Can I Please Get Some Scotch Tape?

This 1944 ad displays a woman dropping her lunch all over a crowded bus. There is a solution to her problem: a small strip of scotch tape to hold the package together. But because of World War II, the woman will not be getting her tape anytime soon.

The advertisement is presenting to the citizens of America that Scotch tape is currently unavailable to the common household, because all that is produced is being sent to production lines for the war, or to seal ration packages for soldiers. The ad is not promoting consumerism so much as it is promoting patriotism and support for the men fighting overseas. In bringing out these powerful emotions, the ad shows instances of the three main types of rhetoric persuasion: logos, ethos, and pathos.

In prime example of logos, while the ad tells the people that they are not going to be buying any Scotch tape soon, the creators of the ad managed to slyly mention the different types and practical uses of the tape. They use the ad not only to apologize to consumers, but to promote their product for the future. By reading the ad, it can be learned that Scotch tape creates a variety of tapes-"sealing, holding, identifying, masking"- and is good for "mending torn book pages, sealing packages, and doing a hundred and one other jobs quickly, easily." The ad also talks of the soldiers' use of Scotch tape, and many people would decide that if the government trusts the tape enough to use it, that it would be logical to assume it is good tape, and they would buy it too.

The credibility of the product being advertised is very quickly established in the ad because it is used by American soldiers. The use by soldiers can be interpreted as both logos and ethos. If a product is good enough for the government, it is good enough for the people. Later in the ad, a wide variety of uses and places that the product is used is mentioned. By mentioning that the tape is used in homes, offices, and stores, it is shown that the tape can be used in all settings, and not just for common, everyday, easy jobs. Therefore, the tape becomes more trustworthy. At the bottom of the ad, the manufacturer is mentioned. In advertising, even the name of the company producing a product can greatly influence the buyers opinion, so if the producer is a well-known and highly trusted company, the product may sell infinitely better than if the company is not well-known.

The ad is very strongly oriented around the technique of pathos, as many different examples of this persuasion is used throughout the ad. The desire of the American people to do their part in the war was overwhelmingly huge, with women beginning to enter the workforce, men going to fight, and countless people buying war bonds. Everyone was eager and happy to be able to do whatever they were able to in a time of dire need. Companies across the country sent supplies to soldiers, Scotch tape being one of them, and the action would immediately cause citizens of America to approve of the product, simply because the company producing it is doing their part to help in the war, and therefore doing their part to save the lives of the many men fighting for freedom. Family members and close friends would appreciate the gesture that Scotch made when they decided to stop selling to Americans so that they could give their resources to a very important cause. Not only did Scotch donate supplies, they also used their own money, when they were not profiting very much, to create an ad apologizing to their customers. The politeness and consideration of the action would touch millions of people, and would cause people to place the company in a warm place in their hearts. The words "invest in victory, buy war bonds" would bring up a swell of emotions in anyone who had sent someone they loved into the heart of the war. The ad basically says that if the citizens buy war bonds, that they are helping to win the war. A victory would be sought out by all citizens, and they would be overjoyed to find a way to contribute to a victory.

I found the use of color in the ad to be very symbolic. When the ad was printed in 1944, the magazine it was in would not have been full color. In the forties, only select areas of print were colored, so the editors had to make significant choices as to which areas were to be outstanding. The red of the woman's suit highlights the conflict of the ad, immediately bringing people's attention to the fact that if she had tape, she would still have her lunch. The red manages to capture attention and focus in on the heart of the ad. Not only does it center attention, but the color choice, in collaboration with the subject of the ad, can bring about a strong sense of pride in the country of America. Setting in motion the feeling of patriotism would be a key objective of the ad, because it is not only saying that Scotch is used by the soldiers, but also promoting the sell of war bonds.

More often than not, ethos, pathos, and logos are used in collaboration with one another instead of individually. This 1944 ad promoting Scotch tape manages to fit in examples of all three, promoting the product from emotional and logical standpoints, and establishing the credibility of the now world-renowned Scotch tape.

We Should All Be a Bridge

While browsing through some old newspaper articles online, I discovered “Woman, 22, Sacrifices Her Life to Save Her Friend in a Hit and Run.” Upon reading the title, I was automatically intrigued. The woman’s selflessness and love stood out in a world full of hate and crime, selfishness and greed, and so of course I read the article.

The article dives right into a heart-touching subject, asking how far an individual would “go to save a friend.” For New York City resident Erinn Phelan, the answer was as far as need be. Phelan pushed her friend out of the way of an oncoming car, taking the hit for herself. The friend survived with little injury, while Phelan was left brain dead, and her family had to make the unbearable decision to disconnect life support.

If laying down her life was not enough by itself, Phelan also had wishes to be an organ donor. Before life support was removed, arrangements were made for donation. This young woman’s generosity was not only present in her last moments, but was shown throughout her life. Phelan was a member of City Corps, a smaller, more local version of the Peace Corps.

This article reminded me of an old Simon and Garfunkel song “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The song basically conveys the message that the singer would be willing to help out a friend whenever, wherever, with whatever. My favorite lyric of the song is “I'll take your part when darkness comes, and pain is all around. Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.”

It is comforting to think that I have friends and family who love me enough that they would help share my burden in times of darkness, that they would willingly take some of my pain to make me feel better. After all, they know I would do the same for them, because regardless of who we are, we all need a bridge over troubled water even if just to “ease our mind.”