience feels when

watching the commercial will also be associated to the Pepsi drink.

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The celebrity endorsements are responsible for giving the drink a sense of worth. Another

factor is that the use of celebrities provides a bandwagon approach. The audience watches this

commercial and sees that these famous people are drinking Pepsi, so it must be simply amazing

right? Everyone wants to drink Pepsi because their favorite musicians and actors are drinking it.

Another example in the commercial is that Steve Carell refers to Pepsi as “...a nice cold glass of

the best thing you’ve ever tasted.” If you were Steve Carell’s biggest fan, and you heard him say

that in this commercial, you would immediately want to go buy all of the Pepsi from your local

supermarket. This is an example of false authority. The audience agrees that Pepsi is the best

drink ever just because Steve Carell, someone of a very high celebrity status says that it is. In the

commercial, Cardi B sits down across the table from the customer while holding a pepsi, without

a doubt in her mind the customer immediately says that she would like a pepsi to drink. This is

an example of the false authority and bandwagon approach.

The commercial does a good job at convincing their intended audience to buy their

product through the use of pathos and ethos appeals; however, the advertisement forgets to use

logos appeals, which for many viewers, can make the argument seem a little one sided. When it

comes to logos appeals, it seems that there are almost none. There are no statistics or facts

provided that portray Pepsi as being the “best” drink for the audience. There is a clear use of the

stacking the deck fallacy because the commercial is only showing a side of Pepsi that the

audience is wanting to see, not the side that shows the unhealthy consequences of the sugary

beverage. The commercial is solely showing the side that is in favor of Pepsi - how popular the

drink is.
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The creators of the Pepsi commercial did a pretty “okay” job at trying to convince the

audience to buy the drink. There was an excellent use of ethos and pathos, but it could’ve used a

little more logos. Persuading an audience can always be a bit more difficult if there are no facts

or statistics included that will really convince them.

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Works Cited Page

Hacker, Diana, et al. ​A Writer's Reference​. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2018.

Pepsi. "More Than OK - #SBLIII | Pepsi :60." YouTube. 28 Jan. 2019. YouTube. 04 Feb.

2019 <​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sYElEbRzKA​>.

Grade: 88 

This grade reflects the need to go back through for pronouns and MLA formatting. You have a super strong 

approach to rhetorical analysis. Take a look at my comment on ethos, and do be sure to properly format for MLA, 

spacing, etc. Great start!