Google Definition of Mayhem: (1)Violent or damaging disorder; chaos (2) The crime of maliciously injuring or maiming someone, originally so as to render the victim defenseless.
It is something that none of us want in our life, but it is the main character for the popular Allstate commercials. His name is Mayhem and he represents everything that can go wrong in our life. There is a long line of Mayhem commercials that range from the average blind spot to distractions while driving, such as cute girls jogging and texting. I would have to say that the
funniest Allstate commercial to date is the raccoon commercial. Mayhem plays a raccoon in an attic that causes all types of damages. Mayhem tears up
the insulation and chews through the wires. The most damage he caused was creating a giant hole in the roof. For most people this commercial is hilarious, but for people who can relate it is a devastating flash back. The most comedic lines re “I’ve already had four babies by now.” And “I’m the smartest raccoon I know.”
Besides its great comedic performance, this commercial is successful because it contains
pathos, logos, and ethos. The appeal to logos is simply the appeal to logic. This commercial basically says if you are looking to save money then switch to Allstate. At the end of the commercial, when mayhem is walking out of the house, he states “So get Allstate, you can save money and be better protected from mayhem, like me.” Another appeal to logic, which is discreetly thrown in, is their attack against Geico. Mayhem states, ““And if you got your home insurance where you got your fifteen minute car insurance, you could be paying for this
yourself.” So the logical thing to do would be to switch to Allstate.
The appeal to pathos, or credibility, is strong, but not implied. Let me explain myself before that statement gets confusing. Allstate is a well know insurance agency and is very common for people to have. Therefore, its credibility is established just on the name alone. They didn’t utilize that ability. They could have stated how many people they serve a year or given some type of fact that would stick out.
The appeal to ethos, or emotion, is by far the strongest in this commercial. For anyone who can relate to this destruction knows how devastating it is. Also, the comedy in it makes people pay attention and laugh about it. In almost any case people are doing to react most with their emotions rather than logic. We often refer to it as that “gut feeling”. Therefore, it would make sense for a commercial to have a stronger appeal to emotion.
Obviously this commercial is very dramatic, and most likely wouldn’t happen in real life,
but what commercial isn’t? In my opinion this commercial was a ragging success. I give props to the masterminds behind the Mayhem commercial for creating such a character. Also, for utilizing the day-to-day “mayhem” in a hilarious sense.
“Dollar for dollar, nobody protects you from mayhem like
Allstate agents.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thzUR_mq6OY&list=PL4FECAFE84870DA9C&index=1&feature=plpp_video
I like how you presented the Google definition for "Mayhem," at the beginning. I was a great way to set up/ bring in the audience for your essay. However, a more prestigious and higher respected source for your definition would have been Webster or Columbia Dictionary. Sorry I had to be nit-picky I'm a fan of Etymology, and google hasn't been around long enough to have a long line of reputation.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like how you said that this commercial used elements of pathos, logos, and ethos. It's really resourceful of you how you applied those things that were taught to us in class.
Overall, nice job!
Good commercial choice! I like your essay, and I learned something. I never caught the discreet attack against Geico!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to agree with Mr. Sunshine in saying that the definition definitely made your post one to read. Also, showing how this commercial can appeal to almost anyone, either through comedy or the flashback of previous damages was something i hadn't thought of.
ReplyDelete