There
is a poster hanging on the wall opposite my couch in my bedroom that advertises
the Beatles’ first gig in America on the Ed Sullivan Show, for February 9,
1964. This poster has been displayed in my room for years, and I am constantly
looking at it and analyzing it for purpose and rhetoric without even realizing
it. This week, I decided that the time might be right to finally formally
analyze this special piece of my room décor.
The poster that I own is a replica of
something that might have been displayed on street corners and store windows in
American cities during the weeks leading up to February 9, 1964. Along with all
pertinent information regarding the Beatles' television appearance, the poster
contains a black-and-white photograph of the four band members peering over a
staircase, and three broadly displayed titles of popular songs. The purpose of
the advertisement is clear: to drum up a large audience for the television
premiere of the Beatles in America. Upon considering the poster’s purpose, it
is obvious that the producer of the advertisement is CBS Studios, the network
that the Ed Sullivan Show ran on. CBS’ motive in encouraging viewership of the
Beatles’ debut was ultimately to earn themselves higher TV ratings by having
more viewers.
The makers of this promotional poster
appealed to pathos very effectively by including the titles of three popular
Beatles songs. While something like a time, date, and network name might not
have generated a strong enough appeal to the audience to gain viewers,
including the names of beloved songs certainly did. Just the mere mention of
these obscenely popular songs would have incited a response of excitement and
interest from the target audience of average American citizens. Though the
Beatles at this point in their history did not really need any additional
promotion other than simply being themselves, the rhetorical aspects that this
poster includes are effective in their goal of gaining the show more viewers.
Goals:
-New
and interesting visual text
-Do
not list components
-Paragraph
breakdown
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