Analysis Essay on Sleepy Tie Advertisement
The following ads are a comparison of the use of appeals, pathos, lagos and ethos. These appeals are important when you are selling a physical product because the are reason you would need and or want to purchase, the logic that what they are telling you coincides, and proof that the product is true and works. I will be comparing two ads of similar nature, both comparing hair preservation while you sleep, and determining which ad had a better use of pathos, ethos and Lagos. I believe the smaller brand, Sleepy Tie, will make much better use of the appeals because they are a small business trying to reach their audience. I believe the bigger brand, Slip, will not have a good use of these appeals, due to the fact they are a largely known company, and do not need to approach their clients in a manner to try and sell as aggressively.
Our first advertisement is Sleepy Tie, a company who's only focus is to preserve your hairstyle while you sleep. The founder of the company comes on the screen to voice her past concerns of loving her freshly blow-dried hair, only for her style to come undone when she awoke the next morning. She is placed in a salon setting, that it blurred in the background so you can imagine what it is like when you get your hair done as you are listening to her speak. While she is explaining her love for freshly dried hair, the video cuts to the back of her head so you can see her highlighted hair being blow-dried and tussled by what I can only assume is her stylist. The background music is incredibly soft, so soft in fact, that the focus becomes the relatable truth of what anyone who has ever had hair has experienced. The ad is targeted towards woman by using soft colors of pink, textures of satin, and woman only models throughout the ad. As the ad continues, the owner then talks about how she could not find anything on the market that would fit her needs, so she taught herself to sew to create it. As she is talking about her
need and creation for this product, you can see the owner perched up on the couch, and a close up her hands, sewing pink thread into the product is flashed with the company name stitched into the satin. The company name, “Sleepy Tie,” pops up on the screen with the waving fabric of the same pink satin, flowing behind the logo. The owner then comes back to speak, holding her pink satin lined hair tie, with a nude satin arch connected to it. This is the first full glimpse of the product that is shown. Her voice now, becomes placed as a voice over, she begins to explain the benefits of Sleepy Tie. “Prolong Your Blow-dry, styled hair and reduces your need for styling time in the morning.” As she is speaking in the voiceover, a woman with sultry makeup on a dark grey background appears, pulling the hair tie off her head, and shaking out her hair in a subtle slow motion so you can see how majestic her hair has remained while in the Sleepy Tie. The voice over continues, and videos of real consumers, recording themselves using the Sleepy Tie are played. The Video ends with a background image of the Sleepy Tie Logo, now on a nude background similar to the nude arch of the product instead of the pink satin, is shown while the owner states her final words of how much she loves her product and how consumers will love it also.
Our next advertisement is similar to our first, involving silk and sleep. The brand “Slip” is a well- known silk pillowcase. The Brand starts out with a quick close up, of a silk pillowcase, branded with the company “Slip”. After the brief flash of the pillowcase, celebrity makeup artist, Jen Atkin, is shown sitting in her bed. The bed is feminine with white tufted material and black iron bars. The room is white and minimal with a single nightstand and fresh flowers. The video has a type of milky filter over it during the advertisement, to set the scene as a dreamy one. The woman, in regular jeans and a cream colored top, begins to open a box labeled “Slip”. As she opens the package, a voice over starts, explaining the benefits of sleeping with a silk pillowcase. The woman says, “Slip products are literally a must for anyone, Sleeping on a Slip silk pillowcase tames my hair when I sleep, meaning I can actually wake up and go.” She then proceeds to open the pillowcase and place it over her pillows. After she finishes placing the cases on, she presses the silk pillow into her face and snuggles it closely to her body. As she is doing this, the voice over continues to talk about the benefits of silk pillowcases. Some of the benefits included sealing the hair cuticle, great for all hair types and textures and no friction. While the voice over is listing these last beneficial details, the woman is continuing to fluff and snuggle her pillow.
Our first advertisement, Sleepy Tie, uses a lot of Pathos and ethos, but I do feel lacks using lagos. Pathos is used throughout the video while she is explaining her story on why she created the company. Her need is missing so she explains that to the consumer by showing you her beautiful hair and how she wants to preserve it. She knows this is also a common struggle for most woman and uses that shared emotion to sell her product. She then uses Ethos by saying she is the “first ever and most revolutionary way to tie your hair for sleep.” She backs up her statement by adding facts about her product, telling the consumer, prolonging the blow-dry, prolong styled hair, and reduces the need for styling time. I do feel that the ad is missing lagos, as a consumer who researches all her hair care products, I personally understand the benefits of silk on your hair, but not once does she mention what her product is made of. She does not explain how it is revolutionary or how it maintains your hair. I cannot help but think as a consumer starting in her hair care journey, how could she know any benefits of this product when no facts are given.
Our second ad is for the company Slip. This ad has little use of pathos, lagos and ethos. The advertisement does have some pathos, by having this woman tell you how the pillowcase tames her hair and she can actually get up and go. It’s a relatable statement but it is a very brief and incredibly open ended. The company also uses some lagos, by stating a few benefits of silk such as sealing your cuticle, great for all hair types, no friction. The facts are also brief, and no actual studies or science is presented to back up the claims. Lastly, I believe this ad is lacking in lagos. It never mentions why their brand is different, it just simply says how “its literally a must for everyone.” It never tells us why, or compares itself with other traditional pillowcases I originally chose these ads for the similarities between the companies but after evaluating both, Sleepy Tie has the better use of pathos and ethos. Even though it is lacking lagos, it is the better of the two based on the explanations given. Silk does not really speak of their brand, whether they feel they are so large they do not need to, or that silk is so widely known they do not need to speak on it, I'm not sure, but the lack of knowledge of who they are and what they are about, shows very loudly in this advertisement. I have a better understanding of Sleepy Tie through their advertisement, and not so much knowledge on Silk brand, unless I do some additional research. Therefore Sleepy Tie is the better Advertisement, based off their use of appeals.
